Europe in the 1950s Through Amazing Kodachrome Slides

The Fifties have a particular place in our collective imagination: the decade of elegance and sophistication, of the economic boom, of “the Golden Age” of radio, of the birth of rock and roll, of the beginnings of television, and the dawn of commercial air travel.

However, these iconic characteristics of the Fifties represent only one side of the decade, inspired by the bright and optimistic eagerness for change that spread all over Europe after the Second World War ended. The Cold War, the fear of a nuclear conflict, the authoritarian regimes in Spain and Portugal, a divided Germany, and a controlling conservative society were also part of European citizens’ everyday life.

Here is a small set of Kodachrome slides from Dave's old slides that shows what Europe looked like from the 1950s.

Balestrand, Vestland, Norway, circa 1950s

Balestrand, Vestland, Norway, circa 1950s

Bergen, Norway, circa 1950s

Bergen, Norway, circa 1950s

Dôme des Invalides, Paris, France. Napoleon's tomb is here, circa 1950s

La Bonne Franquette, Montmartre, Paris, France, circa 1950s

Men on fishing boat, Norway, circa 1950s

Rue Frédéric Sauton, Paris, France, circa 1950s

Danviksklippan, Stockholm, Sweden, 1957

Near the Hotel Luzern, Lake Geneva, Switzerland, 1957

Hofburg palace with statue of Francis II and VW beetles, Vienna, Austria, 1958

In front of the Panthéon, Paris, France, 1958

Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France, 1958

Lunch at the Hotel Metropol, Moscow, Russia, 1958

Palais Garnier, Paris, France, 1958

Place de l'Opéra, Paris, France, 1958

Promenade Anglais, Nice, France, 1958

Tour group, Austria, 1958

Tour group, Austria, 1958

Tourists, France, 1958