The Cultural Momentum of the Jugendbewegung in the Early 1960s

At the universities of the Federal Republic in the first half of the 1960s there was a widespread type of student that was non-conformist, had a strong aspiration for independence, and was less interested in a bourgeois career than a self-determined life — preferably as a free artist and bohemian. The style for males was smoking a pipe, sporting a beard, and wearing parkas and long scarves in winter, jeans and wooden clogs in summer; for female students it was long hair, pullovers, and trousers. A preoccupation with the Nazi past led to far-reaching conflicts within families and an inner opposition to “society,” which many tried to escape from for as long as possible. Hitchhiking was a popular means of travel because of its association with the feeling of boundless freedom. Hitchhiking journeys led through Europe to the North Cape or to Scotland, Istanbul, Cape Sunion, or even to Vienna or Paris for a quick breakfast; the romanticized selfimage was that of a “noble vagabond” standing apart from society. Serving one's mandatory eighteen months in the military was frowned upon. Those who wanted to avoid military and community service went to study in West Berlin, where the draft did not apply due to the special status of the city. Günter Grass's Die Blechtrommel became a cult book, its antihero Oskar Matzerath wreaking chaos among the marching columns with the counter rhythms of his drum, and Enzensberger's poem “Was habe ich verloren in diesem Land” encapsulated the self-image of the individual.