Cinema

The German Reich no longer existed, instead the Allies created four occupied zones. The Federal Republic of Germany originated in the three western zones (American, British and French zones). The Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic. In the GDR the leadership of the SED (Communist) party tried and tested the real existence of socialism, with the support of the Soviet Union. The Federal Republic practised parliamentary democracy and a social market economy. The driving force was Konrad Adenauer, who bound the Federal Republic to the West and the United States of America.

With the "Marshall-Plan" and currency reform came post-war reconstruction. The "economic miracle" of the nineteen-fifties took shape. War damaged property was cleared away, flats and workplaces were built. Free elections took place, the population enjoyed holidays in the south. Music and Heimat films flickered across the screens of film theatres. Together with Conny Froboess, Peter Kraus was the musical model for a new generation of teenagers, who went down in history as the teddy-boys.

The Prussian Rhine Province was divided into North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1953 the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR) was founded for the region of North Rhine, as the successor to the Rhenish Provincial Administration. The LVR is an institution of local self-governing bodies with an extensive sphere of activity. The legal basis for its activities is the decree of Landschaftsverbandsordnung.

That decree also stipulates that, for example in the areas of health and culture:

The Landschaftsverbände are responsible for

1. Tasks relating to the general culture of the countryside
2. Tasks relating to the preservation of listed buildings
3. Tasks relating to the care and support of local history museums and archives
4. Maintenance of regional museums and educational film services."

(Landschaftsverbandsordnung für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen vom 12. Mai 1953)

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