THE INDIVIDUALIZATION OF EVERYDAY LIFE 295
brought about by World War II and the internal displacement that fol-
lowed in its wake created a massive shortage of housing, furniture, and
household goods. There was a grave lack of food, heating supplies, cloth-
ing, and consumer items, all of which were rationed. Quite often, trading
on the black market was the only way to get what was desperately needed.
It was not until the 1950s that increasing affl uence allowed for consump-
tion beyond that of basic necessities in both German states. Beginning
in the 1970s, consumption became more diff erentiated across all social
strata, especially as it became a way for many to express their individual
personalities. As defi ned for the purposes of this article, consumption is
more than just the purchase of goods. It encompasses the use of not only
these goods, but also of services, as well as discourses about consump-
tion, emotions, relationships, rituals, and forms of sociability and inte-
gration in society (Vergesellschaftung).^5 Consumption, therefore, is not
passive: consumers take an active role in processes of negotiation. The
shift toward a focus on consumers as the “center of gravity within ‘mod-
ern consumer society’” was clearly evident in West Germany, refl ected
in market research conducted during the 1970s.^6 Although consumption
was done by individuals coming from specifi c social milieus and gen-
erations, behavioral patterns were nonetheless collectively reproduced
across society, resulting in the formation of relatively homogeneous so-
cial groups with a distinct habitus. The same was true of the GDR, even
though it took place within a much smaller realm of economic possibilities
and within the framework of a politically regulated arena of consumption.
Nonetheless, there was a notion of a specifi c consumer society in East
Germany associated with certain social practices, although it was quite
obvious that the gaze of many East Germans was fi rmly fi xed on the more
affl uent society of West Germany. The high level of bureaucratization and
politicization in many areas of life, however, makes it diffi cult to draw
comparisons to the developments in West Germany. Scholarship has of-
ten characterized the 1970s as a “transitional period”^7 in the history of
consumption, but this scenario that was sketched out for Western indus-
trialized societies may or may not be comparable with what was going on
in the East.^8 Consequently, the aim of this chapter is to analyze the social
goals, economic systems, issues of periodization, and private and pub-
lic leitmotifs of consumption that pertained to East and West Germany
within a comparative perspective. It looks at places of consumption and
the actors involved—stores, advertising, and buyers—but also key areas
of consumption, namely the home and household goods, food, clothing,
and cars. By focusing on the postwar societies in the two Germanys, it
traces a similar successive change in the priorities of consumption in
each state: fi rst food, then clothing, then the home, then cars.^9