West Germany: Necessary Rumpus

Whether it was a Mercedes or a Minifon, a Leica or Löwenbräu, Germans have always been proud to a fault of their craftsmanship, and until two years ago no one ever dared to suggest openly that a product's quality was really not always wunderbar. Then along came Journalist Waldemar Schweitzer with a brand-new brand-conscious magazine called DM (for Deutsche Mark). DM tested and graded consumer goods for design and durability, published ratings ranging from sehr empfehlenswert (highly recommendable) down to a damning nicht empfehlenswert. DM's circulation has soared to 360,000 copies weekly, and its initial debt of $250,000 has...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!