Willy Pragher was a talented German photographer. He documented the life of Germany starting from the 1950s to the late 1960s. Pragher left behind an archive of over a million photographs of events, famous personalities, landscapes, cities, and Germany’s culture.
Pragher trained at the Reimann School in Berlin, the largest private arts and crafts school in Germany. From 1932 he worked as a freelance press photographer for Ullstein, the Berliner Illustrierte and Badische Zeitung. Here below are some stunning photographs of Berlin in the summer of 1957 captured by Willy Pragher.
#1 Hardenbergstrasse with Zoo Palast and DOB skyscraper in Berlin-Charlottenburg , July 1957
#2 Kurfürstendamm from Breitscheidplatz in Berlin-Charlottenburg , July 1957
#3 Kiosk am Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, 1957
#4 Berlin- Interbau, Hansaplatz underground station , 1957
#5 Lehrter station in Berlin before the demolition , July 1957
#6 Shop window of the Leiser shoe store on Tauentzienstrasse in Berlin-Schöneberg , July 1957
#7 View from Hallesches Tor underground station to the destroyed Mehringplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg , July 1957
#8 Tauentzienstrasse from Passauer Strasse in Berlin, July 1957
#9 The women’s high-rise building on the Joachimsthaler Strasse section in Berlin-Charlottenburg, which was renamed Hardenbergplatz in 1958, July 1957
#10 Berlin-Interbau; Hansaplatz underground station; south entrance, 1957
#11 View from Kantstrasse to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1957
#12 View from Kantstrasse to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1957
#13 Corner of Tauentzienstrasse and Marburger Strasse in Berlin-Charlottenburg, July 1957
#14 The Kemperplatz with sector border at the so-called Lenné triangle in Berlin.
In the center of the picture remains of the fountain in front of the house at Bellevuestrasse 10, the city villa of the textile manufacturer Herrmann Gerson. This fountain should not be confused with the Wrangel or Roland fountain on Kemperplatz. - Lennéstrasse leads to the left, Bellevuestrasse to the right. - 1957
I’m surprised at how little Bikini Berlin has changed. Also… Street people look much more respectable and more intelligent than they do now.
Isn’t it strange how the least exciting photos become the most exciting decades later? It is common to see pictures of historic boulevards like Ku’damm, but I found that photo of the construction in Kreuzberg exciting. The landmarks are not so important as the fashion.
It’s great to see so many people biking
One was halfway above ordinary, the woman reflected in the window. Today, all of them would be harshly condemned for revealing their faces.