SPD between tradition and modernity

At the end of August 1963, the Social Democrats’ third »German meeting« begins in Hamburg. The agenda includes an »all-German traditional costume show«, along with panel discussions and stage performances. Two weeks prior to the main event, Interior Senator Schmidt launches a temporary exhibition about the party's history. Over the first two days, around 2,000 visitors take the opportunity to inspect documents and photographs, as well as to listen to audio exhibits. Tabloid newspaper BILD reports on the innovative steel-framed tent construction. The paper says the tent on the exhibition site in Berlin has been nicknamed the »Brandt bubble« – an allusion to the city’s Lord Mayor.