IFA History - The years 1950-1959

100 years of IFA: From the "Große Deutsche Funkausstellung" to the world's largest and most important trade fair for consumer electronics and home appliances

IFA, the world's largest and most important trade fair for consumer electronics and home appliances, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. IFA was first held in December 1924 as the "Great German Radio Exhibition" in Berlin. Since then, IFA has stood for innovation, technology and entertainment.

To mark this anniversary, the industry organisation gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, owner of the IFA trademark rights, is reviewing 100 years of technical development in the consumer electronics and household appliance industry. Episode three is dedicated to the years 1950 to 1959.

The first part of the following sections deals with the actual radio exhibition in the respective year, the second part reports on the industry in general.

1950

The 17th "Deutsche Funkausstellung Düsseldorf" was the first edition of the trade fair after the Second World War. From 18 to 27 August, 234 exhibitors presented their innovations. Due to the political situation around Berlin, the organisers had opted for Düsseldorf as a location in the West. Almost 230,000 visitors were recorded for this radio exhibition. It was characterised by ultra-short wave VHF. More than 20 models of so-called audio furniture were on display from 13 manufacturers, as table-top models or music cabinets, some with disc changers. The "Tefifon" used a tape cassette with playing times of up to 60 minutes instead of a record. The "Optaphon" was probably the world's first cassette tape recorder.

On 5 June, ARD, the consortium of public broadcasters in the Federal Republic of Germany, was founded. The television test picture was launched on 12 July. "UNIVAC" was the first large-scale commercial computer. The first public transmission of a television programme via the Ärmelkanal took place on 27 August. The gradual introduction of VHF began in the GDR.

1951 and 1952

No radio exhibition took place in these years.

the development of video recorders began in 1951. CBS showed the first colour TV demonstration in 1951. The first radio link for television transmission was built between Hamburg and Cologne in 1951. Car radios had station buttons for the first time. The first fully automatic washing machine was presented to the public on 3 July. It weighed 600 kilos, used 225 litres of water per wash cycle and cost an impressive 2,280 marks. At the "German Industrial Exhibition" from 6 to 21 October in Berlin, there was a 100-metre-long television line with 36 appliances to admire. 17 companies were involved.

in 1952, there were ten million radio subscribers in the Federal Republic of Germany. On 25 December, television broadcasting started in the Federal Republic and on 26 December 1952, the first daily news was broadcast. In the GDR, television was launched on 21 December from East Berlin. Around 4,000 television sets were sold that year, costing around DM 1,000. The first car radios with FM came onto the market. The first tape recorder for less than DM 1,000 came onto the market. "Musikus" was the name of a device that turned a record player into a tape recorder. The first wristwatch had a mini-battery instead of a spring mechanism to store energy (supposedly with enough power for a year).

1953

The 18th "Große Deutsche Rundfunk- Phono- und Fernseh-Ausstellung" took place in Düsseldorf again from 29 August to 6 September. It attracted 307,000 visitors. 248 exhibitors were listed. Originally, the radio exhibition was to be held every two years - so it was actually planned for 1952, but the delay in the launch of television meant that it was postponed to 1953. From then on, the biennial rhythm was adhered to. 29 companies presented 152 home radio receivers. The new generation of receivers featured "design and circuit refinements". 90 per cent of all receivers had pushbuttons for station selection. The music chests now also had built-in tape recorders. The "television street" was described as a "special attraction". 24 appliance manufacturers presented 68 different television sets. The focus was on so-called table-top sets with a 36 cm (14 inch) picture size, which were priced at DM 1,000. Floor-standing TV sets had a 43 cm (17 inch) picture. Television sets with a radio chassis, tape recorder and record player were luxurious and cost more than DM 3,000. The price leader was a luxury cabinet with a 68 cm (27 inch) picture tube for an impressive DM 6,200. The record single came onto the market.

Japan was the first Asian country to launch a regular television programme service on 1 February. On 27 March, the ARD broadcasters decided on a joint television programme, "German Television". On 1 April 1953, 1,525 registered television sets were registered. The number of radio listeners at the beginning of 1953 was 11.5 million. Deutsche Welle began its regular overseas broadcasts on 3 May. The so-called helical-track recording process was patented. It is the basis for the magnetic recording of video images. The automatic station search function for car radios had its world premiere and by the end of the year, 40 per cent of cars had a car radio. Another innovation for reception in the car was the automatically extending, motorised telescopic aerial. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June was the first major event to be broadcast live on international television. The world's first built-in refrigerator came onto the market.

1954

There was no radio exhibition in this year.

The first TV sets with cable remote controls appeared. The Football World Cup was another major event for television broadcasting. The station "Freies Berlin" was launched on 1 June as the seventh ARD station. On 6 June, "Eurovision" was founded for European television exchange, linking 45 television stations in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy. The first "black viewer" who did not want to register their television set was fined DM 150. Colour television based on the NTSC process was introduced in the USA. On 3 October, the first Deutsche Welle news in foreign languages was launched. NDR launched a third programme on a trial basis and the first jukeboxes were produced.

1955

From 26 August to 4 September, the 19th "Große Deutsche Rundfunk- Fernseh- und Phono-Ausstellung" took place once again in Düsseldorf. 238 exhibitors presented their products to 450,000 visitors. The radio desk receivers on display had hardly changed their appearance: dark wooden housings with large dials, push buttons and gold ornaments. In terms of design, however, the "SK 1", a handy small radio from Braun, was a surprise that was to change radio design dramatically. On the technical side, the so-called 3D surround sound with loudspeakers placed in the side walls was new. There were also radios with a wired remote control. Top-of-the-range models had motorised tuning. The range of so-called portable receivers also increased, and some also had built-in record players. 17 manufacturers showed 187 different types of television sets. The standard size was now the 43 cm picture tube. More expensive models had a 53 cm picture and some television chests had 62 and 72 cm picture tubes. In addition, the first home projection sets were shown that allowed pictures up to 135 x 100 cm. The Deutsche Bundespost demonstrated a "black viewer detector".

The number of television subscribers in Germany totalled around 177,000 in August and 200,000 at the end of the year. With 30 television stations at the end of the year, 80 per cent of the German population could be covered. On 21 December, "Deutsche Fernsehfunk" began broadcasting from the Adlershof television centre in East Berlin. 80 television stations in Western Europe already reached 150 million people. The first transistor computer was introduced. Flash-Matic was the name of the first wireless remote control for televisions.

1956

There was no radio exhibition in this year.

The production of radio and television sets in Germany had exceeded one billion DM. The first video recorder was introduced in April. The hard disc and the light-emitting diode were invented. The first German transistor travel receiver came onto the market. The year is regarded as the year of full employment in Germany and electronics as a growth industry played a major role in this. On 26 September, the first intercontinental submarine telephone cable between North America and Europe was put into operation. The first television advert was broadcast in November. The first models of dictation machines were available with cassettes instead of open reels.

Continue reading here https://gfu.de/ifa-historie-die-jahre-1950-bis-1959/

The history of IFA can be found at gfu.de/ifa-berlin/100-jahre-ifa/.

Sources

The history of consumer electronics, Jochen Wiesinger

70 years of the Funkausstellung, Heide Riedel

From steam radio to multimedia, Claus Reuber