Ways into the Digital Society

The Center for Contemporary Historical Research, Potsdam, presented a book entitled “Wege in die digitale Gesellschaft, Computernutzung in der Bundesrepublik 1955-1990” (“Ways into the Digital Society, Computer Use in the Federal Republic of Germany 1955-1990”), which deals with the perceptions, modes of use and socio-economic consequences of computer use until the advent of the PC.

Of course, this also includes the hacker movement, as is already evident from the book cover: Wau in the telephone booth with the Datenklo and Tandy as the opposite pole to white coat informatics in industry, the military and bureaucracy. A ZZF doctoral student spent almost two years researching for this book in the Hacker Archive of the Wau Holland Foundation.