Uschi Obermaier and Rainer Langhans, Members of "Commune I" (1969)

“Commune I” (“Kommune I”) grew out of the student movement’s extra-parliamentary opposition and was considered Germany’s first politically motivated house-sharing community [Wohngemeinschaft]. Its members regarded their new form of communal living as an alternative to the small, middle-class family model prevalent in postwar German society. Founded in 1967, the commune was first located in the vacant apartment of writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger in Berlin’s Friedenau neighborhood. It changed locations several times before it finally disbanded in November 1969. Pictured here are commune members Uschi Obermaier and Rainer Langhans. On account of Obermaier’s modeling career and the couple’s public discussion of all aspects of their relationship, they soon became the most prominent members of the group. Although "Commune I" espoused anti-capitalist principles, Obermaier and Langhans quickly took advantage of the media’s interest in the group, charging for interviews and photographs. This picture was taken in 1969, at which point "Commune I" was located in a loft on Stephanstrasse in Berlin-Moabit. Photo by Hanns Hubmann.

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© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Hanns Hubmann