In the immediate aftermath of 1945, the narrative of West German reconstruction—the Wirtschaftswunder—was typically written in the bold metrics of poured concrete and rising GDP. Yet, beneath the visible reconstruction of bombed cities and the proliferation of consumer goods, a quieter, more profound reconstruction was taking place within the nation's intellectual consciousness. German industry faced a severe crisis of identity; the nationalist kitsch of the preceding era was morally bankrupt, and the path forward was obscured by the sheer necessity of survival. It was in this vacuum that the ...