June 1966: When Germany went wild over The Beatles' blitz tour
Before The Beatles set out on their blitz tour of Germany in June 1966, "Beatlemania" hadn't yet infected Germany. They swooped in for six short shows - and the hype surrounding the English musicians proved contagious.
The Fab Four arrived in Germany in June 1966, brought to the country by the German youth magazine "Bravo." it was their first visit since 1962 and this time, Beatlemania infected not only the fans, but also the media which had long been covering the ascention of the "four choirboys from Liverpool" with more suspicion than curiosity. Still, there was a bit of fascination. And exactly that mix determined the way in which the band's three-day visit to Germany was received: with mass hysteria throughout the country. Beatlemania had arrived in Germany.
It was no longer possible to simply ignore the masses of long-haired teenagers that had emerged from fusty post-war Germany and were considered crazy. Newspapers interviewed psychologists to help explain the bizarre behavior of these youngsters, reassuring readers that they shouldn't really be seen as a danger to society.
Fears of riots proved to unfounded. But in the eyes of many people, the conglomerations of screaming teenagers - most of them girls wearing miniskirts - were scary enough. They were awating The Beatles at Munich airport, screaming. They were besieging their hotel, screaming. They were going to concerts, screaming.
By: Silke Wunsch
Source: DW
