Today is day 157 of my exile.
Exile 157.
Nineteen fifty-seven.
A supplementary video statement to “Exile 157 – Marla’s Time Travel” was published separately and deepens the historical context of the year 1957 from an audiovisual perspective.
Globally, the year stands under the sign of a newly ordered postwar world. The Cold War remains the defining framework, but it unfolds less in open battles than in technology, alliances, and spheres of influence. Security does not arise from calm, but from control and advantage.
In the Federal Republic, the course of consolidation continues. With the integration of the Saarland in January, an open point of the postwar order is politically closed. The step is the result of international agreements and underscores how strongly German politics remains shaped by external conditions.
In March, the Federal Republic signs the Treaties of Rome. Europe responds to experiences of war, dependence, and economic fragmentation. Integration becomes the answer to global competition and American–Soviet dominance. National interests are not abandoned, but embedded.
Domestically, pension reform and the Equal Rights Act mark long-term structural decisions. Social security and legal adjustment are meant to create stability in a society that is growing economically but remains politically cautious. The federal election confirms this desire for reliability.
In the GDR, the year remains without major turning points. The leadership holds on to existing power structures and responds to international developments with isolation. The state does not visibly change, but persists in an administrated condition.
Internationally, other events set the tone. The launch of the Soviet Sputnik alters the global sense of power and accelerates the technological race. In Africa, Ghana gains independence and shows that the colonial order is breaking apart. The aftermath of the Suez Crisis continues to limit the influence of old powers.
Nineteen fifty-seven links German consolidation with a world in transition.
Exile 157.
A year in which movement and standstill make history at the same time.
Exile Chronicle
All previous (from 130 – earlier entries are on X/Twitter) and ongoing entries of my Exile Chronicle are collected and documented here:
👉 https://marlas.army/exil-chronik/
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