In centrul Bucurestilor in anii 50 / In central Bucharest in the 1950s

Anii 50 sunt o perioada dificila pentru a gasi imagini din Bucuresti, mai ales la o rezolutie decenta. Am fost deci extrem de placut surprins cand Mihai Turcu, un cititor fidel, mi-a trimis doua imagini suprinse, el crede, la inceputul anilor 50. Le completez cu inca doua panorame tot din anii 50 de pe blogul fotografului Alex Galmeanu.

Cum am mai spus de mult, masinile americane erau in voga pentru elita anilor 50. In prima poza, se poate vedea un Buick de la sfarsitul anilor 40, plus un BMW / EMW 340, masina despre care am mai scris. In a doua poza pe langa antebelice se vede o masina extrem de interesanta: un Packard din perioada 1946/47. Usor uitam ca in aceasta perioada masini americane se gaseau noi-noute in Romania. Era mare dorinta pentru asa ceva: parcul auto era golit dupa razboi, masinile antebelice erau destul de demodate si uneori in stare jalnica, si orice familie instarita care se respecta oricum isi schimba masina destul de des. Din nou, in acea perioada erau destui diploati si ofiteri straini in Romania, care aveau bani si nevoie de transport. Bine inteles, unele familii, avand idee ce era sa vina dupa 48, au fost mai discrete; dar in perioada 45-47 s-au vandut destule americance. (Europene mai putin - pur si simplu nu erau fabrici.) Un mare cumparator era statul: chiar in 1948, scrie Dan Ciachir, au sosit cateva sute de Packard Clippers. Masina din imagine e aproape sigur una din aceste, si in plus, varianta din varful gamei.

In panoramele care urmeaza, probabil luate cu 3-4 ani mai tarziu, se vad strazile aproape pustii din fata Palatului. Locul de onoare e ocupat de un Gaz-12 ZiM, iar pe langa el se vede un Chevrolet 57, un camion GAZ-51, si o Volga. In urmatoarea poza ZiM-ul reapare, iar in fata palatului e inca o masina mare noua si americana si un Skoda 1101 VO-P kubelwagon din anii 50. In distanta mai sunt doua Pobezi.

Concluzia? Partidul isi rasplatea bine fruntasii!

The 1950s are a difficult period from which to find photos of Romania, let alone decent ones. I was therefore very pleased to receive two sent in by a loyal reader, Mihai Turcu, and decided to complete them with two further panoramas from Alex Galmeanu's blog. As I've already written, American cars were very much in vogue in the 1950s. In the first photo, we can see a late 1940s Buick and a BMW/EMW 340, a car which I have already written about.

The second picture, as well as the pre-war cars, shows something very interesting: a 1946/47 Packard. It's easy to forget that American cars were available brand new up until 1948. There was significant demand: many cars left during the war, existing ones were often in poor condition, and any wealthy family worth their salt would change cars every couple of years anyway. Couple that with the presence of a lot of Western officers and diplomats with money to spend and in need of transport. Of course, some people, seeing what was coming, preferred to be more discreet - but in the period before Communism took over, many new American cars (European factories not producing much at the time) were sold. Interestingly one of the biggest customers was the (pre-Communist) state: as late as 1948, historian Dan Ciachir writes, an order of several hundred Packard Clippers was to arrive. The car pictured is probably one of these, and, at that, a top-of-the-range model.

The next photos, taken probably a few years later, show almost deserted streets in front of the former palace. Pride of place goes to a GAZ-12 ZiM limousine; next to it is a 57 Chevy, a GAZ-51 truck, and what seems to be a Volga. The ZiM reappears in the next photo; next to the palace is a large and new American car and a 1950s Skoda 1101 VO-P military kubelwagon. Two Pobedas can be seen in the distance.

Conclusion? Communism treated its leaders well!