I learned to read German from two sources — “Tim und Struppi” comics, and Geo Epoche, a glossy history magazine. I don’t work for Geo, have never written for them. The recommendation I’m making here is purely from a history buff who has loved the magazine for years.

Geo has a photo-heavy edition called Panorama, and the latest is all about postwar Germany from 1945-1955. I picked up Trümmerzeit und Wiederaufbau yesterday from the local news stand. The magazine is black and sleek. It lays out the period photos beautifully, some in panorama format over two pages. The most startling photos are usually the color ones, and there are a few here that just leap off the page. The large format color photo of Berlin in ruins is for me almost worth the price of the whole magazine.

If you want to take a look, here’s the link to the Geo page. It looks like they only have a German language website, but if you’re an English speaker and really want the magazine, maybe you can have it sent to wherever you are.