Im Jahre 2000 : In the Year 2000

Unsere Polizei Im Jahre 2000, which is German for Our Police in the Year 2000.

The early twentieth century was a time of optimism towards the future. Aeronautics and flight were on the public’s consciousness, and there was much speculation about how the future would look once humanity conquered the skies. Pictured here is one such vision. These three illustrations were from a six-card set that were packaged inside of Stollwerck Chocolates in the early 1900s. Each one features a scene showing what life would be like in the year 2000. The set is titled Im Jahre 2000, which is German for In the Year 2000. What’s interesting about the set is that three of the cards deal with flight.

The first, pictured above, is titled Unsere Polizei, or Our Police. It shows a pair of individuals with wings, flying high above a city. One is a police officer and the other is a thief. There isn’t much to describe how the men are actually flying, other than the wings attached to their backs. The illustrator doesn’t explain how these men are flying though, which is a mystery. They don’t have a pack on their backs to power the wings, and their arms and legs are free, so they can’t power the wings either.

Eine Reise um die Welt Im Jahre 2000, which is German for A Trip Around the World in the Year 2000.

The next two illustrations feature large dirigibles. The first, pictured above, is titled Eine Reise um die Welt, or A Trip Around the World. It show a large building suspended below a blimp-like balloon. This craft was meant to make trips around the world, but it seems painfully short on amenities. The only two programs are a salon and a spiesesaal, or restaurant. There’s nowhere to sleep, which makes this more of a day-trip craft than a long-voyage craft. Below is a Sanatorium in hohen Regionen, or Sanatorium in High Regions. Depending on where you live, a sanatorium could be a hospital or a resort, but the illustration suggests the latter. There’s a ballroom-esque space below, and a platform garden above. This example has the same shortcomings as the blimp. There doesn’t seem to be enough spaces or amenities to allow this craft to remain airborne for any substantial length of time. Still, I love the long, uninterrupted staircases that connect the bottom to the top; they look like a nightmare to climb.

Sanatorium in Hohen Regionen Im Jahre 2000, which is German for Sanatorium in High Regions in the Year 2000.

Below are the remaining three cards from the set. They all feature various flying machines in the background.

Eine Hauptstrasse Im Jahre 2000, which is German for A Main Street in the Year 2000.

Eine Reisehotel Im Jahre 2000, which is German for A Traveling Hotel in the Year 2000.

Droschke I. Classe Im Jahre 2000, which is German for First Class Taxicab in the Year 2000.

Each of these illustrations is quite far-fetched, so credit goes to the illustrator for throwing some wild ideas out there. I love the optimism of these cards, even if none of the ideas have come to pass. Still, Im Jahre 2000 was a product of its time, when the public couldn’t get enough of human flight. It’s a reflection of the human need to escape the surface of the earth, which is why half the cards in the set featured flight in some way, while the remaining three show the skies filled with flying machines. It’s a future where the skies would be crowded out by humans. It’s a future based on verticality.

Check out other visions for the future here.