Berlin in the Golden Twenties was a pulsating cauldron. In the wake of the deep traumas of World War I and amid radical social upheavals—the growing emancipation of women, the rise of psychoanalysis, and a permissive cabaret culture—a zest for life exploded in the capital.
People danced the Charleston on the volcano, celebrating physical autonomy and the separation of sexuality from mere procreation. But this intoxicating excess and the newfound freedom of the Roaring Twenties would not have been possible without a pragmatic invention: the reliable rubber condom.
Julius Fromm and the Branded Condom
The man who made free love easier for the world was Julius Fromm. Born in 1883 to a Jewish family in what is now Poland (then the Russian Empire), he grew up in modest circumstances and later lived on Allensteiner Straße in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood.
It was the year 1912 when the inventor dipped a simple glass flask into liquid rubber in a workshop in Berlin-Mitte. The modern condom was born! With this seamless, paper-thin condom, he replaced the coarse, sewn-together contraceptives of the time. Starting in 1916, he marketed“Fromm’s Act”and created the world’s first true brand-name condom.
From the Trenches to the Home Front
World War I brought about the invention’s major breakthrough among the general public. To protect troops on the front lines from rampant sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea , condoms were distributed en masse to soldiers. When the survivors returned home, they brought the habit and knowledge of protection back into civilian society.
This significantly fueled the sexual revolution of the 1920s. Fromm rose to become a major industrialist, built a modern factory in Berlin-Köpenick, and vending machines in bar restrooms soon became a standard feature in Berlin. “Fromms” became synonymous with condoms throughout Germany.
The End of a Dream
But his meteoric rise came to an abrupt end. As a Jewish entrepreneur, Fromm came under the scrutiny of the Nazis. In 1938, as a result of the so-called “Aryanization,” he was forced to sell his life’s work far below its value. The factory fell into the hands of Hermann Göring’s godmother, a woman who profited from the Nazi regime.
Julius Fromm fled to London, where he died on May 12, 1945—just a few days after the end of the war—without ever seeing his homeland again.
The injustice outlasted the war: In the GDR, the factory in Köpenick was expropriated and continued production as VEB Plastina under brands such as “Mondos” (see image above). In the West, other corporations profited handsomely from the “Fromms” brand. Despite years of legal battles waged by his son, the family never regained ownership of their company. All they received was belated financial compensation for the property.
We say thank you, Julius!
Today, we honor this Berlin pioneer with every safe encounter. (Or perhaps better yet, afterward…) Even 114 years after its invention, his ingenious principle remains the gold standard of condom production.
Incidentally, Fromm-brand condoms are still available today: Under the umbrella of MAPA GmbH, condoms continue to be produced under the traditional name “Fromms.” They can be found in pharmacies, drugstores, and online. A reminder of a man who made our lives a little safer and freer.
