This article explores the public image of Federico Fellini in post-war Germany. While Italy was a recurring topic in German cinema, Italian movies were almost absent. This situation changed with the introduction of Fellini’s films in West Germany. Fellini was an important mediator between German and Italian culture as he and Giulietta Masina were promoted as an ingenious couple. The article considers the special situation of West German film culture in the 1950s, which was distinguished by a high degree of commercialisation. Film theoretical concepts such asauteurtheory were hardly discussed. The analysis in this article is based on the examination of contemporary film reviews and marketing material. I will place Fellini’s films in the context of the reception of Italian cinema in Germany. This also includes a comparison with other countries on which studies have already been presented. Fellini’s rise to an auteur in Germany coincides with a fundamental change in film culture. I will focus in the last part on this previously unexamined correlation.