Liberation from the constraints of bourgeois life, capitalism and industrial society was the dream of many young people around 1900 - and they made plans to get out. Some of them began an alternative life in reform colonies away from the cities. A return to nature and a life in peace were at the center of their ideas, as well as health, physical culture and spirituality. PARA-MODERNE. Lebensreformen ab 1900 traces the ideals of the early life reform movement through the 20th century. Eight chapters present evidence of the various reform movements in the fields of design, lifestyle and art. The look at the pioneers illustrates early thought models that are reflected in current considerations on sustainability, health and the common good. The catalog accompanying the exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn also sheds light on currents whose esoteric worldview led to theories of the superiority of certain “human races”. Together with the idealization of the healthy body, this led to folkish doctrines of salvation, which must be seen as paving the way for eugenics, anti-Semitism and racism.