Figure 1.-- This is a class of first communion boys, photographed in their formal wear for the ceremony, at a Catholic church in Oberpleis, Westphalia (the North Rhine region of Germany). The priest and teacher of the boys stand in the background. The photo was taken in 1940 near the beginning of World War II. The boys, about 9 years old, are wearing the traditional dark suits with short trousers and black long stockings held up with garter waists or Strapsleibchen.

This is a class of first communion boys, photographed in their formal wear for the ceremony, at a Catholic church in Oberpleis, Westphalia (the North Rhine region of Germany). The priest and teacher of the boys stand in the background. The photo was taken in 1940 near the beginning of World War II. The boys, about 9 years old, are wearing the traditional dark suits with short trousers and black long stockings held up with garter waists or Strapsleibchen (the usual form of which was a sleeveless bodice with four elastic hose supporters attached). The boys wear white shirts with open collars in most cases, but several boys are wearing short-trouser sailor suits which served as an alternative to the short-trouser suits that the other boys wear. The boys seem to be part of a Catholic denominationa; school. Except in rural areas, most German dchools at the time were single gender schools. There are no girls in the group. After the War, the long stockings gradually gave way to either long-trouser suits or short-trouser suits with white knee socks, but in 1940 the black long stockings were still a common feature of the first communion uniform in most Catholic regions of Germany.

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Created: 2:29 AM 11/12/2011
Last edited: 2:29 AM 11/12/2011