Figure 1.--Here we see German schoolboys (age about 10-13years old ) at play outside their school. We assume this was a moring recess. I suspect that this might have been a Catholic school, probably a state-funded denominartional school because of the formality of the dress. Almost all the boys are wearing long short trousers or knee pants suits with shirts and tie and long brown stockings, obviously with the necessary Strapsleibchen. One boy seems to be wearing a sleeveless sweater, but he may have taken off his jacket because of the active play. The boys din't see to be playing a sport. We did not see any bat or ball, but a sharp-eyed reader sptted one. Rather they seem to be playing some kind of tag game. I suppose this could have been a boarding school, but a day school is more likeky. Single gender schools were very common in Germany until after World War II. The phiotograph is undated, but we suspect was tken in the early-1930s. Here the long shorts is an indicator. Notice that it is fairly warm outside, the big tree being in full leaf. The long stockings therefore are not worn for warmth. The fact that all the boys are wearing them suggests that it was a school requirement. They seem to be evidence of a conservative dress code. The boys as the Collegium Josephinum, a Catholic boarding school in Bonn, seems to have had a similar dress code. Click on the image for a fuller duscussion.

German children like other school children look forward to recess. This was a period suruing the middle of the morning that the children got a break for outdoor play and the opportunity to let off a little steam. The British call it morning break. The German term is die "grosse Pause" (big break). It was usually about 20 to 30 minutes at about 10:30 am. . In America and Britain it was about a 15-20 minute break held about 11:00. It was a free play time. The children could play as they anted within a range of restrictioins such as stauing on school grounds anbd not doing anything dangerous. American and British children above a certain age would opt for sports of some kind. I am less sure about German children. There were definite gender differences. The boys opted for action sctivities, games or sports. The girls were more likely to sit around and chat. Even in mixed coed schools, the girls usually did not join the boys in ganes. The activities persued were to a degree determined by the facilities available. Many British and American schools had paved playgrounds, often with pkaygroind equioment for the younger children. I'm not sure how common that was at German schools. Some German sdchools were run on half-day schedules. I'm not sure how common that was in Germany. With half day schedules, the recess play session would be omitted.

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8:25 AM 12/3/2010
Last updated: 8:25 AM 12/3/2010