German School Activities: Going and Coming to School


Figure 1.--This German boys in the 1920s is off to school in the morning. Notice his school cap. Also notice his portfolio rather than the over the shoulders satchel. I think that may mean he is about 11 years old and has finished Volksschule. The leather case in front I think is for his lunch. Also notice his belt. Itis worn over his sweater, meaning that it had no practical ourpose.

We note many photographs of German children on their way to and from school. The images show us how German children dressed for school over time as well as what they brought with them to school. Parents seeem to have mostly photographed their younger children. Of course the first day photograophs were especially common as this was seen as such an important step in a child's life. Here we have formal portraits and not always the children setting off to school. As Germans did not for the most part have school uniforms, except caps. Here many secondary schools had destinctive military-stled peaked caps. These family school snap shots are a good reflection of not only schoolwear over time, but overall children's fashions. There were also of course season differences. The outfits refected not only age and the type of school, but chronological trends and social-class differences. We can alo see the difference in the outfits worn at primary and secondary schools. Particularly notable are the school satchels the younger childrn took to school. There were also lunch satches, but not all the children had these. Most German children walked to school. Some of the older boys in cities may have taken trams to their secondary schools.

Transport

Most German children wlked to school. Germany rapidly industrialized beginning in the mid-19th century and by the 20th century was an industrial powerhouse. As a result. the population rapidly urbanized. The primary children thus lived close to their schools and walked to school. The working-class largely lived in apartments and with a high density population schools could easily built within walking distance. There were also middle-class suburbs, but we believe most middle-class children also walked to school. We are less sure about secondary school students. A relatively small number of children continued on to secondary school until after World war II (1939-45). This mean the students often lived some distance from their schools, beyond walking distance. We think many students took public transport. Some may have also used bicycles. This was a middleclass option as few working-class childen had bicycles, but few working-class children atended secondary school. Very few children were driven to school. Automobile ownership was not widespread in Germany, ronically until after World war II. There was also a sizeable rural popultion. German industry was highly concetrated in western Germany--the Ruhr Valley in particular was heavily industrialized. Eastern Germany was much more rural. Schppls exisited in almot all villages so the children could walk to school. Children living on farms had more of a problem. Some had long walks. Ohers may have ridden ponnies to school. I'm not sure how common that was. Rural children were less likely to pursue secondary education. Thise that did often boarded with relatives in towns and cities with secondary schools.

Chronology

We note many photographs of German children on their way to and from school. The images show us how German children dressed for school over time as well as what they brought with them to school. Parents seeem to have mostly photographed their younger children. Of course the first day photograophs were especially common as this was seen as such an important step in a child's life. Here we have formal portraits and not always the children setting off to school. As Germans did not for the most part have school uniforms, except caps. These family school snap shots are a good reflection of not only schoolwear over time, but overall children's fashions. We do not have much 19th century information. Many boys seemed to have worn suits to school. Leather school satchels were very common. We do, however, know a great deal about the 20th century. Suits were still common in the early 20th century. We see German children commonly going to school in knee pants and later short pants. Some older boys wore knickers. Only the older secondary school students wore long pants. School wear begins to become more informal after World War I, especially by the 1930s. Both knee socks and long stockings were very common. Here seasonality was a factor. In the post-World War II era, long pants became more common. We note that by the 1970s that German schoolwear was no longer destinctive, but increasingly the children wore the pan-European styles that became common throughout Europe.

School Yard

Most German schools had school yards of some sort. I don't think there was much in the way of playground equipment, at least until after World War II. This was common throughout Europe. We are not entirly sure what happened at the school yard when the children got to school. We know that many children played there before school began. We do not know if the children were allowed ingto the classrooms if they arrived early. At some schools the teachers lined them up by class. We are not sure how common thisd was. Perhaps they sang the national athemn and then marched in into their classrooms. In America, we were allowed to play inthe school yard or go into our classrooms. We are not entirely sure what the procedure was in Germany. Of course it may have varied over time and from school to school. Given the dramatic shifts in governments during the 19th and 20th centuries, there almost certainly were major changes on this and manhy other school matters. And the type of school was anotyher factor. And there could have been differences on cold or rainy days. For some reason we have not found many photographs taken in the school yard.

Seasonal Differences

There were also of course season differences. German is situated in northern Europe and the weather can get very cold. The children had to be ell bundled up for the winter.

Social Class

The outfits refected not only age and the type of school, but chronological trends and social-class differences.

School Level

We can alo see the difference in the outfits worn at primary and secondary schools. Particularly notable are the school satchels the younger childrn took to school. Here many secondary schools had estinctive military-stled peaked caps.

Lunch

There were also lunch satches, but not all the children had these. I'm not sure, but the children without these lunch cases may have gone home for lunch.

Transport

Most German children walked to school. A few children may have had bicycles, but they do not seem to have very common. Some of the older boys in cities may have taken trams to their secondary schools.







HBC-SU






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Created: 5:06 AM 3/4/2008
Last updated: 12:23 AM 8/31/2011