Figure 1.-- This photo shows older primary boys about 11 or 12 in an unspecified German school taken in 1947 two years after World War II. Most of the boys wear short pants suits with long stockings. Two boys (front row, third and fourth from the right) wear ankle socks, while another boy (front row, second from the right) has rolled his long stockings down below his knees to give the appearance of knee socks. At least three boys wear long ski pants gathered at the ankles or, in one case, ordinary long trousers. A few boys wear neckties, but most wear open shirts and also jackets and sweaters without ties.

We notice German boys wearing many different styles of clothing to school during the 20th century. Virtually all German schools had class portraits throughout the century. As school attendance was complusory in the primry years, these school portraits are probably the best evidence of what children were actually wearing, as opposed to some fashion sources which often emphasized the more fashionable styles worn by children from more affluent families. Secindary schools are different until after World War II because most working-class children did not go on go secondary schools. We note children wearing knee pants suits at the beginning of the 20th century. Sailor suits were very popular. Shirts with Schiller collars began to become popular in the 1910s. After Wrld War I, short pants became very common, often worn with long stockings during the winter. Older boys might wear knickes. Uniforms were not common at German schools, even during the NAZI era. Short pants were still common after World War II, but long pants grew in popularity, at first for winter wear. We note a lot of children going barefoot after the War, a relection of the difficult economic situation. Another major trend was increasing informality at school. We still see boys wearing suits to school in the 1940s, but thids becomes much less common in the 1950s. Sweaters were popular schoolwear items. We see few boys wearing suits to school by the 1960s. And long pants become increasingly common for boys of all ages.

The 1900s

Jacobson School (1905)

Israel Jacobson founded a school which became known as the Jacobson School (1801). Jacobson was the father of reform Judaism and his philosophy was reflected in the school. The new school had 40 Jewish and 20 Christian boys who were to be educated together, a novel concept in the early 19th century. Especially novel was Christian children in a majority Jewish school. The boys were given free room and board. The idea of living and working in close association was a central concept of Rabbi Jacobson. Rabbi Jacobson's school established very high standards and acquired a reputation for quality education. Several hyndred boys from the surrounding area were schooled there durng the 19th and early 20th centuries. The school was located at Seesen am Harz, near the Harz mountains in Lower Saxony. The school became known as the Seesener Jacobson Gymnasium. We note a portrait if the school cricket team in 1905. I don't think cricket teams werecall that cimmon in Germany. The boys' names are listed on the back.

The 1910s

German boys wore a range of outfits to school. We note both collar-buttoning suits and lapel suits as well as sailor suits. The collar buttoning suits by the end of the decade were going out of style. Some boys wore sweaters, but suits were very common. Most were kneepants suits. Some boys wore knickers, but knee pants were much more common. Younger boys wore both socks and long stockings. Seasonality was a factor here. Older boys mostly wore long stocckings. Black stockings were very common. At about age 15 some boys begin wearing long pants. This varied and was not governed by school rules, but was rather a parental decession. Schools were mostly single gender schools, although we note coed primary schools, Girls wore dtesses, often with pinafores.

The 1920s

We note primary boys coming to school in just shirts during the 1920s and sweaters when the weathern turned chilly. Some boys wore jackets and even suits, bit this was much less common than before World war I. We see many boys wearing Schiller collars. Some boys wore sailor suits. Most boys wore short pants, often held up by suspenders. After the War, economic conditions were difficult. Many children were barefoot. Long stockings were commonly worn during the winter. Girls often wore pinafores. The children that went on to secondary schools still dresses more formally. Most boys in secondary schools wore suits, but often not with ties. Younger boys in secndary school might wear sailor suits. Most boys except the oldest wore short pants or somdetimes knickers. Gradually knee socks were becoming increasingly common.

The 1930s

Schoolwear became more casual in the 1930s. Some boys still wear suits, but shirts and sweaters became very common, especially in primary school. Sailor suits were still piopular. Ties in particular were not common. Most boys wore short pants. We see boys beginning to wear long pants duuring the wuter, but short pants were more common. Boys at about age 15 began to wear knickers or long panys to school. The Hitler Youth became a massive youth movement after the NAZIs seized power (1933), but boys did not commonly wear their uniforms to school. Knee socks were common with short pants, but many primary boys wore long stockings, especially duing the winter. We see a range of footwear. Some younger boys still wore high-top shoes, but oxfords were increasingly common. Somr boys wore strap shoes and sandals.

The 1940s

German boys went to school durung the 1940s under very varied circumstances. Hitler launched World War II (1939). An by pilaging the economies of countries the NAZIs occupied, living standards did not deteriorate in Germany until after the war decisively turned against Germany in 1943. German cities by the time the NAZIs surrendered were devestated by the Allied strategic bombing campaign (1945). This significantly affected living standards including clothing during the first years of occupation. The ecoconmy did not begin to recover until the American Marshall Plan began (1948). Stalin did not allow East Germany to participate in the Marshall Plan and recovery there took longer. As a result of these larger trends, fashion did not change much in the early 40s and after the War families did not have much money for clothes. Boys commonly wore clothes that they had really grown out of. Many younger children went barefoot.

The 1950s

Germany was occupied by the Allies at the end of World War II ans slit into four occupation zones. The three Western zones (American, British, and French) were susequently combined. There was little difference in the schools at the beginning of the occuption, but the Soiviets and Western Allies promoted very different economic policies in their respective occupation zons. In ddition, Stalin refused to let East Germany and the other Eastern European satellite countries participate in the American-financed Marshall Plan (1948). As aresult, East Germany did not participate in the German Economic Miracle. The developing economic disparity of course affected consumer spending and that included clothes and fashion. German children were much better dressed at the end of the decade than we observe at the beginning of the decade. The trend toward casual school dressed continued through the decade. We see more boys wearing long pants as the decade continued. We also note a substantial expansion of the secindary educatioin system.

The 1960s

Unidentified German primary school (1961)

Here we see what we believe is a German 1st or 2nd year class which would mean children about 6-7 years old. We do know the portrait was taken in 1961. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the school or the exact location. And we are not able to identify if the school was in East or West Germany which would be helpful in understanding fshion trends. We might guess that it was a West German school because the children look very well dressed and some are wearing tights. Major changes occurred in German children's fashions during the late 1950s and early-60s and these school portraits are helpful in tracking such changes. We also see changes in the scools themselves such as the increasing popularity of coeduction. A major fashion change was the appearance of tights and the rapid replacent of long stockings. (This trend was not as rapid in East Germany.) The girls here wear short dresses with tights, white or beige. Many of the boys wear long trousers whch were also becoming more popular, but some wear short trousers with either long stockings or tights. Unlike Americam, tights in German were not preceived as a girls' garment. Notice the boy in the front row with brown stockings or tights, ot is not always easy to differentiate.

Hardenbeg Gymnasium (1964)

Here we see a group of younger boys at the Hardenbeg Gymnasium. I'm not sure where Hardenbeg is located in Gwemany. We know nothing about the school other than a gynasium was an academically selective secondary school. The image is dated 1964, although we might have guessed was taken earlier. The class was all boys. We are not sure just when Germany shifted to coeducation. The boys wear casual shirts and both long and short pants. Several boys wear halter suspenders. I don't know if they are wearing lederhosen several boys wear sandals.

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

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Created: 4:23 PM 6/18/2007
Last updated: 2:57 PM 11/11/2008