Unknown German Class (early 1930s)

Figure 1.--The boys in this school class (we are not sure what kind of scgool this was) mostly wear short pants with kneesocks and long stockings. One boy wears knickers with long stockings. Most of the boys here wear long stockings, in part because it was winter. During the summer, many probably wore kneesocks. The photograph is undated, but we would guess the early 1930s. The image is a good example of the color of long stockings worn in the early 30s and assists with the color chronology. A reader writes, "The boys wear at least three colors of long stockings--black, dark brown, and tan. The three color tones seem to be about equally distributed. My guess is that photo would be dated about 1933-34. The boys seem to be about 11-12 years old."

Here we see a chool class in the 1930s. The photograph is not dated, but we would guess the early 30s. A reader writes, " My guess is that photo would be dated about 1933-34. My sense of the date is based on the sweaters and rather informal nature of the clothes. Earlier, I think, schoolboys often wore suits or at least jackets. The one slightly discordant detail for the mid-1930s is the boy in the sailor suit. Or did sailor suits last as late as 1934 for older boys? I think the popularity died out by the time Hitler came to power. Of course I'm just guessing. Maybe you have some input to offer on the date?" I would say the early 30s, but can't be much more specific than that. Sailor suits were less common in Germany during the 1930s, especially after Hitler seized power. I think they were going out of style anyway, but the NAZIs tended to view them as hopelessly middleclass, especially for boys by the time they entered the Hitler Youth at age 10. It was the sailor suit itself the NAZIs objected to, it was the middle-class values that they represented. We do notice them in school portraits though, especially in the early 30s when this portrait was taken. We are not sure why kind of school it was, but we would guess it was a secondary school like a gymnasium. It could be a primary school, but e think a secondary school is mor likely. It is an all boys class. The boys look to us about 11-12 or ever 12-13 years old. They would thus be some of the younger boys at the school. The boys mostly wear sweaters, but a few boys wear suits and one boy wears a sailor suit. Almost all wear short pants, most with long stockings. We suspect that most of the boys would have worn knee socks in warmer weather. The image is a good example of the color of long stockings worn in the early 30s and assists with the color chronology. A reader writes, "The boys wear at least three colors of long stockings--black, dark brown, and tan. The three color tones seem to be about equally distributed. One boy wears knickers.

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Created: 10:35 PM 9/3/2007
Last updated: 10:36 PM 9/3/2007