Figure 1.--We only notice a few boys in this class going barefoot. The omage is undated, but we would guess about 1910. Image courtesy of the MD collection. Click on the image to learn more about their school.

Our information on going barefoot in Germany is very limited. Almost all of the information comes from an assessment of the photographic record. We note many images of younger German boys going barefoot in the early 20th century. We notice German boys going barefoot both before and after World War I, at least into the 1920s. Many boys wearing pinafore smocks at home appear barefoot. Normally it is just the younger boys. We also note some German boys going to school barefoot, but normally it is a minority. We see far fewer German boys going barefoot in the 1930s after the NAZIs seized power. We are not sure at this time how to assess this trend. Many boys went barefoot in the post-World War II era because of the collapase of the German economy. By the 1950s it becomes rare to see German boys going barefoot, although many boys wore sandals.

Chronology

Images from the 19th century commonly show German boys going barefoot. We note many images of younger German boys and girls going barefoot, especially in rural areas. We note relatively few German children going barefoot in the 20th century, except in times of economic distress, especially after World War I and II. We especially notice German boys going barefoot both before and after World War I, at least into the 1920s. We see far fewer German boys going barefoot in the 1930s after the NAZIs seized power. We are not sure at this time how to assess this trend. Many boys went barefoot in the post-World War II era because of the collapase of the German economy. By the 1950s it becomes rare to see German boys going barefoot, although many boys wore sandals.

Terminology

Barefoot in German is "barfuss".

Conventions

Many boys wearing pinafore smocks at home appear barefoot. Images from the 19th century and early 20th century suggest that some boys also went to school barefoot, mostly younger primary boys. We also note some German boys going to school barefoot, but normally it is a minority. We suspect that it was modst common in rural schools.

Age

Normally it is just the younger German boys that went barefoot. School photographs show that it was much more common for the younger children in primary schools to go barefoot. We never see children at secondary schools going barefoot.

Gender

We note both boys and girls going barefoot. We are unaware of any strong gender trends at this time, but it does seem somewhat more common for the boys to go barefoot than the girls.

Poverty

Generally speaking it was a sign of poverty. Thus we do see some children going barefoot in working-class neigborhoods and in rural areas. We note the largest number of barefoot children after World War I and World War II when economic conditions were desperate and consumer goods were scarce. (Leather was a strategic material during both wars.) Most German children wore shoes to school, but during this period large numbers of children went to school barefoot. A reader writes, "I don't think that bare feet are only a matter of poverty for German children. It is evident that poor children went barefoot more than children of middle class, and also that children living in rural areas more than children living in towns. However it seems to me that German people don't associate bare feet with poverty." We do see images of German children going to foot school barefoot beyond the two post-war periods. An example is the Merschwitz Town School in the 1930s. This is, however, rather unusual based on the photographic record.

Rural Areas

Going barefoot was also more common in rural areas. It seems to have also been somewhat more common for boys than girls. Another factor was age. It was more common for younger children to go barefoot. We almost never seen children barefoot in formal portraits.

Barefoot Parks

Germany has many barefoot-parks and many children visit them. This is a trend which began in Europe during the 1990s. It is primarily centered in Germany and Austria, although there are barefoot parks in some other countries. There are now several hundred of these parks set up. Various groups manage these parks, inclusding municipalities. The parks offer people the experience of walking barefoot for a distance. The longest walks are about 3 miles. The parks are frequented by young adults, families, school groups, and others. The walkers have the opportunity to feel natural ground and various materials with the bare soles of their feet. There is a facility at the beginning of each hike for the walkers to store their shoes and sandals in shelves and lockers. Then at the end yjere are facilities to wash their feet. Visitors enjoy various activities such as climbing and walking through streams and rivers. Many barefoot parks have special facilities for children such as playgrounds.