Figure 1.-- This shots shows one of the boys wearing short pants, long stockings, a winter jacket, and cap as a bicyclist. The clothing seems reasonably accurate, but we thought that the bike did not seem as accurate. Few workingclass boys at the time had a bike. A German reader tells us it was probably his mother's bike. And if you look close it is a girl's/woman's bike.

This shots shows one of the boys wearing short pants, long stockings, a winter jacket, and cap as a bicyclist. The clothing seems reasonably accurate, but we thought that the bike did not seem as accurate. Few workingclass boys at the time would have had bicycles. A German reader provides some insight. "You wrote in the caption of the image: 'The clothing seems reasonably accurate, but not the bike. Few workingclass boys at the time had bicycles.' I agree with the first part. But have a comment as to the second part about the bike. Shown is a typical woman's bicycle used in Germany during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. The lowered, curved rack with two reinforcements for stability, the front-wheel-brake with a handle at the right side of the steering gear, the bell mounted above the gear, the luggage carrier behind, the net over the back wheel (so woman´s skirts are not caught in the wheel). This was a typical bike for girls and women, and given the context of the movie was probably belonged to the boy´s mother. You may even see the brand sign mounted at the front of the mud guard around the front wheel, similar to a jumping leopard; there is no light at the front side, but there is an accessoiry clip for a carbid lamp. You are right, workingclass kids would not have had a bike for themselves at the time. They might, however, use their parents' bike. That is what we see here. Here father was at work and probably used a bike to get there. So only mother´s bike was available in the afternoon when after school friends met up. Which is why he has a woman's bike. The bike is thus an accurate depiction, it just did not belong to the boy. He is only using his mother's bike. Please look also at the pictoresque wrought iron forged fence." A reader adds, "You mention the elaborate wrought iron fence. I think this is a scene where one of the working-class boys is visiting another boy from a much more upscale part of Berlin--part of the class-conflict theme of the film. The two boys become friends but they are from opposite sides of the track, so to speak."