Figure 1.--Here we see the boys along the Rhine River. This is Cologne, easily recognizable because of the famous Cathedral--the Kölner Dom. Note the HJ knives that several boys have. For many this was a prised possession. The caption read, "Der Kölner Dom" meaning "Cologne Cathedral".

We see a number of photographs of the boys at various sites along the Rhine River. The Rhine has a magical image among Germans, especialy Germans during the NAZI era. We are not sure just where these sites were. We think some may have been taken at Cologne / Köln. Cologne is Germany's fourth largest city and the most important in the Rhineland. It was a major industrial city, located south of the Ruhr The Ruhr was the heart of Germany's iron and coal industries. Cologne is a city of considerable historical importance, one of the earlist cities in Germany. It was founded by the Romans (30 AD). The city is dominated by its famous Cathedral--the Kölner Dom. The Kölner Dom is one of the most important clerical catholic centres in Germany. The Cologne Cathedral is officially the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the most important monument of German Christianity. It is a prime example of Gothic architecture. Construction began in the medieval era (1248). but was not entirely completed until modern times (1880). It was for centuries the tallest structure in the world, only eclipsed with the contruction of the Eifel Yower in Paris. Thus photographs of the city are relatively easy to recognize. At the end of Workd War II, the Cathedral was virtually all that was left of the central city. The University of Cologne is one of Europe's oldest universities and has an esppecially respected department of economics.