Figure 1.--This family snapshot shows Peter Lederer at about age 8-9 years of age. It was taken in Prague about 1938-39. Peter is wearing a so-called Loden cloth jacket or overcoat for cold weather also popular in places like Bavaria. It is Peter's footwear that draws our attention.

This family snapshot shows Peter Lederer at about age 8-9 years of age. It was taken in Prague about 1938-39. This of course was not a very happy time for Czecholovakia. In fact the country was dismembered by the NAZIs. Peter's name, however, suggest he was German. Perhaps he was part of the country's German minority. Or perhaps his family came to Prague as part of the NAZI occupation. (The NAZIs occupied Prague during March 1939.) Peter is wearing a so-called Loden cloth jacket or overcoat for cold weather also popular in places like Bavaria. It is Peter's footwear that draws our attention. He also wears brown long stockings and somewhat unusual looking shoes with white tops--or are these really spats? He seems also to be wearing white short socks or anklets for keeping his feet warm. Interestingly, no hat unless he holds it behind his back (which is possible). It is probably chilly, but there is no snow on the ground. A European reader writes, "The German family name Lederer usually is Jewish. Columnist Ann Landers' real name was Ester Lederer. She was Jewish. One wonders what happened to Peter. If he was Jewish he probably did not survive the Holocaust. Few Czech Jews did and the children were especially vulnerable. If he belonged to the Aryan German minority in Prague, his family would probably have been expelled or killed by the Czechs in 1945."

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Created: 11:05 PM 7/23/2007
Last edited: 11:05 PM 7/23/2007