Figure 1.--Here we see a Germany family which appears to have hd a photograph taken in their backyard. Unfortunately the family is unidentified. We do know that the photograph was taken during 1920. There are eight children. Curiously the children seem to all be about the same age. We would say that they range from about 10-16 years of age. We suspect that their masy be some twins. We believe that this was a prosperous middle-class family. Both the parents and children are well dressed. Note that several of the boys wear sailor suits, a very popular style for middle-class German families.

We have collected images from several German families during the 1920s. Yonger boys might wear button-on styles. We note that sailor suits wee still very popular, especially for middle-class families. The sailor suit styles were much more traditional thann the variety of styles noted before World War I. We note boys wearing the new sports collars as early as 1920. We also note that kneepants were gradually giving way to short pants. We notice H-bar shorts for younger boys. Long stockings were still very common, but mny boys were also wearing kneesocks. High-top shoes were still common, but we see some boys wearing strap shoes. The girls all wear dresses. We note several girls with pigtails. Boys have short hair cuts, but the very short-cropped styles common in the early 20th century were somewhat less common in the 1920s.

Middle Class Family (1920)

Here we see a Germany family which appears to have hd a photograph taken in their backyard. Unfortunately the family is unidentified. We do know that the photograph was taken during 1920. There are eight children. Curiously the children seem to all be about the same age. We would say that they range from about 10-16 years of age. We suspect that their masy be some twins. We believe that this was a prosperous middle-class family. Both the parents and children are well dressed. Note that several of the boys wear sailor suits, a very popular style for middle-class German families. Note the boy at the far left. He is not wearing a sailor suit, but either had one or just stopped wear one. Note the sailor dickey. Also note te sports collars that some of the boys wear. The girls wear dresses. Pinafores are still worn, but not as commonly as in the 1910s. Note one girl wears a pinafore over her dress.Notice one of the firls who has braids and pigtails.

Rosemarie's Family (1920s)

Album1900 has prepared a lovely collection of images of a Germasn family in the 1920s. The collection focused on a new baby--Rosemarie. As Rosmarie groiws up we see her brother, parents, extended family and friends. Album1900 tells us, "Rosmarie's Album invites us to a journey through the 1920ies. The Album is filled with about 160 pictures and lovely poems written probably by her Mum. About 60 of these pictures were chosen to be presented in this exhibition. The album tells us that Rosmarie was probably born in Dezember 1922 somewhere in southern Germany, maybe in the Bavarian town Hof. We can see Rosmarie growing up starting with pictures from Christmas 1922. The journey ends with a picture from Christmas 1929. So we get an idea about family life, toys, fashion, holiday and much more of a time 80 years ago."

Middle Class Family (1920s)

We know nothing about this family portrait except that it is German. It is not dated, but looks to us to have been taken in the 1920s. The white margin on the snapshot clearly indicates the photograph was taken after Workd War I. The boy's sailor suit is difficult to date, but the girl's dress lloks like the late 1920s to us. There are two boys. The younger boys wears a button on blouse and kneepants. The older boys wears a traditional summer sailor suit, but with dark long stockings. The family looks like a prosperous middle-class family. We have no idea where in German the photograoh was taken. The photograph provides an interesting look at a backyard. The home in the background shows that they lived in a nice neighborhood.

Middle Class Family (1920s)

We know nothing about this family portrait except that it is German (figure 1). It is not dated, but looks to us to have been taken in the 1920s. A boy might have worn a sailor suit like this in the 1910s. Notice the kneepants rather than short pants. His parents clothes look like post-World War I clothes to us. The family looks like a prosperous middle-class family. We have no idea where in German the photograoh was taken. The photogrph has a white border suggesting a post-World War I snapshot, but the pose and background look like a professional portrait. Notice the small size of the family. Declining birth rates was an issue that the NAZIs wrestled with when they seized power in the 1930s. Notice the small size of the family. Declining birth rates was an issue that the NAZIs wrestled with when they seized power in the 1930s.

Middle Class Family (1920s)

Here we have a substantial middle-class family. We would guess from the clothing which was not elegant, that they were a family in comfortable, but not affluent circumstance. Unfortunately the snapshot portrait is unidentified. Thus we do not know where they lived or their name. We would guess the photograph was taken in the 1920s. There were four boys and a girl along with grandfather. The two older boys wear short pants suits with sports collars and short pants with long stockings. It does not seem to be particularly cold. So the long stockings do not seem to be worn for warmth. They are somewhat lighter colots than the black long stockings commonly worn before World war I. The younger boy has a short pants suit with a Peter Pan collar. Unlike his older brothers, he wears kneesocks.

Sisters (1920s)

Here we see four German sisters. I'm not sure if there were any brothers in the family. Nor do we know yet just where in Germany they lived. The family snapshor is interesting because it shows several important fashion trends. Two of the girls wear white hair bows. They all wear light-colored dresses. There hosiery differs, but all have white hosiery. They all wear black strap shoes. We are unsure to what extent the clothing variations are age related. Some of the clothing here was also worn by boys, especilly the white hisery and strap shoes. We suspect that because these styles were so popular with girls, they became less popular with boys.

Father and Son (late 1920s)

Here we see a German boy at home with his father during the late 1920s or early 30s. We are not at all sure about the radiator in the rear. The boy wears a traditionally styled sailor suit, a very popular style in Germany at the time. Note how the boy's sailor scarfe is tied. This tight tie and white string was the most common approach. Many images archived on HBC are interesting, but some are especially poignent. It is often not exactly clear to me just why some of these images are especially powerful images. The snapshot here is one of those images. I think it captures the atmosphere of a German middle-class family.

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Created: 8:28 PM 6/25/2005
Last updated: 10:14 PM 3/16/2006