Figure 1.--Here we see a German family in the late 30s or early 40s. We know it is during the World War II era beczuse of the soldier in the background. The younger boy looks to be about 5 years old. He wears H-bar romper pants. The image here tells us a good deal about German summer clothes at the time.

Family snapshots provide some glimeses of a summer being enjoyed by an unidentified German family. The psnapshots are unidentified, but it looks to us like they were taken in the mid-1930s, although the late-30s/early 40s is quite possible. The photographs give a good idea as to how German children dressed during the 1930s. We see boys wearing short pants, Lederhosen, and rompers. Girls wore light-weight dresses. The boys wore a kind ofcasual strap shoe. The Lederhosen suggest they may have lived in Bavaria. Lederhosen at the time were primarily worn in Bavaria.

Summer Scene

Family snapshots provide some glimeses of a summer being enjoyed by an unidentified German family. >nr>

Family

The family here is unidentified. One member is an army officer so we would guess that this is a comfortable moddle-class family.

Location

There is no indication as to the location. The Lederhosen suggest they may have klived in Bavaria. Lederhosen at the time were primarily worn in Bavaria.

Chronology

The psnapshots are undated, but it looks to us like they were taken in the mid-1930s, although the late-30s/early 40s is quite possible. This is not an easy image to date mpre specifically than the 1930s or perhaps early 40s. There are three factors which it seems to us suggest the mid-1930s. The first is the man here wearing a military uniform. This it seems to us helps date the scene to the mid-30s or later. The NAZIs after seizing power (1933). One major element of the NAZI program was to elarge the military. The prestige of military service increased. Thus we see more men in unifom during the mid- and late-30s, even before World War II. The boys are wearing a kind of light strap shoe. This was a style worn during the summer for play. We notice ii in the 1920s and early/mid-30s, but less so during thelate 30s. Although an exception might be at family gatherings. This was seen as a girls or little boys style thus this style of shoe declined in the late 30s in the ultra-masucline atmosphere promoted by the NAZIs. The rompers it seems to us are a style that becme popular in Germany furing the late 30s abd early 40s. Combining these elements, it seems to us that the mid to late 30s is a good estimate as to when this snap shot was tken, alhthoug this is just a guess.
Clothing

The photographs give a good idea as to how German children dressed during the summer in the 1930s. While the boys are dressed differently, they all seem to be wearing similar white shirts. We see the boys wearing short pants, Lederhosen, and rompers. Here the youngest boys wore romper pants. All the boys wore short pants. One boy wears Lederhosen. The older boy wears black shorts, perhaps Hitler Youth shorts although he does not seem to be wearing a HJ belt buckle. Note thar two of the boys are wearing heavy knee socks even in the warm weather. Girls wore light-weight sun dresses. It was still expected that girls should wear dresses, not shorts or trousers. The boys wore a kind of casual strap shoe. We see this shoe being worn quite a bit. We are not sure about the construction. I think it had a shoe-like sole, but the body seems very pliavle. Perhaps it was canvas or a very soft leather. I am not sure what these shoes would have been called in German.

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Created: 11:49 PM 8/1/2007
Last updated: 11:49 PM 8/1/2007