Figure 1.-- It is very clear that the photo comes from a rural community or small village. We now know that this was the Krieg family. A German reader tells us that the family was from Bieberswalde, a small town in the former county of Osterode/Allenstein. They were living in a farming community called Hasselhuegel. That was in East Prussia. This section of East Prussia was transferred to Poland after World War II. We would guess that it was taken in the late-1920s or early-30s. Here dating rural images is complicated because people in the country often do not wear more easily dated fashionable clothes. All three boys appear to be wearing short pants with long stockings. The tallest boy on the left seems to be a bit taller than his father who seems to be wearing plus-fours or perhaps boots. The figure on the right looks like a boy to us because of the boy's short haircut and short trousers, although he seems to be wearing a white sleeveless garment comparable to a pinafore.

It is very clear that the photo comes from a rural community or small village. We now know that this was the Krieg family. A German reader tells us that the family was from Bieberswalde, a small town in the former county of Osterode/Allenstein. They were living in a farming community called Hasselhuegel. That was in East Prussia. This section of East Prussia was transferred to Poland after World war II. We would guess that it was taken in the late-1920s or early-30s. Here dating rural images is complicated because people in the country often do not wear more easily dated fashionable clothes. All three boys appear to be wearing short pants with long stockings. The tallest boy on the left seems to be a bit taller than his father who seems to be wearing plus-fours or perhaps boots. The figure on the right looks like a boy to us because of the boy's short haircut and short trousers, although he seems to be wearing a white sleeveless garment comparable to a pinafore.

Location

We have found an interesting snapshot from rural Germany. Unfortunately we gave no information about the photograph. We think it is very clear that the photo comes from a rural community or small village even though the background clues are very limited. The steps suggest a village home. We do not know, however, just where the snapshot was taken. A German reader tells us that the family was from Bieberswalde, a small town in the former county of Osterode/Allenstein. They were living in a farming community called Hasselhuegel. That was in East Prussia. This section of East Prussia was transferred to Poland after World War II.

Chronology

Nor do we know when the snapshot was taken. We would guess that it was taken in the 1930s, but the late20s is possible. Information about the family and villages suggest that it was not the early-40s. And it was definitelt not the late-40s because ethnic Germans either evacuated at the end of World War II or were deported by the Poles after the War. Here dating rural images is complicated because people in the country often do not wear more easily dated fashionable clothes.

The Family

Nor did we know the name of the family. We have since found that the family was that of Fritz Krieg. We think the snapshot is of three children, we believe brothers, and their parents. We do not know the names of the children except that one was named Siegfried, but we know the dog's mame was Nixe. The lack of clarity makes it difficult assess the ages of the children or even the gender of the youngest child. The younger child might be a girl, here we are just not sure. We think the child is more likely a boy. We are not sure just how old the boys are. We would estimate the ages as from 8-15 years of age, although we could be off by a year or two. Readers are welcomed to send along any ideas they might have. One readers tells us that the older boy could be 16 years old. We have found another photograph of the mother, with her daughter Walli. Walli may be the younger child here, but we are not sure.

Clothing

All three boys appear to be wearing short pants with long stockings. The tallest boy on the left seems to be a bit taller than his father who seems to be wearing plus-fours or perhaps boots. One feature that is worth noticing is the ankle socks worn over long stockings, a style that was popular in rural areas for hiking and also for skiing and winter sports. Notice also that the oldest boy's long stockings are rather loosely gartered. This seems to indicate that he is not wearing a Strapsleibchen but probably a garter belt similar to the type that modern hockey players wear nowadays. We have the testimony of several German correspondents that teenage boys who wore long stockings usually were given a Strapsgurtel or garter belt with four supporters as a more adult support garment. The child on the right looks like a boy to us because of the boy's short haircut and short trousers, although he seems to be wearing a white sleeveless garment comparable to a pinafore. We see boys commonly wearing these garments in Germany during the 1920s and 30s, but not the 40s. The boy looks older than most of the boys we have noted wearing pinafores. The pinafore was worn by girls of various ages, but modtly by pre-school boys. While it is difficult to estimate the age of the younger boys here, he is clearly a school age boy.

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Created: 3:29 AM 11/18/2008
Last updated: 1:55 AM 11/20/2008