Figure 1.-- rather charming domestic scene in 1936 Germany--Mother washing dishes with her two children, approximately 8 and 10, helping to dry the dishes. I wonder if this could have been a progaganda photo to show how happy family life was under the Nazi Third Reich. It seems almost too good to be true. But the clothes of the children are very accurate, historically speaking.

Here we have a rather charming domestic scene in 1936 Germany--Mother washing dishes with her two children, approximately 8 and 10, helping to dry the dishes. A reader writes, "I wonder if this could have been a propaganda photo to show how happy family life was under the Nazi Third Reich." It seems almost too good to be true, a kind of photograph that might have been taken for a magazine. But the clothes of the children are very accurate, historically speaking.

The Photograph

Here we have a rather charming domestic scene in 1936 Germany--Mother washing dishes with her two children, approximately 8 and 10, helping to dry the dishes. We are not sure who took the photograph. It may be a family snapshot. Or it may be some kind of magazine photograph. It seems rathr well posed for a family snapshot.

Propaganda

A reader writes, "I wonder if this could have been a propaganda photo to show how happy family life was under the Nazi Third Reich." It seems almost too good to be true, a kind of photograph that might have been taken for a magazine. But the clothes of the children are very accurate, historically speaking. A German reader writes, "Of course, it may have been "propaganda". It may have been just a family photo, too, to be send to grandma, how nice the grandchildren help mother in the kitchen, showing some new clothes which the kids got as a gift at Xmas. Who still knows? Not all German life in the 30s was related to the Nazis. I think it is too much honour for them to be involved with children at home! The scene, the clothing, and the activities certainly are very accurate. Let it be what it is, a nice photo of family life with two innocent children. "

Clothing

The boy wears suspender short pants, long brown stockings, obviously held up with a Leibchen and Strumpfhalter (bodice and garters), and what look like sandals. He seems to be wearing a checked shirt that buttons only half-way down his chest with a white shirt underneath of which only the white collar is visible. I'm not sure I've ever seen before this wearing of two shirts--a white one underneath a patterned one. At first I thought the shirt just had a white collar, but we can see the patterned collar underneath the white collar, so there must be two shirts. Is the boy protecting his white shirt by wearing a colored shirt on top? The girl wears a pinafore over a dark blouse and the same kind of dark brown stockings as her younger brother.

Hair Cuts

Notice the very short hair cut with bangs. (The British would call this a short back and sides.) Notice the girl's blond hair in pigtails, a common German style. The kitchen seems to be typical of a middle-class German home in 1936.

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Created: 8:23 AM 7/14/2006
Last updated: 8:23 AM 7/14/2006