Personal Experiences: My German Friend and I (United States, 1940s)


Figure 1.-.

I was raised in the South. I was born in 1940. Until the end of that decade, the old custom of dressing boys in short pants was still a vogue to be seen where I lived, though it was by then a rapidly disappearing fashion. My mother prefered me in short pants, especially the shorter style that younger boys wore at time. I didn't mind although I began to feel a little self-conscious as I got older. When I was 10 a boy from Germany came to my school, being of a war refugee family who were what then was ignominiously called "D.P.'s" (Displaced Persons). His folks were quite traditional and this resulted in his being dressed in lederhosen of the briefly cuffed style, this fashion still being the customary dress for German boys then.

1940s Boys' Attire

As for most boys where I was then, long jeans, tee-shirts and sneakers were the common daily attire; with jackets, caps, etc., for cold days. We were not in a upper-class community so dress-up clothes were uncommon; at most a simple cheap suit (often worn without a tie), with shorts (for little boys in the 1940s) and long pants for older boys regardless. I never remember seeing any one wearing knickers. Suits were worn only for special occasions, like a wedding or funeral.

My Clothes

I was raised in the South, where I was born in 1940. Living in the deep South, it rarely ever got cold enough to freeze where we lived. Until the end of that decade, the old custom of dressing boys in short pants was still a vogue to be seen where I lived, though it was by then a rapidly disappearing fashion. My mother prefered me in short pants, especially the shorter style that younger boys wore at time. I didn't mind although I began to feel a little self-conscious as I got older. The regular shorts I wore when small were of orinary materials; corduroy being the most common. I stopped wearing shorts as regular daily attire after I began 1st grade due to the then developing attitude among us boys that shorts on males was only for baby boys. I nonetheless still continued to wear them as casual dress after school and for play. As mentioned above, suits as such were rarely worn by boys then in my social circle; something one would only have a need for maybe a couple of times a year. I did have a plain ensemble of navy blue jacket and long trousers.

Scouting

I never belonged to any Scouting organization or program. However, those that did would wear their uniforms on "Scouting Days," although the short pants version was almost never seen then where we were.

Rudy

When I was 10 a boy from Germany came to my school, being of a war refugee family who were what then was ignominiously called "D.P.'s" (Displaced Persons). His name was Rudy and his folks were quite traditional. This resulted in his being dressed in lederhosen of the briefly cuffed style, this fashion still being the customary dress for German boys then. Some times he would wear them with kneesocks, particularly on brisk days--but as we lived in the South there wasn't a lot of cold weather. Rudy's kneesocks were gray wool ones. Most of the time he just wore ankle socks; usually white or gray. At first he wore hiking-style boots, but as for myself and other boys, he soon adopted the old-style high-top black sneekers that were the standard footware for American boys there then.

When Rudy first appeared at school in his lederhosen, he became an instant center of curious attention for everyone. While some boys at school made sarcastic remarks about his funky leather short shorts, I thought they were really "neat." As to girls' comments, some did giggle & tease, of course, but more often than not their reactions were intrigued ones of laudatory expression.

The teachers said little. I suppose because they felt it would be impolite, and, anyway, probably thought his family would soon become Americanized and he'd be in long pants jeans like the other boys in due course. A couple of teachers made an educational point of it, explaining how lederhosen was the traditional costume for German boys, etc., and so was something to respect and admire. When Rudy continued wearing lederhosen (and I started to wear mine, some teachers and the principal did question us and our parents about it. Ours was, however, a regular public school for middle-class worker families. Neither uniforms or a dress code per se was policy. The matter of how parents dressed their children was legally their choice (within the limits of decency and adequacy). So what little issue there was over this was dropped.

Friends

Rudy and I became close friends. This was no doubt aided by the fact that our mothers got on well together.

My Lederhosen

Rudy's mother gave me a pair of his lederhosen to wear. I instantly loved them; as for him, the sense of freedom they gave was invigorating. I even began wearing them to school, too. Rudy and I got teased a lot at first, but when it became obvious we were not going to let this bother us, it stopped for the most part. Like my friend, I just ignored the teasing this provoked. Our lederhosen were pliable grayish leather with a two button front flap fly & both belt loops & suspender fitment buttons. The fitment buttons on lederhosen are the outside buttons front & back at the waist to which the suspnders/halter would be attached. The lederhosen same with a suspender/halter affair, however, that would have attracted even more teasing. Rudy sometimes did when his mother insisted, especially in the first year or so. The lederhosen themselves were the briefly cuffed style of lederhosen, which, if I remember right, were called "seppelhose". Both of our mothers thought we looked "cute" in these outfits. (Which we probably did.) They encouraged us to wear our lederhosen. And so we doned our lederhosen quite a bit, weather permitting. Looking back, I think are the ideal type of pants for boys due to their smart practical design & virtually indestructable material.






Christopher Wagner






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Created: October 3, 2002
Last updated: October 3, 2002