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Here we see a group of German boys, probably in the nid-1920s. It appears to be a summer vacation group. They are probably staying in the house behind them. This is smaller group than others we have seen, perhaps related to the available accmodations. Notice the man in the background looking after them. He probably was a teacher.
We believe the scene here is from a Kindererholungheim (fugure 1). A Kindererholungheim was a kind of group home where the children had to take a cure. I think this was normally done during the children's summer school vacation. The idea was for the children to rest and play healthy outdoor games. It was also thought that they would learn something about the region they are staying at.
The photograph is undated, but we would guess it was taken in the mid-1920s. Some of the boys wear old-fashioned knee pants while others wear the more modern short pants which we believe dates it to the mid-20s.
The boys look to us to be about 11-12 years old. They may be from the same school class. That might be their teacher in the basckground. Clearly thee boys are enjoying football. I not sure what the sticks are, perhaps used to mark out a goal. I'm not sure why some boys are in athletic gear anbd other boys dressed up, There are no girls, but tere were comparable group homes for girls.
We do not know where in Germany the photograph was taken. The boys may have been from a big city and the home here may have been in a rural area, perhaps even close to the coast or a lake.
The photo is interesting because it shows some of the boys in athletic gear dressed for football (soccer) while others are in their regular school clothes. The variety of dress is interesting. Two of the boys are wearing suits with knee pants, open collar white shirts, and long black stockings. One boy wears a cardigan sweater instead of a suit jacket with contrasting collar and strip down the front. The boy kneeling in front at the right wears a short pants suit with knee
socks. Still another boy wears a sailor suit with white middy top and scarf, knee pants, and black long stockings. The boys dressed for play wear short pants and either knee socks or long black stockings. Some of the boys seem to be wearing white knit shirts with short sleeves
(like modern tee shirts) with their shorts, while others seem to wear long sleeve white shirts like those that they would wear with suits. Notice the two boys standing at the extreme right of the picture. One wears long black stockings with his shorts while the boy standing next to him seems to have unfastened his garters and is wearing his long stockings rolled down to the ankle. Some boys appear to have done this for greater freedom while playing sports. Presumably they would roll
the stockings back up and reattach the garters when they were ready to re-enter their classroom. One boy in the middle wears a black, or at least dark colored, short sleeved knit shirt with very long short pants (or knee pants) with his stockings also rolled down. One boy sitting
with crossed legs in the front row seems to be in bare feet. This photo represents quite a variety of dress ranging from quite formal to very informal. Note the professor standing in the back with his pupils wearing a wing collar, tie, and felt hat.
A reader writes, "Just a few thoughts on their dress. When we were playing soccer at
school, the easiest way to define the teams was, to make one side take off their shirts and the others to retain there shirts. This was at high school, although I do remember at primary school where we had nowhere to get changed into sporting gear, it was the same rule. One team would
wear all there clothing and the other team (depending on which season) would remove part of their clothing to define which was which team. In the picture, you can see the twelve boys. There are 5 in regular clothing and 7 in sporting clothing, but you can see one of them in darker colours (the one standing in the centre) that may have been part of the team who are wearing civvies. I don't think it is a question of parents not having the money for the clothing, because they all look
pretty well dressed. You can also see two of the boys holding a baton. Along with the two
balls in the picture, it indicates that they were playing a lot of sport and there style of dress may have been the only way to distinguish the teams from one another." Well I supose this is a possibility, but I don;t think the boys dressed up would have plated in those clothes, especially the boys in their suit jackets. But I do not have any better explanation to offer here.
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