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Germany began the 1960s as the most prosperous and rapidly growing country in Europe thanks to the German Economic Miracle. This could hardly be imagined by both Germans and foreigners that viewed the wrecked cities and piles of rubble after World War II. In only a little than a decade it was becoming increasingly difficult to see the devastation wreaked upon Germany during the War--at least in West Germany. (War damage was even more visible in Britain which had suffered only a fraction of the devastation visited on Germany.) And while living standards in East Germany in no way measured up to standards in the West, East German standards were well above those in the Soviet Union and other East European Soviet Satellite countries. Before World War II, most German children attended single-gender schools. The primary exception was small village primary schools. We see German schools becoming increasingly coed during the 1960s. West German children by the 1960s as a result of the booming economy were well dressed. Most boys had well appointed wardrobes with a wide variety of fashionable clothes. German boys no longer wore suits to school, but comfortable casual clothing. We still see some boys wearing short pants to school during the warmer months. This was the common pattern. Long pants were, however, becoming increasingly common even with younger boys. This varied round the country. Knee socks for boys were becoming much less common and rarely seen by the end of the decade. Girls commonly wore both knee socks and tights. During the colder months most boys wore long pants, especially by the late 1960s. Lederhosen declined in popularity as American-style jeans were increasingly popular in the 1960s. Up until the 1960s it was often possible to identify the nationality of German and many other European children from the clothes they wore. Beginning in the 1960s, especially by the late-60s, this was becoming much more difficult to do. lthough we still see schools where the boys could be identified as German.
The economy is a primary factor in how well school kinds were outfitted. Germany began the 1960s as the most prosperous and rapidly growing country in Europe thanks to the German Economic Miracle. This could hardly be imagined by both Germans and foreigners that viewed the wrecked cities and piles of rubble after World War II. In only a little more than a decade it was becoming increasingly difficult to see the devastation wreaked upon Germany during the War--at least in West Germany. (War damage was even more visible in Britain which had suffered only a fraction of the devastation visited on Germany.) And while living standards in East Germany in no way measured up to standards in the West, East German standards were well above those in the Soviet Union and other East European Soviet Satellite countries.
Before World War II, most German children attended single-gender schools. The primary exception was small village primary schools. We see German schools becoming increasingly coed during the 1960s. Primary schools had always been afforded education to girls, usually in separate classes, less so secondary education and university placements. The post war expansion of women's education included secondary schools and universities. The German secondary system was highly expanded in the 1950s. Before the War, the secondary system had very high standards and was relatively small with many more boys attended than girls. The NAZIs discouraged advancing girls to university. Their basic approach to girls and women was "Kinder, Küche, Kirche" (children, kitchen, church). They wanted children that could become soldiers for German war machine. This was reversed in post-War Germany where girls and young women flooded into secondary schools and universities.
West German children by the 1960s as a result of the booming economy were well dressed. Most boys had well appointed wardrobes with a wide variety of fashionable clothes. German boys no longer wore suits to school, but comfortable casual clothing. We still see some boys wearing short pants to school during the warmer months. This was the common pattern. Long pants were, however, becoming increasingly common even with younger boys. This varied round the country. Knee socks for boys were becoming much less common and rarely seen by the end of the decade. Girls commonly wore both knee socks and tights which had replaced long stockings in West Germany. Lederhosen declined in popularity as American-style jeans were increasingly popular in the 1960s. Up until the 1960s it was usually often possible to identify the nationality of German and many other European children from the clothes they wore. Beginning in the 1960s, especially by the late-60s, this was becoming much more difficult to do. Although we still see schools where the boys could be identified as German. Girls continued wearing mostly dresses.
During the colder months most boys were weering long pants, especially by the late 1960s. German boys used to wear short pants all year long. This seasonal pattern began to change in the 1950s and largely become established, especially by the late 60s, although we do still see some exceptions.
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