Figure 1.--This is the Bizerte Maternelle. The photograph was taken in 1942. The girls wear little dresses. The boys wear mostly short pants outfits. One boy wears a romper suit and three boys wear smocks, although it is a bit difficult to tell. Click on the image to see the rest of the class. |
Here we have a photograph of a maternelle which means a nursery school. This Maternelle is a public school. Notice that the woman isn't a nun but a secular teacher. Unlike Germany, Austria, and other countries, the maternelle (nursery school/Kindergarden) in France and French colonies were public institutions alike primary with their rules. Often a maternelle was attached to a primary school rather than operated by itself. We are not sure about this one. French schools were normally gender specific. It was common, however, for both boys and girls to be together in maternelles. Nor or we sure about the name of school. We do not know if the name was Bizerte Maternelle or simply was a maternelle located in Bizerte. Actually it may have been located in Ferryville, a suburb of Bizerte. A maternelle took care of children through age 5 after which they began primary school with Cours Préparatoire (CP) at age 6. Here we have a view of the school during World War II in 1942. The war reached Tunisia in November 1942 when the Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria (November 1942). The Tunisian ports (Bizerte and Tunis) becme a major military objective. The children look so safe and peaceful here, it is difficult to imagine that at the time this photograph was taken, massive armies would soon be launching major military campaigns to seize their city. The girls wear little dresses. A French reader tells us, "These children have realy the looks of French children during the 1940s. The boys wear mostly short pants outfits. One boy wears a romper suit and another wears a smock.
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