Unidentified German Group (1931)

Figure 1.--These German children were photographed in 1931. About half of the children are wearing white or ligght-colored (striped) sailor suits. We are not sure what the groupo is. The age difference among the boys seems to great for a class group. Thge other boys wear mostly white shirts. The sailor suits all seem very similar, the basic choixe seenms to be whire or striped suits. A German reader writes, "My idea is that this is a youth group pictured here. In a German school class picture there is never a flag shown." We are not sure what the flag is. It looks like the Civil flag of Thuringia (white and red). We are not sure that this is a youth group, both because some of the children are younger than is normal for youth groups and there is no uniform. The bulding behind does look like a school. Thus we think this may be some sort of after school activity group, but not a class group or a formal youth group. Another reader writes, "They could go to the same school. They seem to have been in a competion because many are wearing a star-shaped badge of some kind. The older boys also have an additional badge."

These German children were photographed in 1931. About half of the children are wearing white or ligght-colored (striped) sailor suits. We are not sure what the groupo is. The age difference among the boys seems to great for a class group. Thge other boys wear mostly white shirts. The sailor suits all seem very similar, the basic choixe seenms to be whire or striped suits. A German reader writes, "My idea is that this is a youth group pictured here. In a German school class picture there is never a flag shown." We are not sure what the flag is. It looks like the Civil flag of Thuringia (white and red). We are not sure that this is a youth group, both because some of the children are younger than is normal for youth groups and there is no uniform. The bulding behind does look like a school. Thus we think this may be some sort of after school activity group, but not a class group or a formal youth group. Another reader writes, "They could go to the same school. They seem to have been in a competion because many are wearing a star-shaped badge of some kind. The older boys also have an additional badge."

Location

The flag may help locate the group. We are not sure what the flag is. It looks like the Civil flag of Thuringia (white and red). All the sailor suits (Matrosenanzügen) may also provide a clue as to location. A German reader tells us, "The sailor suits are typically for the 1930s. Children in small towns and rural villages did not wear sailor suits very commonly. They were more expensive than just a shirt and trousers which children helping with farm work usually wore. Matrosenanzüge are not the world of the farmers. It is city children that would be more likely to wear fashionable clothing like sailor suits."

Chronology

These German children, all boys, were photographed in 1931. This is really all we know for sure.

Building

The builfing to us looked spmewhat like a school. The fact that they are all boys suggest that it may be a school group. There is no real proof of this. There are other possdibilities. A German reader tells us, "The building may be the entrance to what we call 'Gemeindehaus' of a church community (in Germany usually nearby to a church there is the 'Gemeindehaus' with rooms for the church secretariat, for the Kindergarten, for a library, a meeting room etc.). The building could also be the office building of a party, a union, a club etc. Any of these possibilities may have organized activities for the children, explaining the age difference of the children."

Type of Group

We are not sure what the groupo is. The variation in ges rules out a class group. Perhaps it is an after school activity of some kind. Note that there are at least one, perhaps two women in the top role. In the 1930s exceopt for Kindergartens, we think tht most teachers, especially at a boys' school, were men. A German reader writes, "My idea is that this is a youth group pictured here. In a German school class picture there is never a flag shown." We are not sure that this is a youth group, both because some of the children are younger than is normal for youth groups and there is no uniform. The bulding behind does look like a school. Thus we think this may be some sort of after school activity group, but not a class group or a formal youth group. Another reader writes, "They could go to the same school. They seem to have been in a competion because many are wearing a star-shaped badge of some kind. The older boys also have an additional badge." Another reader writes, "The children look a happy bunch of pupils. Something special seems to be happening here but what? i like the two friends on the right holding hands. This seems to be something children that age did. There are other photographs on HBC showing street scenes with young boys walking along holding hands."

Clothing

About half of the children are wearing white or light-colored (striped) sailor suits. The sailor suits are not uniform, but a popular boy's fashion at the time.man schools at the time wrere single gender schools.The age difference among the boys seems to great for a class group. The other boys wear mostly white shirts. The sailor suits all seem very similar, the basic choice seenms to be whire or striped suits.

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Created: 2:15 AM 9/12/2011
Last updated: 4:04 AM 9/13/2011