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We notice a German TV progrm recreating life in an old 1900 house. They used an actual family (not actors)--the Weber family. The family lived in a real 1900 house for 2 months. For some reason the program is set in 1906. I am not sure why they chose such a specific year. Before they arrived, the house was rennovated to take out all items like appliances and other technologies which appeared after 1906. A German reader tells us, "I found 'Gutshaus 1900' fascinating. I loved to watch the different programs of the series. Because "Gutshaus 1900" was a success, they now are beginning to producea new show set in the 1920s." The family had six children: Drillinge Hennig-Ludwig, Thore-Frederik und Enno-Philipp (twins--14 tears old), Rickmer-Sören (13) und die Zwillinge Lennart-Eike (10) und Ansgar-Erik (10). I haven't seen the program and can't fully comment on the accuracy of the costuming. The sailor suits two of the boys wear, however, do not seem quite right. The program format is similar to that used in America, Britain, and Canada. The programs focus on how modern families cope with living in earlier periods.
We notice a German TV progrm recreating life in an old 1900 house. The program format is similar to that used in America, Britain, and Canada. The programs focus on how modern families cope with living in earlier periods.
The producers used an actual family (not actors)--the Weber family. The father was a medical doctor. The family lived in a real 1900 house for 2 months. The family had six children: Drillinge Hennig-Ludwig, Thore-Frederik and Enno-Philipp (triplets--14 tears old), Rickmer-Sören (13) and die Zwillinge Lennart-Eike (10) and Ansgar-Erik (10). I'm not sure why this family was chosen. Presumably they wanted a large family, like one a well-to-do man might have at the turn-of-the 20th century. It just so happened that the family they picked was all boys.
It probably was not easy to find a family such large (but typical for 1900), well educated and willing to live in the Gutshaus.
The family depicted is a wealthy family living on a country estate. The father was the lord of the manor. Many wealthy families had country estates, but often did not live there. They commonly lived in citites, sometimes even Berlin. This family lived on the estate. I think this was less common than living in the city and having an estate manager, but for dramatic depiction it made for better television. The Gutshaus is the mannor house on their estate.
The title of the program is "Gutshaus 1900". For some reason the program is set in 1906. I am not sure why they chose such a specific year.
Before they arrived, the house was rennovated to take out all items like appliances and other technologies which appeared after 1906. Not having seen the program and not speaking German rather complicates our assessment of this program. The house was quite large. A German reader has, however, provided some insights. Apparently the house was actually a kind og German version of an English country mannor house. A German reader writes, "In Northern Germany and in the East (e.g. in Pommern, now in Poland) there were rather big farm properties with a noble “Gutsherr” (landowner) as the owner, a “Junker” as they were often named. The family often lived in a big city, e.g., in Berlin. During the summer or for some special events the family returned to their country estate, housing at the “Gutshaus”. A farm administrator was permanently living in the “Gut” and supervising the farm hands and the servants working in the farm. Of course, there were also other (free) people, doctors, priests etc. living around and looking for some farms.
The classroom in the house confused us. The younger boys were apparently educated at home. From what I know about Germany, this was not very common except for the very rich. I wondered about one matter. I know the very rich and the aristocracy educated boys at hime. Professional people even quite successful ones it seems to me would have sent boys to school and mostly state schools. Unlike England it was not common to send boys to private school. There were some private schools. In some cases the children of rich parents were sent there because they could not compete academically in the state schools. I am not at all sure that a successful doctor would educate boys of school age at home, even the younger ones. A German reader explains what was probably being illustrated in the program. "The local school was presumably for the children of the farm hands and the servants. Thus it was a local state school on a low level. Many of the children attending may even have spoken Polish. Educated families, even if they were not of the noble group, had private higher school teachers, as the distance to a bigger town with a gymnasium or so was out of reach for daily attendance. They may be living in similar big houses looking similar to a “Gutshaus” with “Gesinde” (household people)." Another German reader points out, "In the class room-still the inscription “Der erste Tag” on the black board in Latin letters certainly is incorrect. At the beginning of the 20th century, initial writing in German schools was always done in German letters (similar to the Sütterlin writing); you find this in many photos of school children with the sugar cone for the first day in school."
A German reader tells us, "I found 'Gutshaus 1900' fascinating. I loved to watch the different programs of the series. Because "Gutshaus 1900" was a success, they now are beginning to producea new show set in the 1920s."
I haven't seen the program and can't fully comment on the accuracy of the costuming. The sailor suits two of the boys wear, however, do not seem quite right. We believe that there would have been a cap tally. More importantly, the way their middy blouses are tucked into their trousers does not look right to us. American boys would have worn blouses without tails to tuck in. Rathers American boys wore blouses that blouced out over the top of their trousers. A drawstring maintained the blousing affect. This is discussed on the blouse construction page. We are less sure about Austrian and Germany boys, but we have noted German boys wearing middky blouses that bloused iver the top of their trousers. One example is an Austrian Budapest family at about the same time. Another good example is an unidentified German family. Some of the other outfits worn by the older boys seem more correct. the older brothers wore dufferent styles of suits. We wonder, however, if all the other boys would have worn long trousers.
The program has a very detailed website. It is in German. There is no English translation, but there are some useful images.
We have noted several of these reenactment programs. I think the first was "1900 House" made in England. We have noted others made in America, Canada, and England. They have included families trying to expeience life in former days. One made in America was a boiy the pioneer experience. The British seroes was about a 1900 house and a 1940 house during World War II. A Canadian program was about Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island fishermen during the 1930s.
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