UNDATED – The public beach of Malente-Gremsmühlen in Germany, photographed in the 1940s. Photo: Carl Ernst Johst (1888-1968)
The story behind the image
A couple of days ago I shared an image from the family archive that had been taken in summer 1944 at the public beach in Malente-Gremsmühlen, Germany. While the entire series in the archive consists of 16 images (!) there is not a single image showing the complete beach.
So I searched for a decent postcard and found this excellent one by the local photographer Carl Ernst Johst. Sadly, the postcard is undated.
What struck me first is the appearance of the beach. It is all clean and well maintained. The building had been apparently renovated and upgraded. There are three traditional Strandkörbe – beach chairs as they are common both at the German North Sea coast and at the German Baltic Sea coast.
The mood of the visitors appears to be very good. The photo had been taken from the high tower that could be used for jumps into the lake.
The upgrades to the beach and building, and the generally good mood, lead me to the assumption that this photo was shot post-war, probably between 1946 and 1949 to reflect the restarting of the (important) tourist industry in the town.
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The Photographer
At least since around 1911, Carl Ernst Johst owned a book- and paperstore in Malente which included selling postcards. He also published his own collection of regional postcards. He was born on 23rd December 1888 in Frankenberg (district Chemnitz, Germany) and married his wife Wilhelmine Bertha Meta Schmidt on the 13th November 1907 in Gleicherwiesen (district Thüringen, Germany) where Meta was born on the 21st December 1882.
They had (at least) two children:
- Carl Ernst Wilhelm, born on 15th September 1910 in Meldorf, baptized 25th May 1911 in Malente. Sadly, he died as a kid on the 6th June 1917 in a hospital in Kiel.
- Otto Hugo Walter, born 13th March 1913 in Malente. He had been the designated junior manager of the bookstore and intended to take over the business from his father but died as a soldier on the 27th April 1942 in Welish (Russia).
Meta survived the war and died in September 1957 in Malente, aged 74 years.
Carl Ernst Johst died 56 years ago, on the 7th August 1968, in Eutin in Germany at the age of 85 years. He and his work will be remembered forever.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1946 |
| Photographer | Carl Ernst Johst |
| Location | Eutin, Germany |
| Image Source | 14 x 9 cm postcard |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 6457 x 4234 Pixels |
| Copyright | © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Carl Ernst Johst |
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