St. Peter Ording, 1943 (III)

Mark Zanzig

1943 – Edith Schweim sits in a beach chair in St. Peter Ording in Northern Germany. She instructs Mrs. Irmgard, the nanny, on the plans for the day while the two kids of the family have fun in a childrens cart. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

The story behind the image

Here is another photo from our family archive. It shows my grandmother at the beach in St. Peter Ording in 1943 as she instructs Mrs. Irmgard, the nanny, on the plans for the day. The two kids of the family (Inga on the left, and Editha) have fun in the childrens cart.

I think this is a strange photo. Here’s why:

  • Edith looks like she has stepped out of a fashion journal. Her hair made up perfectly. Pearl earrings. A white blouse. Tanned.
  • Mrs. Irmgard holds a saucer in her hands and apparently waits for an instruction or statement by Edith who looks elsewhere, thinking.
  • Inga and Edith apparently had fun. Maybe Inga had a bit less fun because Editha was sitting on her legs – in a cart clearly designed to hold just a single kid.
  • The tiny 6.5×6.5 cm print has an exceptional quality. It’s super sharp and can cope with the harsh contrasts of a sunny day pretty well. The photographer (my grandfather) must have been quite relaxed on that day. 🙂
  • And all this while WW2 was raging and held Northern Germany – especially the larger cities like Kiel – in its ugly grip. In the summer of 1943, the situation had become depressing for the people. Yet, just 100 kilometers in the west, in St. Peter Ording, life went on, pretty normal. People at the beach. Beach chairs. Everything neat and tidy. Wartimes? Not there.

Weird.

The high resolution image

Capture DateSummer 1943
LocationSt. Peter, Germany
Image Source6.5 x 6.5 cm Print
Digital Image SourceEPSON Perfection 4870 Photo
Digital Image Source FormatTIFF, 48 bits/pixel, AdobeRGB
Edited Image FormatJPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image Dimensions2409 x 2409 Pixels
CopyrightScan © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

Zanzig.com shows images of the period from 1933 to 1945 only for the purposes of education, the defense against unconstitutional and anti-constitutional efforts, scientific, genealogic and art historical research, reporting on relevant current events, military history, and uniform research. By accessing this page you agree to use the images only for historical or scientific purposes for the reasons mentioned above and to not use them for propaganda purposes in any way, especially within the meaning of German § 86a StGB.

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