1943 – On their way to the beach, Editha Schweim (left) and her sister Inga push their strollers through the dunes of St. Peter Ording in Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Here is another photo from our family archive. It shows my aunt Editha (left) and my mother as they push their strollers through the sandy dunes of St. Peter Ording. The photo is dated summer 1943, so it must have been shot between 15th July and 26th August 1943. The family spent this period at the North Sea coast.
The reasons behind this summer vacation were far from pleasant. Back home, in Kiel, just 100 kilometers to the east, WW2 was raging and held Northern Germany – especially the larger cities – in its ugly grip. In the summer of 1943, the situation had become depressing for the people. In St. Peter Ording, however, life went on and seemed to be pretty normal. People at the beach. Beach chairs. Everything neat and tidy. Wartimes? Not there. (Which is not true by the way. There were even some air raids on St. Peter Ording.)
The tiny 6.5×6.5 cm print has an superb quality. It’s sharp and can cope with the harsh contrasts of a sunny day pretty well. The photographer (most likely my grandfather) must have been quite relaxed on that day.
It’s interesting to see the thatched roof house in the back. It was built in traditional style very close to the beach, apparently in the first row. The entrance shows the letters “DM” and the date 1914. I tried to locate this house but could not find it. St. Peter Ording has changed tremendously over the past eight decades, so this does not come as a surprise.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | Summer 1943 |
| Location | St. Peter, Germany |
| Image Source | 6.5 x 6.5 cm Print |
| 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 | 2532 x 2657 Pixels |
| Copyright | Scan © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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