Interviews and Project Findings:
Housing in Mülheim

"Q: How did families live?

A: The flats were small and cramped; usually there were only two rooms. The toilets were in the yard and couldn't be flushed. There was only cold running water. There was no electric light, only petroleum lamps. Animals were kept not as pets but to breed and use them.

Q: What about the furniture?

A: There was very little: a cupboard, a coal stove, later a gas stove, a bed for two persons, and the children had to sleep in the bedroom, too.

Q: What was the rent?

A: You paid 36 Marks (= € 18) a month for three rooms."



"In the flats often more people lived than today. Often the flats didn't have their own toilets. They was often one toilet for the whole storey or they were in the yard. This is an example to show that the flats were often much simpler than today."



"In the old days, sanitary facilities were inferior and left much to be desired. In general there was a shortage of many things that are seen as a matter of course these days. Furniture, for example, was limited to what was absolutely necessary. Safety in the home was also neglected. The space you had was small; people had to make room for others. There were no high-rise block of flats; usually you rented a flat in a workers' estate."