Interviews and Project Findings:
Schools in Mülheim

"The school system was similar to today's. But the children had to go to school for only 8 years. After that most of them started learning a trade. Unlike today, the teachers were very strict. If you didn't pay attention you got severely punished. That's why the children had got respect for parents and other persons."


"The complete school time and school days were shorter than today. Most schools were destroyed in war so there was often no school building. After school everybody got an apprenticeship for a job. After the apprenticeship you became a skilled worker. After seven years as a skilled worker you were able to become a foreman. If you were a foreman you were allowed to teach apprentices."


"In the "Volksschule" (a combination of primary and secondary modern school) there was still a lot of caning. The Protestants and the Catholics were separated. Realschulen (schools for kids of average ability) were called Mittelschule; later the girls went to a Lyzeum (grammar school for girls) and the boys to a Gymnasium (grammar school for boys). There were also Berufsschulen (vocational schools)."


"German, Religious Education and Arithmetics were taught; for the boys, there was Maths proper in addition, and needlework for the girls. There were eight years of school."


"Space in the school buildings was limited, like in houses. The normal Volksschule taught you reading, writing and maths. It was a privilege to go on the Gymnasium and to university. The teaching methods have changed a great deal; you have to decide for yourself whether for the better or for the worse. Compulsory education was for 8 years; after Volksschule, at 14, you entered an apprenticeship."