Hildegard Peters

What people wore

Four Sets of Traditional Clothes

People traditionally owned four sets of clothes: daily workwear, clothes for ordinary feast days, Sunday attire, and special outfits for high religious holidays. Many people were even buried in their wedding suit, which served as their formal holiday attire.

Daily life

Teaching Eight Grades in One Room

Teachers in one-room schools managed 28 students across 8 grades simultaneously, requiring them to organize four groups that cycled between 15 minutes of direct instruction and 45 minutes of independent work. To ensure lessons were manageable, subjects like history and nature study were taught on a rotating cycle spread over two to three years.

What it cost

Jeep driving jobs were highly desired

In 1946, a jeep driver for the American Army was one of the most sought-after jobs in Vienna, paying 5.25 dollars for a 50-hour week and including one meal a day.

Music

Traditional Austrian Folk Instruments

Traditional musical instruments used in regional Austrian folk music included violins, harps, zithers, dulcimers, wind instruments, and the diatonic button-key accordion known as the Styrian harmonica.

At the table

Weak coffee in post-war Austria

In the immediate post-war years, Austrians drank Blümchenkaffee, which was so weak that one could see the floral patterns on the bottom of the cup through the liquid.

Work

Working for the American Army

In the mid-1940s, a highly sought-after job was driving jeeps for the American Army, which paid five dollars and a quarter for a 50-hour work week and included a meal without needing ration points.