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Benedicte Courtin

Born 10 Jun 1964

4 facts1 source

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 10 Jun 1964

    Born

During her lifetime

She has lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1960s · Benedicte is born

In the news1961

Berlin Wall separates nation in 1961

The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 ended free movement from East Germany and created a death strip that separated families for decades.

Getting around

Affordable holiday travel in the 1950s

In 1954, vacationers could book bus trips to various German destinations, such as a Rhine cruise for 55 DM or a trip to the Black Forest for 90 DM. Many travelers saved up throughout the year for these annual holidays, and the majority typically did not travel more than 500 kilometers from their home.

Work

The Exhausting Sleep Sunday

Steel workers facing relentless cycles of night and Sunday shifts coined their limited time off as Schlafsonntag, or sleep Sunday, to describe the exhaustion following their rotating schedules.

People walk on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, watched live on television by some 600 million people.Around the world · 1969

People walk on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, watched live on television by some 600 million people.

Neil A. Armstrong · public domain

What people wore

Sunday Best for Children

Sundays were special, and children wore their best clothes, including starched aprons and prized white patent leather shoes. Because these shoes were expensive, they were often reused even if they did not fit perfectly.

Music

Rare records and fragile needles

Shellac records were so rare that customers had to trade in an old disc when buying a new one. The needles used to play them often wore out after only two or three uses.

Daily life

Difficult conditions for school children

Classrooms were frequently overcrowded, with up to 60 children per class, and students often used slates and dip pens instead of paper. Many children faced interruptions to their schooling during winter months when classrooms could not be heated due to severe fuel shortages.