What my Father told me about his life as a student in Germany in the 1920s

My father and one of his brothers studied in Germany from 1925 to 1930. They shared a room at a widow’s place. I believe this widow provided a simple breakfast as well as a daily home-cooked simple meal.

As far as I know, my father and his brother never worked to earn some money, while they were enrolled as students at the Leipzig University. Students in Germany just were not supposed to look for jobs to earn some money. This was the American way, my father said.

So, how did these students live? The answer is, the parents were responsible for their children’s upkeep until they were ready to become employed. That meant, most students were relatively poor and could not afford any ‘luxuries’. They just struggled to survive on very simple food. One cheap supplementary food for instance was called ‘STUDENTEN FUTTER’. This was a mixture of raisins and…