Archives 1956-1957
11th year of the school’s existence
On Monday, October 21, 1946, a new American high school opened. It was one of six high schools that opened in the fall of 1946, not in the United States, but in Germany. This high school was in a small town approximately 15.5 miles north of Nürnberg, one of Germany’s most historic cities. It was called ErlangenAmericanHigh School.
A year later, on Monday, September 6, 1947, this American high school opened its doors as NürnbergAmericanHigh School, in a new location, 19 Tannenstrasse in Fürth, a town approximately 6.5 miles from the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof. The school was to remain at this address for five and one-half years.
The sixth year of the school’s existence was begun in the old school on Tannenstrasse, but the students, on January 3, 1952, moved into a brand new American school at 30 Fronmüllerstrasse in Fürth.
The doors of NHS were to remain open at this new address until the school closed in 1995, after 49 years. In 1995 thousands of NürnbergHigh School alumni had to face the fact that their school was gone. But it lived on in their memory, and these alumni have bonded together to preserve their high school friendships and their memories through the Nürnberg Alumni Association.
The students of the 1956-57 school year, the eleventh year of the school’s existence, were the fifth to spend their year in the new building on Fronmüllerstrasse. The new school building had come about as a result of the change in Germany’s status as an occupied territory. In 1952 the allied forces went from armies of occupation to co-partners with the Germans in defending the West. On May 5, 1955, West Germany became a sovereign state and immediately joined NATO.
The 1956-57 school year is believed to be the first year that students had the chance to attend a Career Day. Activities during the year included a Sadie Hawkins day and dance, much appreciated music programs directed by Mrs. Rita Bullock, the school carnival, Dutch Treet week, the AFN radio program, and, of course, the Junior-Senior Prom.
Still one of the smaller schools in USAREUR, NHS did not have a banner year in sports as the football team finished fifth in a seven team field. The basketball team won one game and lost 14. An exception to this dismal record was baseball. When USAREUR dropped baseball as a high school sport, some NHS athletes put together a team called the Black Knights, sponsored by the Nürnberg AYA. In the summer of 1957 this team won the Southern Area Command tournament.
In the files that are linked to from this page, you can read an attempt to preserve the history and memories of the 1956-57 school year. Special thanks to Larry Shuman,’57, Ethel (Walske) Lapitan,’58, and Pat (McCarroll) Wood, ’59, for help in providing so many historical items and photos.
If you find anything here that you believe to be historically inaccurate or know of something that can be added to these files, please contact me.
Bob McQuitty, NAA historian/archivist