Archives 1958-1959
The 13th 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 opened in a small town approximately 15.5 miles north of Nürnberg, one of Germany’s most historic cities. It was called Erlangen American High 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 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.
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 1958-59 school year, the thirteenth year of the school’s existence, saw the Cold War heat up as Kruschchev came to power in Russia. But they did not let international events keep them from their usual high school activities. The football team had a winning season (W 3, L 2) while the basketball team had an unlucky season, losing four games by one point. There were the usual school dances, but some dances were poorly attended, and some students were less than enthusiastic about them. However, over 200 attended the traditional Junior-Senior Prom. Enrollment was continuing to climb, with 44 graduating seniors, twice as many as had graduated five years earlier.
In the three files that are linked to from this page, you can read an attempt to preserve the history and memories of the school’s thirteenth year.
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