Archives 1959-1960

Nürnberg American High School

A U.S. Army dependents school formerly located in Fürth/Bavaria, Germany

On Monday, October 21, 1946, a new American high school opened. It was one of five high schools that opened in the fall of 1946, not in the United States, but in Erlangen, Germany, a small town approximately 15.5 miles north of Nürnberg, one of the most historic German cities. This school was named Erlangen American High School.

A year later, on Monday, September 6, 1947, this school opened its doors as Nürnberg American High School in a new location, 19 Tannenstrasse in Fürth, a town approximately 6.5 miles from the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof. The school remained at this address for five and one-half years.

The sixth year of the school’s existence began in the 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 for 49 years In 1995 the school closed, and thousands of Nürnberg High 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.

In 1959-60, both the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement began. At NHS the students celebrated new events and preserved established traditions. The football team finished the season with a 5-1 record and a Class B Co-Championship. Majorettes appeared for the first time at football games. The Student Council established new events: Twirp Week, Dress Right Week, and the year-ending Eagle Week. Literary efforts appeared in the form of two magazines, “Some Like It Cool” and “Nürnberg Skyline,” and the “Trichter” chronicled it all.

In the five files that are linked to from this page, you can read an attempt to preserve the history of the school’s 14th year. If you find anything here that you believe to historically inaccurate or know of something that can be added, please contact the NAA historian/archivist.