Accordingly, demands for better wages have become more pronounced than ever before in the past twenty years, despite the determined help already offered by the state and the municipalities. In many cases, these demands are still being put forth today – and certainly not without reason, whatever objections one may raise against them. Everyone wishes, for the sake of his and his family’s appearance, to keep up with those whom he may consider his social equals. Just how much teachers in various German states still fall short in this respect is best shown by the fact that they justify their demands for elevation by drawing comparisons with the incomes of lower social classes, even though their own social standing is undoubtedly higher. They find it oppressive that even though they put in their best efforts for the school, for the profession, and for the community, they are still plagued by worries about their daily bread. “Of all human worries, household worries cause the most distasteful bitterness, for the very reason that they remind one of bodily needs and animalistic existence. They do not ennoble the soul, they only humiliate.”
Source: Konrad Fischer, Geschichte des deutschen Volksschullehrerstandes [The History of German Elementary Schoolteachers as a Class]. 2 vols. Hannover, 1892, vol. 2, pp. 349, 410-11, 421-28.
Original German text reprinted in Gerhard A. Ritter and Jürgen Kocka, eds., Deutsche Sozialgeschichte 1870-1914. Dokumente und Skizzen [German Social History 1870-1914. Documents and Sketches], 3rd ed. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1982, pp. 304-7.
Translation: Erwin Fink
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