Did you read the article? It was a real world practice, but long gone already at that time (in the mentioned parts of Europe at least).

I'll play's devil's advocate - is there really a difference?

People were angry (rightfully so) at children chimney sweeps and they definitely existed, were abused and did die/have horrible problems/etc.

So the outrage is justified. Now, the specific picture isn't true/authentic, but the contents of the picture definitely existed did.

So is it wrong?

But they are targeting the wrong time period with their anger.

It’s like with the witch hunts which are associated with the middle ages but happened later.

What's the point of getting angry about something that happened so long ago that the angry people's grandparents weren't born yet?

> the contents of the picture definitely existed

No it didn't, according to the article, 3 year olds weren't chimney sweeps and the tools the child carries are not the appropriate size.

It is as much as a reenactment as a kid in a cow-boy costume today. Having a kid dress up like their daddy at work is cute, and I am sure that that's how people saw it.

But a long time have passed, and it is easy to imagine people of the past as some kind of barbarians. Sure, they did some things that are unacceptable now, but we are missing a lot of nuance.

Why would the filmmakers make the re-enactment though? For social media? For clicks over the interwebs?

For context, by the late '20 programs were running for the elimination of Gypsies and disabled children inside concentration camps. Pieces of burned clothing were found on rooftops. Even Britain had a eugenics program against inferior races.

Not likely therefore made to cause outrage over children's rights, rather to depict established practices.

To these days, there are kids dressed at chimney sweep in a lot of weddings in many german speaking countries. I know one of my daughter did dress that way in a friend's wedding when I was living in Switzerland.

People think about the tradition of them bringing good omen and how cute they look, not gruesome children labor.

Haven't heard of children doing it, but similarly in the UK many working modern sweeps also do (paid) wedding appearances, kiss the bride for luck etc. Bit of a weird tradition! No idea how common it is, denominated by #weddings, not that, I'd guess.

> Why would the filmmakers make the re-enactment though?

because, as you'll see in the article, people thought it was cute and funny to dress up very small children as chimney sweeps

> by the late '20 programs were running for the elimination of Gypsies and disabled children inside concentration camps

You've got your timeline mixed up

From the article:

>Another important thing to mention is that the chimney sweep was a good luck symbol at that time, especially in Germany. People dressed up as them and send each other postcards showing children as chimney sweeps.

People and societies work a lot with re-enactment. I think of, for example, pirates. There was nothing fun about them, watching the Jolly Roger approaching you must be horrible, followed by a gruesome death. But we, adults and children both, are enjoying to play pirates. Maybe the re-enactment of something brutal can be a healthy way to get over it for humans.

I doubt that they used 3 years old.

Not strong enough to do anything useful.

Read the article. They had already invented better tools long ago.

But for what purpose that couldn’t be done bei a simple weight?

Fitting is one thing but they need to do actual work

It's amazing how many military drills preceed actual engagement.