What did your coldest winter days get to, Mick, C or F, I am bilingual? What temps did the cold parts of your house sit at during the coldest OD temps? What were the heated kitchen temps?
I was a kid and I don't think we had a thermometer in the house, but I'm guessing most of the house was in the 30's to 40's (F) most of the winter. It was enough to make you hands ache after a while. The kitchen was probably in the 70's (F), it was comfortable and warm. there was an attached living room but it was cold enough that we didn't use it. We dressed warm, wore heavy pajamas and sometimes wore sleeping hats to bed.
My mom was surprised how cold the houses were in Germany (she was from Arizona and Southern California, although we had lived in South Dakota also). She was really surprised at the short sleeves and shorts in what seemed to her freezing weather.
It seemed like all of the german kids had red chapped cheeks. One of the neighbors said it was from leaning over the stove warming up on cold mornings.
An interesting side note was that we accidently broke the plaster on the wall one time and the insulation was bright yellow straw, no clay slip or anything.