mdd: I’ve heard much more about older girls whose parents didnt have “Nadden” than alter Bochrim. The older girls waited til women died in childbirth to get married to the widowers (I certainly cant say that women not surviving childbirth presently in drastically lower numbers is a bad thing). If there were that many Alte Bochrim they wouldnt have had to wait for widowers!!! I also NEVER heard of Alte Bochrim who met 200 girls in der Alter Heim. I laugh at the thought of it! Maybe Goyishe royalty!
From what Ive heard there were many more “Nadden-less” and therefore unmarriagable girls. The alter bochrim were a tiny fraction. Not like these days.
When I saw the thread “Remembering Our Zeida’s and Bubbe’s who were murdered Al Kiddush Hashem”, I was thinking that, in effect, the choosy guys who cant choose from among 200+ girls (that they chose to date), and go on and on, are doing as Hitler wished, in lessening the numbers of Jews. Perhaps I’m off on a tangent, but sad.