190 likes | 440 Views
Education in Nazi Germany. ‘When an opponent declares “I will not come over to your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us already”. Adolf Hitler. Lesson objectives. To be able to explain how and why the Nazis controlled education
E N D
Education in Nazi Germany ‘When an opponent declares “I will not come over to your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us already”. Adolf Hitler
Lesson objectives • To be able to explain how and why the Nazis controlled education • To describe the differences between the boys and girls curriculum
BOYS GIRLS Copy and complete this table in order to highlight the difference between the education of boys and girls. Use the following sources to help you
To find out How the Nazis attempted to control young people and why How differently boys and girls were treated in education Indoctrinate/indoctrination– A set of beliefs constantly repeated to implant ideas in the mind Ideology– A set of ideas
How did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect education within German Schools? ‘In my great educational work I am beginning with the young. My magnificent youngsters! With them I can make a new world!’ Adolf Hitler
How was the education of girls affected? A visit to a Nazi girls’ school, recorded in‘Education for Death ’ by Gregor Ziemer, 1942. ‘The school bell called the girls…before I visited the classes I spoke to the headteacher. She told me that every class in the school was built around a course called ‘Activities of Women’. This course was divided into handwork, domestic science, cooking, house and garden work – and the most section – breeding and hygiene. This section dealt with sex education, birth, childcare…’
How was the education of girls affected? Girls took part in sport most days and were encouraged to study German, History, Geography and Race Study. The boys studied more scientific subjects regularly, such as Maths and Chemistry. Taken fromGermany 1918-1945by Greg Lacey and Keith Shepherd. ‘Girls usually had a different curriculum from boys. They also studied domestic science and eugenics (how to produce perfect offspring by selecting ideal qualities in the parents).
How was the education of girls affected? A typical timetable followed at a girls’ school.
How was the education of boys affected? Extracts from A Boy in Your Situation, 1988 In the History classes the French were the hereditary enemy and all the lessons were about the wars against the enemies of Germany. There were no History textbooks. They had all been withdrawn and until new National Socialist versions come out there was nothing but the teacher, who dictated notes and gave inspiring addresses. He was a reserve officer in the army. He told boys all about it. ‘We have got marvellous tanks now, fantastic; and good guns to use against French tanks.’
How was the education of boys affected? An official statement on the purpose of education for boys ‘German Language, History, Geography, Chemistry and Mathematics must concentrate on military subjects – the glorification of military service and of German heroes.’
Teachers in Nazi Germany Membership of the Nazi Teachers’ Association became compulsory after 1933. MeinKampf This made the process of indoctrination much easier for the Nazi Party, with teacher’s being only too willing to pass on Nazi Ideas within the classroom. 32% of teachers by 1936 were also members of the Nazi Party itself. Those teacher’s who were thought to be lacking in loyalty and not willing to ‘defend without reservation the National-Socialist state’ were sacked.
Virtually all Jewish teachers were dismissed in 1933 as it was deemed ‘undesirable’ to allow Jewish teachers to teach ‘Aryan’ pupils. This was made possible by the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. Some teachers remained as teachers in Jewish schools until these schools were banned altogether in 1942. Those teachers who taught in ‘Aryan’ schools however suffered increasing levels of harassment and by 1935 no Jewish teachers were left in these schools at all. Write 6 lines as though you are a teacher during Nazi Germany describing the rules you have to follow
How did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect the education of Jewish children? MeinKampf
According to this source, why did many Jewish children prefer not to go to school ? Extracts from ‘A Boy in Your Situation ’, 1988. ‘Karl had a new problem at school – the German teacher Mr Bartholomeus. He had a little swastika badge in his lapel that Karl came to dread. Teachers who wore that badge always seemed to go out of their way to say something unpleasant to Karl, in front of the whole class. Then one day the newspaper said: ‘No Aryan German child is to sit next to a Jew in school.’ That was it. Karl felt an enormous sense of relief. He would not have to go back to school.’
Using this source and the previous one, describe the overall treatment of Jewish children in German schools during this period. Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, ‘The Racial State’, 1991. ‘Jewish children were often insulted by teachers and pupils, and subjected to malevolent injustices. They had to sit at separate desks, and were often forbidden to play with ‘Aryan’ children during breaks…Jewish children could only escape harassment if they had the chance to attend a Jewish school. Jewish communities, and the Reich Representation of German Jews, did everything possible to expand the existing Jewish schools or to create new ones. In 1942, these were forbidden too.’