***Education, 1918-33

Question 1

What was primary school called in Weimar Germany (for children aged 6-9)?

Answer 1

Grandschule

Question 2

What were the three types of religious schools?

Answer 2

• Common schools - took children of various faiths and taught them separately.
• Confessional schools - faith schools which became fee-paying.
• Secular schools - had no religious education.

Question 3

Until what age was school compulsory?

Answer 3

14

Question 4

What did the school law of 1920 aim to create?

Answer 4

A single type of primary school to ensure that all children received a standard education for the first 4 years of their lives.

Question 5

What types of primary schools were phased out?

Answer 5

Schools that selected on ability and religion - the WR met the aim of creating an integrated system in elementary schools.

Question 6

What did the Weimar government put a stop to?

Answer 6

Clerical inspections of schools, school prayer and allowed parents to remove their children from religious education.

Question 7

What did the government introduce by setting up the Grandschule?

Answer 7

Compulsory and free education for children ages 6-9. This prepared all students for future secondary education and gave all students the opportunity for higher education at university level.

Question 8

What types of preparatory schools were abolished?

Answer 8

Fee-paying preparatory schools

Question 9

Who ran education?

Answer 9

The Länder

Question 10

What did a bill put forward to the Reichstag in 1927 propose?

Answer 10

That confessional, common and secular schools be set up on an equal footing and for churches to play a greater role in education. Children in common schools would have religious education in their own religion, separate from other religions.

Question 11

Who supported the 1927 bill?

Answer 11

People all over Germany, including the Reich Parent’s League.

Question 12

Who opposed the 1927 bill?

Answer 12

The Volkskirche Association for Evaneglical Freedom - they wanted religion to be a matter of religious bodies, not schools.

Question 13

What happened with the 1927 bill?

Answer 13

It did not pass as its contents could not be agreed.

Question 14

How could confessional schools only be run?

Answer 14

As fee-paying private schools.

Question 15

How many Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, common and secular schools were there in 1931?

Answer 15

29,000 Protestant schools, 15,000 Catholic schools, 97 Jewish schools, 8,900 common schools and 295 secular schools.

Question 16

What percentage of schools were faith-based by the end of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 16

80%

Question 17

What was the result of the government’s failure to introduce a federal education bill?

Answer 17

The education system remained diverse and under the control of the Länder.

Question 18

What did the government introduce to offer a gymnasium type education for poor children who could not pay?

Answer 18

Aufbauschule - this was an attempt to make education fairer.

Question 19

What did Churches no longer have the right to do?

Answer 19

Run state schools (but could continue running private schools). Many Catholics and Protestants felt democracy was anti-Christian.

Question 20

What was the three-part secondary school system?

Answer 20

• Haupstchule (5 years long) - go on to apprenticeships or trade
• Realschule (6 years) - go into business or technical training
• Gymnasium (9 years) prepare for university.

Question 21

Why was a child’s career decided form he age of 9?

Answer 21

Students who wanted to go to university had to pass the Arbitur exam, otherwise had to attend one of the other schools.

Question 22

What did Rudolf Steiner argue?

Answer 22

That schools should be independent of government or the church and that they should simply serve the interests of students.

Question 23

How many schools did Rudolf Steiner open between 1919-25?

Answer 23

4

Question 24

What did Rudolf Steiner schools stress?

Answer 24

Rejected hierarchy and emphasised whole body learning.

Question 25

What became a university programme in WG?

Answer 25

Teacher training

Question 26

What percentage of university students fathers were civil servant? How many were working class?

Answer 26

43% were civil servants working in government organisations. 2.3% were working class.

Question 27

What were the two types of university corporations?

Answer 27

• Duelling corporations, where differences were settled by sword-fight. These were popular with sons of wealthy landowners.
• Non-duelling corporations - seen as socially inferior.

Question 28

What were corporations seen to do?

Answer 28

Assist students in pursuing a career path.

Question 29

What percentage of students were members of a university corporation in 1928?

Answer 29

65%