Education in Nazi Germany Flashcards
In 1933, at what age did school attendance become voluntary?
14
Who did Hitler make Education Minister in 1934?
Bernhard Rust
What did Education Minister Bernhard Rust famously say about education?
“The whole purpose of education is to create Nazis”
What new schools were created by Bernhard Rust for boys aged 10-18?
NAPOLAs (National Political Institutions of Education)
Who ran the NAPOLAs from 1935?
The SS
How many NAPOLAs were there by 1939?
16
What education did the NAPOLAs provide?
A military-style boarding education - classes were called ‘platoons’
Where did young Germans progress after graduating from the NAPOLAs?
Castles of Order (Ordensburgen)
What was the purpose of the Castles of Order?
Provided training for future political and military leaders
What percentage of teachers had voluntarily joined the Nazi Party by 1936?
Over 30%
What law did the Nazis pass affecting teachers in April 1933?
The power to sack teachers and headteachers they didn’t approve of
How many secondary headteachers were sacked in Prussia?
180
What organisation did 97% of teachers join by 1937?
The Nazi Teachers’ League
What did the Nazi Teachers’ League provide for teachers?
One-month political education courses for teachers, setting out the ideas which teachers should support
How many teachers had attended a Nazi Teachers’ League course by 1939?
Over 200,000
Give THREE ways teachers were expected to behave like Nazis in their classrooms
1) Taught students to do the Nazi salute
2) Started and ended each lesson with the children saying “Heil Hitler”
3) Decorated their classrooms with Nazi posters and flags
Give ONE subject that the Nazis added to the school curriculum
Eugenics (race studies)
What were children taught in Eugenics lessons?
The Aryan race was superior; they should not marry inferior races like Jewish people
Give an example of how mathematics became a vehicle for Nazi ideas
A question asked students to calculate the weight of an aircraft bombing Jewish settlements
What happened to the amount of time in schools for PE and sport under the Nazis?
It doubled - one-sixth of lesson time by 1939
What subject was made compulsory for girls at school and why?
Domestic science (cookery and needlework)
To make them better wives and mothers
From what year did the Nazis have to approve all new textbooks?
1935
What did Nazi history books used in schools explain about the Treaty of Versailles?
It was a ‘stab in the back’ (Dolchstoss) planned by the Socialists
