Germany 1918-89: Education

Question 1

Which were the five schools in Weimar Germany?

Answer 1

Elementary, Gymnasia, Oberrealschule, Aufbauschule, Realgymnasia

Question 2

Elementary

Answer 2

6-9 years, compulsory due to the School Law of 1920, which standardised elementary education.

Question 3

Gymnasia

Answer 3

Taught subjects including Greek and Latin. Education provided favoured by universities. Attended by wealthy who could afford to pay.

Question 4

Realgymnasia

Answer 4

Subjects eg Latin but no Greek and modern languages. Preparation for modern jobs.

Question 5

Oberrealschule

Answer 5

Taught subjects such as science and maths.

Question 6

Aufbauschule (new for Weimar Republic)

Answer 6

Offered similar education as Gymnasia but to academically gifted poorer students.

Question 7

Who was Steiner and how many schools did he open?

Answer 7

Wanted education reforms eg utilising full body learning as well as a lack of hierarchy between students and teachers. He opened 4 schools from 1919-25.

Question 8

Why was there a lack of standardised secondary education?

Answer 8

Some schools were private, others state run and others were run by the church. Although, they had to receive inspections.

Question 9

When did the Catholic Centre Party try to gain more control of education?

Answer 9

1921/27, but the SPD overruled them. The church began to see democracy as anti-Christian.

Question 10

What was the wealthy’s opinion of the schooling system?

Answer 10

They feared as more children could access education, making it less exclusive.

Question 11

What were the goals for education during the Weimar Republic?

Answer 11

Teach moral education desire or reconciliation, vocational tuition etc

Question 12

Why was education in Nazi Germany standardised?

Answer 12

To creat a totalitarian state as part of the Gleichaltung process.

Question 13

What were the Nazi goals for education?

Answer 13

to produce uniformity of attitude and total commitment to the good of the ‘Aryan race’ and develop a ‘deep racial outlook’.

Question 14

What happened to teachers in 1933?

Answer 14

They were required to join the National Socialist Teachers’ League and appear willing converts to Nazism. 20% of teachers were sacked (eg due to political views or having affiliations with Jews). Greater proportion of senior teachers. Female head teachers sacked and replaced by males.

Question 15

Despite maintenance of most of the Weimar teaching system, which schools were introduced?

Answer 15

NAPOLAS and Adolf Hitler schools

Question 16

NAPOLAS

Answer 16

39 created. Trained students for the SS. Similar standing as Gymnasia (wealthy).

Question 17

Adolf Hitler schools

Answer 17

11 boarding schools. Had to pass fitness/ academic and racial purity tests (similar for NAPOLAS)

Question 18

What was the Nazi teaching style?

Answer 18

Active, teachers should engage students with activities (similarity to Steiner).

Question 19

When did Nazis introduce a new curriculum and what did this include?

Answer 19

1938. Introduced ‘racial corners’ (pure bred plant experiments, posters about hereditary weakness), maths problems involved calculations linking to war (angles for bomb trajectories), history reformed and presented as a struggle between races, geography focused on wrongs of the Treaty of Versailles, school time for PE raised to 15% (boxing compulsory for males) etc

Question 20

Which organisations were responsible for new textbooks?

Answer 20

The Party Censorship Office examined existing textbooks and removed those which were ideologically suspect. The Ministry of Education commissioned new books eg biology textbooks rewritten to contain racial diagrams.