‘When an opponent declares “I will not come over to

your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us

already”.Adolf Hitler

To find out

How the Nazis attempted to control education

and why

How successful the Nazis were in controlling

education within GermanyKey Words

To find out

How the Nazis attempted to control young

people and why

How successful the Nazis were in controlling

the youth of Germany

Indoctrinate/indoctrination – A set of beliefs constantly repeated to implant ideas in the mind

Ideology – A set of ideas

‘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 did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect education

within German Schools?

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…’

What does this source tell us about the types of lessons taken by girls after the Nazis came to power?

How was the education of girls affected?

Taken from Germany 1918-1945 by 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).

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.

How was the education of girls affected?

How does this source and the table on the next slide confirm what you have learnt about the education of

girls?

Periods Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

1 German German German German German German

2 Geog History Singing Geog History Singing

3 Race Study

Race Study

Race Study

Race Study

Party Beliefs

Party Beliefs

4 Break - Sports with Special Announcements

5 Domestic Science with Mathematics

6 Eugenics, Health Biology and Sport

A typical timetable followed at a girls’ school.

How was the education of girls affected?

Based on information taken from Nazi Power in Germany by Greg Thie and Jean Thie (Hutchinson 1989)

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?

What does this source tell us about History lessons for boys after the Nazis came to power?

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.’

How was the education of boys affected?

Why do you think that the Nazis wished to influence the boys curriculum in this way?

BOYS GIRLS

Copy and complete this table in order to highlight the difference between the education of boys and girls.

Use the sources and the worksheet to help you.

Mei

nKampf

Membership of the Nazi Teachers’

Association became compulsory after

1933.

Those teacher’s who were thought to be lacking in loyalty

and not willing to ‘defend without reservation the

National-Socialist state’ were sacked.

32% of teachers by 1936 were also members of the Nazi

Party itself.

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.

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.

How did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect the education

of Jewish children?

Mei

nKampf

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.’

According to this source, why did many Jewish children prefer not to go to school ?

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.’

Using this source and the previous one, describe the overall treatment of Jewish children in German schools during this

period.

What was happening to Jewish children in school should not be

viewed in isolation. The persecution of Jewish people within

Germany accelerated alarmingly between the years

1933-45.

PropertyPropertyConfiscatedConfiscated

Sacked from

Sacked from

JobsJobs

ViolenceViolence

1933 Boycott of Jewish shops, Jewish Civil Servants were dismissed,

a ban introduced stopping Jews from inheriting land. Many school text books were altered to contain anti-semitic messages.

1935 The Nuremberg Laws made it illegal for Aryans to have sexual

relations with, or marry, Jews. Jews were no longer allowed to attend public swimming baths, parks and restaurants. Public buildings were closed to Jews and no Jew was allowed to join the army. Jews are to

be known as ‘subjects’ not citizens of Germany.

1938Kristallnacht – Jewish shops, homes and synagogues attacked and

some destroyed. Many Jewish people were killed and injured. Jews no longer had the right to choose their child’s name (it had to be chosen

from an approved list) and they were no longer allowed to trade.

1941All Jews had to wear the Star of David (a large yellow six pointed star)

on their coats. Ghettoes were set up where Jewish families were forced to settle before being moved on between 1941-45 to

Concentration Camps.

How did Nazi Ideas and Propaganda affect university and

college education?

Minister of Culture’s statement to German universities, 1933

‘From now on, it will not be your job to determine whether

something is true, but whether it is in the spirit of the

National Socialist Revolution.’

Robert Ley, Leader of Reich Organisation

‘A roadsweeper sweeps a thousand microbes into the gutter

with one brushstroke; a scientist preens himself on

discovering a single microbe in the whole of his life.’

How would attitudes such as these affect standards within German Universities after 1933?

Clue: How ignorant is Robert Ley regarding the importance of scientific research?

The Nazis made it extremely difficult for young women to go on to further education.

Michael Burleigh and Wolfgang Wippermann, ‘The Racial State’, 1991.

‘Female secondary school pupils had to choose between too

alternative subjects on offer to them: domestic science and

modern languages. The successful completion of a course in

domestic science…did not count toward a place in

university. School graduates with qualifications in modern

languages also found it difficult to gain admission, because

they lacked an education in Latin, which was a language

requirement for many subjects at university.’

In 1932 about 20,000 women attended university. By the outbreak of World War Two that number had fallen to roughly 5,500.

How did the Nazis attempt to control Education and why?

How successful were the Nazis in controlling Education

within Germany?

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazis_Education.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GEReducation.htm

For further information and sources relating to Education within Nazi Germany you may like to visit:

http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/germany/index.htm

Read the section ‘Education in Nazi Germany’ then click on

‘Revise this topic’ to test your knowledge.

END