1933-39: Nazi Policies Towards the Young – Education, Curriculum and Teachers Flashcards

1
Q

Education before 1933

A

In 1933, all children in Germany went to school until 14. This was normal for most countries around Europe. After the age of 14, school was voluntary. Boys and girls all went to separate schools and schools were mainly controlled by local councils with some guidance from the government. Many schools were also heavily linked to the Church.

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2
Q

Education after 1933

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❑ Under Nazi law, all schools were brought in line with Nazi policies and beliefs. The Nazi Party controlled what should be or should not be taught to children and also by who. The main purpose of education in Nazi Germany was to indoctrinate the minds of the young Germans. This meant to make sure they had the same beliefs and attitudes as the Nazis. Education was also a way to censor information that the Nazis did not approve of by not allowing children to have access to anything ‘un-Nazi’.
❑ Even the Nazi Education Minister, Bernhard Rust saw schools as a way to control young minds and said that ‘the whole purpose of education is to create the Nazis of the future’.

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3
Q

Nazi control of teachers

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❑ In April 1933, the Nazis passed a law that gave them the power to sack teachers who did not support the Nazi Party. For example, one region in Germany, Prussia, sacked over 180 head teachers.
❑ All teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
❑ All teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ League.
❑ All teachers had to attend Nazi Teachers’ League training courses
which set out the ideas they had to follow.
❑ Teachers were expected to behave as Nazis in the classroom. They
had to teach students to do the Nazi Salute and ended each lesson
with ‘Heil Hitler’.
❑ Teachers were expected to show Nazi flags, posters and paintings
of Hitler in their room.
❑ Around 30% of teachers were known to wear their official Nazi
Party uniforms while teaching in the classroom.

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4
Q

Nazi control of the school day

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❑ Children had little time away from the influence of the Nazi Party at school. School days were made longer and children would then attend Hitler Youth groups straight afterwards. This took children away from the influence of their parents for most of the time.
❑ School notice boards would be full of Nazi Party posters advertising events and meetings. Even during any breaks in the school day, children would eat and then be expected to attend Nazi activities such as sport or reading.
❑ Attendance was a huge problem for schools as children were allowed to take time off school for Hitler Youth events. One school with 870 pupils showed that 23,000 school days were lost because of extra-curricular activities during one academic year.

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5
Q

The Nazi creation of new curriculum subjects

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Eugenics - This was a scientific subject which taught children how to produce
perfect Aryan children by selecting two Aryan parents. It also taught about
how ‘bad Jewish bloody’ could contaminate the pure blood of the German race.
Race Studies - Children were taught how to group different racial groups.
They were taught how superior the Aryan race was and how they should not mix with inferior races such as the Jews. Charts designed by the Nazis tried to help children identify Jews from their looks.

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6
Q

Nazi control over traditional school subjects

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❑ Maths: Maths books were re-written to include ‘social arithmetic’. They gave ‘real life’ problems to solve. For example, how much money Germany would save if it removed the care costs of looking after the disabled.
❑ History: History books were re-written to teach students how Germany had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the ‘November Criminals’ and the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. They were full of brave and heroic accounts of Germans in the past. Events such as the Wall Street Crash would be blamed on the Jews or Communists.
❑ Geography: Books were re-written to include the need for more Lebensraum (Living Space) for the German people in eastern Europe. Army style map reading skills were encouraged for boys.
❑ Art: All forms of modern art from the Weimar period were rejected, called degenerate and accused of being art by Germany’s disabled and mentally ill.
❑ German: German storybooks were created to show the Nazi ideas of the perfect German race compared with the ‘evil’ nature of the Jews. For example, The Poisonous Mushroom told a story of a Jew (the mushroom) who was a bad influence on others. Jews were hugely stereotyped and seen as child molesters and perverts. Mein Kampf was also made into a compulsory school book.
❑ Physical Education: P.E. time was hugely increased. By 1939, it was 1/3 of a child’s day. Students were encouraged to be determined, brave and sacrifice themselves for Germany and Hitler.
❑ Science: Students were taught how the Aryan race were superior to the untermenschen (sub
human) Jews. Students were told how inferior races could be identified with body measurements.
❑ Domestic Science: Cookery was made compulsory for girls who studied health, hygiene, cooking
and domestic chores. The aim was to make them more efficient wives and mothers.

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7
Q

Nazi creation of new Nazi schools

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❑ Elite boarding schools were set up for those boys who were chosen at a young age to train to be future leaders of Germany. Pupils were specially tested for a place in the school.
❑ They were not taught by teachers but selected members of the SA and the SS. Pupils from these schools would join the army, police or the SS.

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