Education, 1918-33

Question 1

What was the role of schools?

Answer 1

• Moral education
• Civil responsibility
• Personal development
• Vocational training

Question 2

School structure before WW1

Answer 2

Volkesschule (primary school) – 6-9 years

Secondary school – 9-14 years

School was compulsory up to the age of 14

Question 3

What school did working class children go to?

Answer 3

Volkesschule – large classes (over 50) basic reading, writing and numeracy

Question 4

Most schools before the war were…

Answer 4

Confessional schools – religious schools, mainly protestant, catholic or jewish

Question 5

How did the school system before the war support the status quo?

Answer 5

Compulsory education up to 14 meant that after that, you either had to go to work or pay to go into further education which the working class could not afford. So, children from professional families entered professions.

Question 6

The School Law of 1920

Answer 6

Created a single type of elementary school. The aim was to ensure that all children get the same baseline education. The socialists wanted a fairer education system and no religious education – it was phased out.

Question 7

The Grundshule

Answer 7

Primary schools in the Weimar era

• Compulsory from age 6-10
• Stopped clerical inspections of schools and parents could remove children from religious education

Question 8

Why was the Grundshule controversial?

Answer 8

Many people wanted their children to have a religious education. So, in order to compromise, the Lander could adjust their laws to meet parents’ needs.