***Nazi education

Question 1

What was the aim for education in Nazi Germany?

Answer 1

A classless, equal state of education.

Question 2

Between what ages was education compulsory?

Answer 2

6-14 years

Question 3

What happened to the Länder and their control of education?

Answer 3

They lost control of education; control of education was centralised.

Question 4

Who was Bernhard Rust?

Answer 4

He was the head of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Reich. This position was made in May 1934.

Question 5

What was introduced in 1935?

Answer 5

A series of central directive (orders) which controlled what was taught in schools across Germany.

Question 6

What aspect of school remained in Nazi Germany?

Answer 6

The state school structure. Fee-paying secondary schools and universities also remained (these were only for “Pure Germans”).

Question 7

What schools were abolished?

Answer 7

Private or mary schools and confessional schools.

Question 8

What was primary school called?

Answer 8

Volksschule

Question 9

What was introduced in March 1933?

Answer 9

Separate secondary school education for body and girls, to prepare for stereotyped roles.

Question 10

When did Napolas open?

Answer 10

In April 1933 - 21 Napolas opened

Question 11

What were Napolas?

Answer 11

Schools to train groups of boys (aged 12-18) for the SS. These were similar to military academies.

Question 12

What schools were introduced in 1937?

Answer 12

Adolf Hitler Schools

Question 13

What were Adolf Hitler Schools?

Answer 13

Schools for lower class students (aged 12-18) selected by the local German Young Folkf branch.

Question 14

What were the Castles of Order?

Answer 14

3 elite boarding schools to train boys (aged 12-18) for entry into government service.

Question 15

What League was established in April 1929?

Answer 15

The Nationalist Socialist Teachers League (NSLB)

Question 16

How many teachers were members of the NSLB in 1935 and in 1937?

Answer 16

1935 = 25% of teachers
1937 = 95% of teachers as it was impossible to get a job if not a member.

Question 17

What happened during the purge of teachers in April 1933?

Answer 17

“Undesirable” teachers were purged by law. 60% of teachers were purged and female head teachers were sacked.

Question 18

What happened to the respect for the teaching profession?

Answer 18

It reduced during the Nazi era. In 1938 there were 8,000 teaching vacancies.

Question 19

How was Führerprinzip introduced in schools and universities?

Answer 19

Teachers were not consulted on education policy and headteachers made all the decisions.

Question 20

What were schools used to do?

Answer 20

To educate children to become “good Nazis,” indoctrinating children’s and to teach loyalty to Hitler.

Question 21

What did a law passed in December 1936 require?

Answer 21

All children to be educated according to the philosophise of Nationalist Socialism from the age of 10.

Question 22

How was the curriculum radicalised under the Nazis?

Answer 22

• Greater emphasis on physical fitness
• Raical purity
• History (creation of a Volksgemeinschaft)
• Health Biology (focused on race, eugenics and motherhood for girls)
• Religious studies was dropped

Question 23

How did education emphasise stereotyped roles?

Answer 23

Girls were taught modern languages or home economics, while boys were taught science, modern languages or classics to prepare for university.

Question 24

How was censorship and propaganda implemented in schools?

Answer 24

Textbooks were censored and were sources of propaganda. Schools were used a vehicles for communicating Nazi ideology. Racial corners were created in classrooms.

Question 25

What was education like for Jewish children?

Answer 25

They were forced out of German schools to attend Jewish schools. However, these were abolished altogether in 1942.

Question 26

What youth movement was set up?

Answer 26

The Hitler Youth - with separate groups for boys and girls. All other youth movements were abolished.

Question 27

How many members did the Hitler youth have in 1936?

Answer 27

4 million

Question 28

When did it become compulsory to join the Hitler Youth?

Answer 28

1939

Question 29

When were Catholic youth groups banned?

Answer 29

1936

Question 30

What were the separate age groups for the Hitler Yotuh?

Answer 30

Boys: The Pimpfen for 6-10, the Jungvolk for 10-14 and Hitler Youth from 14-18.
Girls: Jungmadel from 10-14 and Bund Deutschmark Madel from 14.

Question 31

What were members of the Hitler Youth expected to do?

Answer 31

To report on anything their teachers of family did which went against Nazi values.

Question 32

How did the types of students attending university change from the Weimar period?

Answer 32

It did not - the same number of working class students went to university in 1939 as in 1933.

Question 33

What happened to the standards of education under the Nazis?

Answer 33

The standard of education declined under the anti-academic ethos of schools.

Question 34

How willing were teachers to convert to Nazism?

Answer 34

Quite willing

Question 35

What happened to the number of students completing academic education?

Answer 35

It was fewer than under the Weimar government.

Question 36

What percentage of university students were female?

Answer 36

Only 10%

Question 37

What percentage of young people in Germany were members of the Hitler Youth in 1939?

Answer 37

90%

Question 38

When did the Hitler Youth become less popular?

Answer 38

When it became compulsory in 1939.

Question 39

Which groups were less likely to join the Hitler Youth?

Answer 39

The working class / those in the South of Germany.