theme 4b Education and culture

Question 1

How as educated expected to change in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 1

Many believed that the Weimar Republic would allow a reformed and more democratic education system.

Question 2

What did the Weimar constitution commit to?

Answer 2

A universal education regardless of background.

Question 3

How was the Weimar system similar to the pre-war?

Answer 3

Compulsory education to 14, split into elementary and secondary systems.

Question 4

What law created a universal elementary system in the Weimar Republic and removed ability based schooling?

Answer 4

The School Law of 1920.

Question 5

How was secondary education split in the Weimar Republic?

Answer 5

Into several different types of school such as the gymnasium and realgymnasium. No unified education system was created.

Question 6

How did the Weimar government attempt to keep standards similar across schools?

Answer 6

Compulsory inspections, new aufbauschules for poor students and removal of church rights to run state schools.

Question 7

Why did the Weimar education system come into conflict with the Church?

Answer 7

Church had traditionally played a large role in the education system. Centre party was defeated in 1921 and 1927 trying to pass reforms giving the Church more power.

Question 8

Who was Rudolf Steiner?

Answer 8

A prominent reformist in education in Weimar Germany.

Question 9

What did Steiner suggest?

Answer 9

Removal of hierarchy in schooling, emphasis on music and art.

Question 10

What characterised Weimar culture?

Answer 10

A vibrant and modernist theme.

Question 11

What did Weimar culture often reflect?

Answer 11

How people coped with defeat in the war, destruction of the empire, and removal of the kaiser.

Question 12

What is an example of a film which romanticised the past?

Answer 12

The Golem, which warned against modern society and technological advances.

Question 13

What was modern about The Golem despite its message?

Answer 13

Radial cinematography and expressionist set designs.

Question 14

What was expressionism?

Answer 14

A growing modernist movement in German art in the 1920s which marked a departure from realism and was bold.

Question 15

How much did the number of German cinemas increase by in the Weimar period?

Answer 15

From 2800 to 5200.

Question 16

Which films in the Weimar period celebrated the German landscape?

Answer 16

Mountain films, which often used radical techniques which influenced cinema massively in future.

Question 17

What was a popular novel which celebrated the war?

Answer 17

Storms of Steel by Juenger which glorified the war and believed war was the embodiment of male culture.

Question 18

How did Weimar culture spread the stab in the back myth?

Answer 18

Many conservative writers spread the myth through glorification of Imperial Germany and military culture.

Question 19

Which novels celebrated the new republic and condemned the war?

Answer 19

The Magic Mountain and All Quiet On The Western Front.

Question 20

How did ‘new objectivity’ change perceptions in Weimar Germany?

Answer 20

It portrayed war as hellish and soldiers as unheroic.

Question 21

Give examples of New Objectivity which was anti-traditional German culture.

Answer 21

Otto Dix’s Stormtroopers and Grosz’s Made in Germany.

Question 22

What was Bauhaus?

Answer 22

Modernist school of architechture which used geometric designs and modern materials. It looked forward towards an international future.

Question 23

What was the message of Fritz Lang’s movies?

Answer 23

A positive and hopeful vision for the future and embracing of technology.

Question 24

How was Nazi education organised?

Answer 24

On the basis of creating a strong Ayran generation who would act rather than think.

Question 25

How was Nazi teaching coordinated in 1933-34?

Answer 25

All teachers were forced to be a part of the Teacher's League controlled centrally by the state.

Question 26

How many teachers were replaced as result of Nazi organisation?

Answer 26

0.2

Question 27

What were Hitler schools?

Answer 27

Schools for children from middle class or working class backgrounds with pure racial lineage.

Question 28

What were NAPOLAS?

Answer 28

Schools for the next generation of the SS.

Question 29

How was racial theory taught at most schools?

Answer 29

In subtle ways which emphasised national unity.

Question 30

What did the Nazi curriculum consist of?

Answer 30

"Useful subjects" such as Chemistry, Biology, and German History,

Question 31

How was Biology teaching changed in Nazi Germany?

Answer 31

Teachers taught the benefits of eugenics.

Question 32

How was Physics and Chemistry teaching changed in Nazi Germany?

Answer 32

Had a large military focus.

Question 33

How was Geography changed in Nazi Germany?

Answer 33

Taught lebensraum and the wrongdoings of the ToV.

Question 34

How was German Literature teaching changed in Nazi Germany?

Answer 34

Focused on the teaching of Nordic myths and emphasis of the German 'Blood and Soil' myth.

Question 35

How did the Nazis tighten their grip over young people as the 1930s progressed?

Answer 35

1933 protestant groups were merged with the Hitler Youth, 1936 all non Nazi groups banned, 1939 attendance in the Hitler youth compulsory.

Question 36

Who was often not part of Nazi youth groups?

Answer 36

Those in the South and in wealthier families.

Question 37

Why was culture so important to the Nazis?

Answer 37

They believed people were irrational, so art and culture was a more effective way of indoctrinating people into the Nazi movement.

Question 38

Why was cultural preservation important to Nazi racial theory?

Answer 38

Nazis believed some cultures which naturally culture-creating and some were culture-destroying.

Question 39

What was Hitler's Berlin Masterplan?

Answer 39

A plan drawn up by Speer to create a new Berlin with large Hitler palaces, new Reichstag building, new military high command and wide central roads.

Question 40

What was different about Nazi architecture to that of the Weimar period?

Answer 40

Nazi architecture was neoclassical and abandoned public affordable projects in favour of grand designs.

Question 41

What were some examples of Nazi architecture?

Answer 41

Reich Chancellery completed in 1939, 1936 Olympic Stadium.

Question 42

How was Nazi architecture also economical?

Answer 42

Many buildings such as Hitler schools were basic and aimed at producing ideal Nazis rather than look pleasing.

Question 43

How did the Nazis rejected Weimar art?

Answer 43

Labelled it as decadent and too influenced by inferior races.

Question 44

What did Frick do to preserve Ayran art?

Answer 44

In 1933 ordered all art which did not reflect German values to not be displayed or be destroyed.

Question 45

What were the themes of Nazi art and sculpture?

Answer 45

Naturalist and idealist. Often considered to be 'authentic' art. Portrayed muscular men/intense physical activity.

Question 46

What are examples of Nazi film?

Answer 46

Triumph of the Will and Olympia. Both directed by Leni Riefenstahl.

Question 47

How was Goebbels films different to Hitlers?

Answer 47

Often presented more subtle messages of Ayran heroism and the strength of German culture.

Question 48

What was the priority for the Allied powers in recreating FRGs education system?

Answer 48

Retraining of teachers and removal of extremist ideas.

Question 49

What act tried to standardise FRG education?

Answer 49

1955 Dusseldorf agreements.

Question 50

What was the issue with growth of higher education in the FRG?

Answer 50

Lead to overcrowding which created student protests in the 1960s.

Question 51

Why was coordination of the West German education system difficult?

Answer 51

Different nations pushed education in the direction of their own styles, and many buildings and facilities had been destroyed.

Question 52

Why was administrating education in the FRG hard?

Answer 52

Nazis had massively centralised the structure of education and successfully indoctrinated many pupils.

Question 53

How did the legacy of Nazi education remain across the FRG?

Answer 53

The selective education structure was kept in place, and usage of USA comprehensive system was rejected.

Question 54

What did the Dusseldorf Act standardise?

Answer 54

Number of examined subjects, length of holidays, examination standards etc.

Question 55

How was the Abitur reformed in the 1970s?

Answer 55

Students took fewer subjects and became more specialised.

Question 56

What shows the drawbacks of the FRG educational system?

Answer 56

The 1978 Deficiencies Report showed the varying quality of education across states and how it negatively impacted the economy.

Question 57

What was the issues with the FRG education system?

Answer 57

Relatively few Germans attended school until 18, fewer went onto university, lack of federal spending, lack of skilled workers, gender inequality.

Question 58

Why was Brandt's educational reforms limited?

Answer 58

He was limited by the state legislature which rejected the new comprehensive system.

Question 59

How many new universities were opened in the 1960s and 1970s?

Answer 59

25 new universities.

Question 60

How much did students in higher education rise by from 1960 to 1992?

Answer 60

From 200,000 to 2 million.

Question 61

Why was the culture of the 1960s seen as a threat?

Answer 61

New American culture and consumerism threatened traditional German values.

Question 62

How did American culture penetrate the FRG?

Answer 62

Chewing gum, rock music and Coca-Cola.

Question 63

What showed that hooligan groups were overstated in the FRG?

Answer 63

Groups such as the Youth Ring had far more members than hooligan groups.

Question 64

What was an important post WW2 literature work?

Answer 64

Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum.

Question 65

Which literature was controversial in the FRG?

Answer 65

Boell's The Clown criticised the CDU and Catholic Church.

Question 66

What was the New Cinema movement?

Answer 66

As attendance fell to the cinema, directors focused more on cinematographic technique rather than commercial success.

Question 67

How was football influential in the FRG?

Answer 67

The West German team was highly successful, won the 1954 world cup, and helped raise national spirit.