German education under the Nazi regime

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Content GERMâN EDUCATION UNDER THE NAZI REGIME by Philip E. Brotherton A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OP THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the © Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (Political Science) August 1958 UMI Number: EP63786 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation BubllsMng UMI EP63786 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES 7 Po ^9 8 This thesis, written by PhyApJS. Br^ j ^ under the guidance of hXs....Faculty Committee, and approved by all its members, has been pre- sented to and accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M aster o f A rts JO H N D. COOK# ..................... 9*9% Dean D a te.......AugU.§tj...l9. 5S .......... Faculty Committee Qhairman TABLE OP CONTENTS Chapter I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED 1- 21 The problem — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 Definitions of terms used - -- -- -- - Organization of remaining chapters - - - 17 - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 Source of materials ----------- 20 | II. BASIC NATIONAL SOCIALIST PHILOSOPHY RELATING j TO EDUCATION -- - - -- -------- 22- 58 i Objectives of the state --------- 22 , The philosophers of Naziism ------- 28 : Similarities to Plato — — — — — — — — — — i ^ l j . The political soldier ---------- 53. Faith in the Führer ----------- 56 ^ III. PRIMARY EDUCATION-------------------------59“ 95 Grundschule --------------- 59 Whe Qberstufe -------------- 61 Special schools ------------- 63 i Vocational schools ——————————— 66 i Control of schools ——————————— 67 Compulsory attendance laws ------- 69 Number of schools 72 Density of population ---------- 75 Curriculum in the primary schools - - - - 78 Textbooks in the primary schools - - - - 82 Faculties ---------------- 88 War programs —————————————— 92 IV, SECONDARY SCHOOLS--- 96-I3I : Objectives --------------- 96 1 Tests for admission ----------- 100 ! Harmonizing the faculties -------- lok ; Reform of 1938------------------------- 108 Status of private schools -------- ill De-emphasis on intellectuality ----- 11( Curriculum ——————————————— II8 Faculties ---------------- 123 Textbooks ---------------- 127 V. SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND THE HITLER YOUTH--131-1^8 The National Political Training Insti tutes ----------------- 131 The Adolf Hitler Schools ———————— 13^ i i i Chapter Pages The Order Castles ----------- I36 The Hitler Youth — — — — — — — — — — — 1. Faculties — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — VI. THE UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION - - li}.9-l80 The number of institutions of higher learning - -- -- -- -- -- -- - li|-9 Internal organization of the universities Ipl Effect of Naziism on enrollment - - - - 1$6 Curriculum —————————————— 159 Government policy toward institutions of higher education ---------- I63 Objectivity, freedom of research, and impartiality ------------ 167 Race science and biology ------- I69 The faculties ------------- 171 War programs ------------- 177 I VII, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ------ ---- 181-210 ! Summary ---------------- 181 Conclusions —————————————— 201 BIBLIOGRAPHY - 211-219 I APPENDIX--------------- 220-229 A. Program of the National Socialist German Workers * Party - -- -- -- -- -- - 221 B. Accredited secondary schools with curric ula leading to the Certificate of Maturity --------------- 225 C. Schools for boys ———————————— 227 Schools for girls ———————————— 228 i v CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. The role of education In | National Socialist Germany was one of subservience. For I Hitler* education ceased to concern itself with seeking the ^ truth and became simply a tool for achieving the purposes ! of the Nazi state. The truth--for Nazis— had already been • determined by The Leader. No longer was there room for doubt or scepticism in the German mind because these things' tended to undermine confidence in the correctness of Nazi aspirations and to weaken national unity. In any case* it ■ is not the training of the mind that is of chief impor tance* but the training of the body. In discussing education in Mein Kampf Hitler said: i The folkish State* through this realization* > has to direct its entire education primarily not | at pumping in mere knowledge* but at the breeding i of absolute healthy bodies. Of secondary impor- | tance is the training of the mental abilities. But here again first of all the development of the character* especially the promotion of will power and determination* connected with education for joyfully assuming responsibility, and only as the last thing* scientific schooling.! ^Adolph Hitler. Mein Kampf (New York: Reynal and Hitch cock* 1939)» P# 613. The problem of this thesis is to examine the objec tives* methods* content* and results of Nazi education# By analyzing these phases of the German educative process and comparing them with those of other nations and societies* the study will endeavor to answer the question: What were the effects of National Socialism on German I education? ; Importance of the study. Much has been said and written about the purposes of education and the means by which these purposes can best be achieved* particularly in the past twenty-five years. The entire educational program of the United States is undergoing severe criticism at the present time. We are currently caught between the need for education for survival and education for the broader ; aspirations of mankind. It is reasonable to presume that the effort which is devoted to the one must* to some extent* detract from the other * and we are left with the problem j which Hitler's Germany faced and answered in a very posi tive* but disastrous* fashion. How much* then* for the needs of the moment* for unity* for survival? How much for the enrichment of life* and for the eventual eradication of| the terrors mankind now seeks to survive ? If it is true that the errors of the past are the i bases of true knowledge in the future* then the study of I Nazi education should assist us in orienting our educa tional processes in such a way as to gain the greatest good in the decades and centuries to com© for ourselves and for the whole community of nations* This study is undertaken with that hop© in mind* It is now some thirteen years since the Nazi system came to an end in Germany* and it seems quite unlikely that| it will ever he revived there in toto* However* the ; educational practices* particularly from 1938 through 19l*.5* I : I must have had some permanent effect on the thinking and* ' I therefore* on the actions of those Germans in the twenty- I t five-to-forty age group. In the opinion of many observers ' I I Germany is the key to the control of Europe. What Germany < I : I does in the future will undoubtedly be conditioned by what I German citizens are thinking and what attitudes they hold. I I It is probable that some insight into the basic attitudes ^ I of Germans in the age group mentioned can be gained by ; ; ! examination of the educational practices and policies to I I • I which they were subjected. Such an understanding may be | jextremely valuable in attempting to combat those ideas and ! I attitudes which might work to the detriment of those j I nations of the world which are committed to the principle I of human freedom. The battle for men's minds is never- ending* and it behooves us to do all in our power to under-: stand as much as possible of those ideas which we believe ^ to be opposed to the highest human good* II* DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED i Education* The dictionary definition of this term is | i the discipline of mind or character through study or in- | ! P i struction.^ The dictionary definition of propaganda is any I organized or concerted effort or movement to spread partie-; ular doctrines or information*^ It is clear that on the basis of these definitions propaganda may be considered as a form of education* since it does discipline the mind or character through study or instruction* ( In contrast to this definition of education is the accepted distinction between propaganda and education com- j mon in non-totalitarian states* Education is deemed to be instruction in factual truth without regard for the conclusions to which the instruction may lead* whereas propaganda is considered to be instruction in selected I assertions* either truthful or otherwise* which lead to | conclusions which the instructors desire to implant in the I minds of those so instructed* I * ^Webst©r's New Gollegiate Dictionary (Springfield: G* and! G* Merriam Gompany* I9Ç9)» P• 261. ! ^Ibid* * p. From the democratic point of view it would seem that Nazi educational practices better fit the definition of propaganda than of education, since all instruction was aimed at creating particular attitudes set up by Hitler or the Nazi hierarchy as incontestable truth* Freedom of thought or inquiry was looked upon as a crime against the state comparable to ”deviationism** in Communist countries* The teim education, for purposes of this thesis, will therefore be used to Include propaganda unless otherwise specified. State * Most political writers agree that the term, state, applies to a community of persons residing in a bounded geographic area under a sovereign system of laws and government .4- In this sense sovereign nations are states and Hitler Germany was this kind of a state in the eyes of most of the peoples of the world. But this definition was clearly rejected by Hitler, who created his own somewhat mystical definition of the term. The state, for Hitler, was a means to an end, which was the promotion and preservation of a community of beings! j who were similar physically and psychically.^ This state William Y. Elliot and Neil McDonald, Western Political Heritage (New York: Prentice Hall Inc., 1950), p. I 4 .* ^Hitler, op. clt.. p. 59^* appears t® have am existence over and beyond the persons who comprise It at any given time, and its boundaries are not necessarily geographic but ’ ’racial.** Those of German blood were considered by Hitler to be a part of the German Reich and, by virtue of this fact, so was the land they inhabited#6 This attitude eventually became the justifi cation for the seizure of various parts of central Europe I by the Third Reich. ! Such a concept was an application of the lex sanguinis j I with a complete disregard for the other bases of national- , iity, and, of course, it necessarily came into conflict with I those states In which other criteria of membership in the j ; I state were applied. By 1938 Nazi shopkeepers were dis- I ' I I j playing maps of the Third Reich which showed its eventual : . I {boundaries. The area included Austria, part of Czecho slovakia, Poland, German Switzerland, most of Holland, Alsace-Lorraine, and Flemish Belgium.? Other maps, publish ed later, showed areas in which German blood predominated on various other continents. It is obvious that Hitler's definition of state was advantageous to a nation which 7l aspired to extend its boundaries, perhaps on a world-wide j basis. I One other use of the term state must be noted. This | I use refers to the classic divisions of Germany, such as j Prussia, Thuringia, Anhalt, Lippe, and others. These areas had some degree of Independence under the Weimar Republic but were soon brought under central control after the election of March 5» 1933*® Ebons to In tends to regard I these states prior to 1933 as comparable to the states of ! the United States, or as divisions of a federal union, I ' ' I although they had less sovereignty.9 The term is used to i ' I indicate the governmental divisions after 1933 also, but iti < is plain that henceforward no degree of independence is to ; ! : ! be inferred, since each state was placed under the direction i I of a Reich Commissioner appointed by Berlin# I : I Primary schools. For purposes of this study those j . I schools which were attended by children of compulsory j j I school age— from the sixth to the fourteenth year— will be! ! classified as primary schools. In the German system of | I school classification, the terms ^primary^ and ’ ’elementary” %filliam Ebenstein, The Nazi State (New York: Farran and Rinehart, Inc., 19^3), p# Iffe# 9Ibid.. p. k - 5 * 8 are not synonymous. Elementary refers to the first four grades, or Grundschule. whereas primary Includes the Volks- schule which covers the entire eight year period of com pulsory schooling. In addition to the two schools previously mentioned there are some special schools which must he classed as primary and will he treated under that heading. It is I difficult because of the overlapping to obtain a clear and ! I consistent division of primary and secondary schools. The ! situation is further complicated because several leading j ' authorities on this subject use varying nomenclature. ' Ebenstein tends to classify all schools below the status of| universities as ”grade” schools.!® Kneller divides them I into elementary, primary, and secondary.!! j Since the division and terminology used by Kneller I I most closely approximate those presently in use in the I United States, the writer has chosen to follow this system* I I I References to elementary and primary schools by other I classifications will be translated into that which is I Idesignated here, insofar as possible. !®Ibid.. pp. 1I 4 . 8 ff. ^^George P. Kneller, The Educational Philosophy of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale University Press, IQkl) : pp. È07-11. ^ : 9i Secondary schools* Secondary schools in the Third j Reich were those schools at which attendance was not com pulsory. The function of these schools was to train students for university matriculation or, in some cases, to fill positions of some importance in commerce, industry, or government. There was no definite age for admittance since a pupil could he admitted after four years in elementary school and remain for a period of eight years, or he might ! be admitted to secondary school (Aufbauschule) for four | years after having completed eight years in primary school?? Prior to the reform of 1938 the secondary system is said to have contained eighty types of schools. These were I A A 4 ^ 4»^ Ti% A VTA r% A 4 A #4 A 4 I ' u Vf A A ta A f a A iv A A 1 a A a A VBA<M A J i condensed by the reform into five main types, the Ober- ; ;schule for boys, the Oberschule for girls (both eight year I schools), the Aufbauschule for boys, the Aufbauschule for I girls, and the Gymnasium. The Gymnasium was devoted I ' - ' I 'entirely to the classics. | j In addition to these there were the many types of | I i ! vocational schools and the middle school (Mittelschule)• ! ! ! I I ; which was terminal and allowed students to enter commerce, I : industry, trade and government. It was possible for pupils I to transfer from the middle school to the regular secondary} i schools under some circumstances. ^^Ibid.. p. 10 ; Much confusion arises from the German practice of setting up separate schools for each type of training, rather than following the American practice of providing several different curriculums in a single secondary school. The confusion is lessened^ however, by Hitler's desire to simplify education in nearly all its aspects. Secondary schools, then, will include all those schools I I indicated here in addition to any other special schools not' I fitting the classification of primary school or university, providing the average age of pupils is not less than ten years nor more than eighteen years. On^this basis the special leadership schools, such as Adolf Hitler Schools, I should be classified as secondary schools. Universities. This classification will be used to include all schools of higher learning which prepared I students for the professions or technical fields, such as | I engineering, mining, forestry, agriculture, commerce, | j teaching, or the ministry or priesthood. According to | . I Ebenstein, in 19%3 Germany had twenty-three universities, | as such, and eighty-three colleges or schools of higher I education offering training in one technical field. Of | these eighty-three schools, fifteen were schools of Catholic or Protestant theology and twenty-eight were I - ^ - 11 I teachers' colleges.^3 After the heglmnlng of the war In 1939 most of the German universities were closed— only six continued to | operate.!^ Several of the old Protestant theological j schools were also closed for the period of the weu?.!^ j I It is reasonably clear that the institutions of higher | learning were to become subject to the Hitler will or close their doors. j I Volk. The literal translation of this word is folk i (or people, nation, or race). But for National Socialists ] it had a much deeper meaning. It was a living, dynamic, j unchanging concept, and it is not an external point of view] I seen in perspective. According to Wilhelm and Grafe, it is the point of view, and its spirit arises from the knowledge that since a people has life, it is subject to the external laws of nature and life.!^ It does not refer to all the people but only to those who fit the Nazi concept of ”race.f j. p. 172, l^Loc. cit. The ©dor W , Today (Berlin: Terramore Office, 1936), p. 5# The ©dor Wilhelm and Gerhard Graf e, German Education Specifically it refers t© those Germans of Nordic and Aryan descent (excluding, of course, the Jews) who are I united by blood and are, therfore, bound together Into a | I people or folk which has common aims and a common destiny* | Again, the mystical element in this concept of Naziismj is clearer than the concept itself. Undoubtedly, it was a { part of the ego-building program, designed to convince the | majority of the German people that they were truly a ”mast©r-race” and destined by the laws of nature to dominate the earth. ; Weltanschauung. The literal translation of this word ; is "world outlook,” and, once more, the mystical and ^ elusive elements are present. It is sometimes referred to as "a way of looking at life,” but this phrase does not convey the fine shadings given to it by Hitler and the | philosophers of Naziism. Ernest Erieok is quoted by j i ! Kneller as saying, ”lt is a portrait of the world and man, i I . ' I even though it receives its justification in faith.”^7 I - I I Admittedly the Nazis had no monopoly on a world out- i ! i I look, but they did have their own definition of this I phrase, and it assumed the characteristics of a religion In ^^Ernest Krieck, Nationalpo111ische Erziehung (21st ed.; Leizig: Armanen Verlag, 193©), p. 9b, as quoted by George P. Kneller in The Educational Philosophy of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale University PÎ?©sa, 19^ 1 ^ 1), p. 1©. 13' their philosophy. From the Nazi point of view this view of life was determined hy the natural ”lnstinets” and qualities of the German Volk. It related eaeh man and woman to the entire people and manifested itself in the customs and institutions of the individual and those of the whole people, also. j The concept of We It ans ehauung had a remarkable degree I I of flexibility at times. Some writers have remarked that I its only consistency was its inconsistency, but it does I appear to have had one persistent objective: national I welfare and national unity as seen by Hitler. In a sense I it was a philosophy of life on a day-to-day basis which must have been confhiing to those Germans who were endeavoring to rationalize the attitudes and actions of their nation in the 1930’a and s. What was the National Socialist We It ans ehauun^. then? It was the way of looking at life which would best give the German people the confidence, spirit, and unity necessary to achieve whatever ends Adolf Hitler considered to be desirable. In a general way it simply said, over and over again, that what was good for Germany was the right way for good Germans to look upon life and the world. Blut and Boden. Nazi mysticism showed itself again in the concept of Blut and Boden. or blood and soil. These Ik were eonceived by the Nazi leaders to be the fundamental forces of national life. Ernest Krieek, the chief educa tional philosopher of the Nazi movement, speaks of blood as a ”shadowy stream of life that has had a symbolic significance.”^® He declares it to be ”the source of the spirit of the race. Krieck says: Blood is to man the hidden element, the symbolic foundation, the representation of the current of life, from which man can ascend to regions of light, spirit, and knowledge.^9 This is, unquestionably, a somewhat special type of blood about which Dr. Krieck spoke. If we attempt to strip away the mystical meaning of this idea, very little is left. However, it Is reasonably certain that there was some vague idea of the unity of a people through the symbol of blood, and that Aryan Germans were all originally related by blood, but how the blood achieved this remained quite unclear^ There Is, also, the possible psychological idea that the shedding of blood is l^Ernest Krieck, ”Volkische Erzlehung aus Blut und Boden,” International© Zeitschrift für Erziehung, III (1933-193li). 305-369• English translation follows on pages 309-313 of I same work. DC. cit. 15 a sacrifie© through, which mankind is uplifted. In any case the entire attitude seems to remain more an emotional feeling than an intellectual idea. The concept of soil, on the other hand, seems to have a better basis in scientific fact than that of the blood. Soil was looked upon as the beginning and end of all life, and together with blood, it ’ ’ made a German.” Further, it ! - : was considered to be the coupling of man to the universe, | ! i I an idea which objective knowledge does not immediately rule I out. Hitler never ceased to eulogize the German peasant I and the soil of Germany which he worked as the true spirit j of Germany and the source of German strength. It is not I strange, therefore, that he came to look upon soil as some- I I thing sanctified. In addition. Hitler indicated over and I over that he distrusted urbanized peoples and their I tendencies to entertain new and racial ideas. For Hitler, ! I the soil meant stability, conservatism, opposition to ! I I democratic ideas, acceptance of the old militarism, all of i Iwhich fit the essentially reactionary doctrines of Naziism.j ' I I Blood and soil together, then, were the determinants I of the destiny of the German nation. For this reason, it I was of the utmost importance that the homeland be kept ; jinviolate and that the blood of the folk be kept pure. I They were, so to speak, the heart of Germany. 16 Race. Race supremacy was a fundamental doctrine of Naziism. For Adolf Hitler and his followers the Germanic peoples, or Aryans, as he called them, constituted a superior race. Aryans were destined, hy nature, to conquer the other peoples of the earth and make them ^helpers” in | the cultural development of man. To many this sounded like I a justification of subjugation and slavery, which, in | I truth, it was. ! Any attempt to define the word Aryan, as it was used I ‘ Iby Hitler, is difficult. It has been defined variously I as meaning Indo-German, as a slogan in the struggle against I Jewry, and as a term excluding Jews and Negroes. Some of I Hitler’s supporters used it to mean nothing more or less ! I than German nationals.^® The terms ’ ’Nordic,” "Germanic,” land ’ ’Aryan” seem to be used interchangeably by Nazi writers. j I Whatever term is used, the original theme continued: I the Germans were a superior race, and that race had to be Ikept pure because superiority would be lost by the inter- imixture with other races. Little effort is made to j ! I t 1 explain why Aryans are superior to other races except to ; i ! point out that most of the recent advances in science and ! ! the arts have been achieved by them. It is interesting to ! Hitler, op. cit., pp 17 speculate on how broad the definition of Aryan must be if I this premise is to be supported. Again, no scientific evidence is advanced to support the Nazi view. III. ORGANIZATION OF REMAINING CHAPTERS The remaining chapters of this thesis are arranged in the following manner : Chapter II is a summary of basic Nazi philosophy as it' pertained to education in the Third Reich. An effort is i made to indicate the possible derivation of these ideas i I I and how they were applied by the Nazis to promote the political and military sdms of National Socialism. Chapter III discusses primary education under National Socialism. It centers around (a) the types of schools, (b) the laws relating to them, (c) their internal organiza tion and operation, and (d) the faculties. Chapter IV presents a survey of the secondary schools ! I I of Nazi Germany. It concerns itself with their admission jrequirements, objectives, changes after 193®, reorganiza- Îtion, and internal organization and operation. The I I faculties are given particular attention here because of I the radical differences in the requirements for teaching I under Naziism when compared with those under the old 1 Weimar Republic. Chapter V concerns Itself with the special schools set up under the Hitler regime. These are most interesting because they are actual expressions of the Hitlerian view of education. Here, better than anywhere else, can be seen what Gregor Ziemer chose to call ”education for death.” Chapter VI is a survey of German universities and colleges under Naziism. Comparisons are made with those I ; of Republican Germany. The effect of Naziism on higher I education and government policy is discussed at some length because of its profundity and its effect on objectivity and free learning. The status of professors in the great in- Istitutions is examined. One important division of this I chapter deals with ”raoe science” and biology as taught in i the Nazi universities, since this is a quite unique element I of the Nazi system. Another division attempts to analyze i I the war programs and activities of the universities. i ' ; Chapter VII contains the summary and conclusions which the writer has arrived at as a result of this study. It I attempts to answer the question posed as the problem of : this thesis, namely: ”What were the effects of National I ! Socialism on German Education?” i I A bibliography and appendix complete the thesis. IV. SCOPE I In the chapters to follow, this work will attempt to | trace the development of German education from 1933 to the j defeat of Germany in 19%5. It will ©specially concern it- j self with the developments from 193® to the end of the j regime, for it was during these years that the Nazis j reached the full operational stage of their educational ^ plans and policies. I For this purpose, much of the study will be devoted I to an analysis of the institutions of learning as they I actually functioned and to the expressions and attitudes of Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders regarding education. | Efforts will be made to evaluate Nazi policies and ; practices and to con^are them with the objectives and ! I standards of education in Germany during the period of the I j Weimar Republic. 1 From the writer * s point of view the most important part ! I of the study will be a careful analysis and evaluation of I : the use made of education to inculcate ideas and motivate actions which were desired by the state but which were not subject to examination or criticism by the institutions of I I V. SOURCE OP MATERIALS Primary source materials became a problem for the writer almost immediately. Very little of the Nazi literature on education has been translated into English. A few of the basic writers on the subject haveof course, been translated and these have been drawn on extensively. Most important among them are Hitler himself, Theodor I IWilhelm, Gerhard Grafe, Erika Mann, and Gregor Ziemer. I The availability of reliable secondary materials did Inot present a severe problem, and a reasonably comprehen- I ;sive bibliography of the literature was assembled without ! I great difficulty* The resources of the library of this j University as well as the University of California at Los I I Angeles have been utilized in gathering the material. The writer's thanks should be extended to the last named institution for its helpfulness in this regard. Certain authorities quickly became indispensable. For our purposes, William Ebenstein, Edward Hartshorn©, Isaac L. Eandel, and George Kneller assumed this status. It is significant to point out that the conclusions of all non- Nazi authors used were in substantial agreement as to the objectives, practices and outcomes of Nazi education. Periodical literature was found in abundance during the period of the study, but, as one might expect, it 21 ■becomes almost non-existent after the fall of Hitler in 19li-5* This literature was fonnd very helpfml in obtaining a knowledge of the immediate reactions of the non-Hazi world to the announcements^ decrees, and actions of the Nazis having to do with éducation. Most of it was written by persons who made no pretense of hiding the contempt and i horror they felt for the Nazis and Nazi educational j principles. It became necessary, therefore, to check their ! ! I facts and conclusions carefully against those of less im- Ipassioned writers. I Government reports and public documents provided some ' j valuable information on certain phases of the problem, such I as elementary teacher training and physical education jprograms. Newspaper reports were judged neither sufficient- |ly objective or detailed to be incorporated into the study. CHâPTER II BASIC NATIONAL SOCIALIST PHILOSOPHA RELATING TO EDUCATION I. OBJECTIVES OF THE STATE Common sense dictates that we begin an examination of the objectives of the state by turning to Hitler himself, writing in Mein Kamnf. He says: The State is a means to am end# Its end is the preservation and the promotion of a community of physically and psychically equal [similar! living beings# This very preservation comprises first the racial stock and thereby it permits the free development of all the forces slumber ing in this race. ... Thus the highest purpose of the folkish State is the care for the preservation of those racial primal elements which, supplying culture, create the beauty and dignity of a higher humanity.1 I The ultimate purpose of the state, then, is to i Icreate and preserve a group of physically and mentally Isimilar human beings who will provide the necessary culture {to create a higher degree of beauty and dignity for human {beings# At first glance one finds little with which to I Adolph Hitler, Mein eoek, 1939)» P* è9k f. Kampf (New York: Reynal and Hitch- disagree in such a statement# Most states have endeavored to create and preserve such a citizenry for much the same purposes that were advocated by Hitler, though few, if any, have hoped to create a group which had similar physical and mental powers# But Hitler presumed that these capabilities were | innate in the Volk and that the great problem of the state j ; I Iwas to create conditions favorable for their release# This ! Iwas to be accomplished by promoting Volk welfare in accord-j I I ance with the National Socialist WeItanschauung as the ! • I controlling factor# KneHer points out that the success of ; National Socialism is due mainly to this totalitarianism, | I or all-inclusiveness, with the salvation of the German ; I people as its guiding principle, despite the ruthless I fashion in which it was forced upon them* 2 It was this 1 unity of purpose and the spirit of individual sacrifice which Hitler nurtured constantly and by all possible means# I To a German citizen National Socialism was simply a means | of attaining the self-realization of the German people, and^ i for this reason, it was his will, also# What were the basic principles of the state specifical ly applicable to education? It is clear that the over-all ■ ^George P# KneHer, The Educational Philosonhv of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale trnivarsity iPress, 191+1), pp# aims of the state applied to education just as they applied to all other German social institutions* The end of the state was the Volk, and these two things were inseparable* The two groups worked together for the self-realization of I the German race, but the state was the bearer of power and | was indivisible in itself. j The state, because it was a power, was good and, con- ■ sequently, had the right to determine educational aims, ‘ I practices, and policies as a part of the entire cultural 'program. The relationship between education and the state t Was reciprocal, but education's main purpose was to mold : - * Ithe people according to the pattern set by the state.3 I I I One cannot help recalling the analysis of Hitler’s i irise to power in Germany made by the German psychiatrist, !pb?ich Fromm. Dr. Fromm’s theory is that the frustrations ' I created in Germany by World War I plus the economic and I {political upheaval following it led the middle-class German into a sado-masochistic state in which he sought, at the j same time, to punish and to be punished* The principles of i National Socialism provided an outlet for these inhibitions' and was, therefore, seized upon by this socio-economic 1 group.^ We cannot undertake to evaluate his theory here, hut neither can we fail to point out that the objectives of the state relating to education, which we have been examining, seem to reflect something of this sado-masochis tic tendency about which Dr. Fromm has spoken so convincing^ ly. Hitler’s statements in Mein Kam-pf with reference to the objectives of the state in education were very broad. i i He left the problem of setting more specific objectives and methods to his educational advisors. Nevertheless, he did ; set three goals of the state relating to education: first, he insisted that education must produce physically sound bodies; secondly, it was the aim of the state and of education to develop character, which consisted of will, obedience to authority, and joyful assumption of responsi- ' bility; the last and least important aim was the dissemi nation of knowledge.5 Careful examination of the Nazi educational system will show that these objectives were ; carried out consistently. There is no mention of the search for objective truth I ^Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom (New York; Farrar and Rinehart, I9I 4 .I), pp. 207-239# I ^Hitler, op. cit.. p. 613. in Hitler’s educational aims because there was a fundamenta. conflict between objective research and National Socialism. Many Nazi educators argued that such search was unnecessary since the German people already had the ultimate truths in j I the words of Adolf Hitler. All that was required was that j the people and the state follow his pronouncements. It is obviously no accident that physical education, war sports, military drill, and mass exercises became so important in the Nazi schools. In defending his stress on this point. Hitler said that ”a people of scholars, when they are physically degenerated, irresolute and cowardly ( pacificists, will not conquer heaven, nay it will not even : be able to assure its existence on this globeThe ! relation of physical prowess to knowledge was firmly established by this statement. The heart of character training was silent obedience. An individual with sound character training would not balk i at unjust demands by authority, if the authority represented community interests. The schools were to foster such j I obedience, along with trustworthiness and devotion to duty. ; They were to develop leadership responsibility in those who were to command. In addition, such failings as cheating and gossiping were to be eradicated by such training.7 ! I ^Ibid.. pp. 613-14. LJIlbid.. _PD . 621-( 27 Knowledge was to be an objective of Hitler’s educa tional organization, but it was to be practical knowledge* He complained bitterly of young minds being packed with unused information* The teaching of history. Hitler said, was to be redirected to give the student a continuity of cause and effect, and to enable him to use it for the continued existence of his nationality.® Other subjects were also to be redirected for the same purpose. All schools were to provide children with a complete knowledge of the importance of the ”purity of the blood,” ”race- sense,” and "race-feeling,” and education was to find its final completion in the military service.9 The actual working out of these objectives in the schools of Nazi Germany was a feat of very considerable magnitude. The Nazis started with a new set of educational standards and objectives and reconstructed a great educa tional system upon them--a system diametrically opposed to the objectives of education in democratic countries of the world. Qjbld.. p. 628. ^ pp. 636-7. II. THE PHILOSOPHERS OF M4ZIISM Most Important political movements have drawn upon the ideas of great thinkers of the past to give support and substance to their fundamental concepts. Haziism was no exception in this respect, but there is considerable doubt whether any of the political thinkers upon whom it drew consistently advocated the same political concepts; there are areas of similarity, but there are also differences. Germany had gone through a long period of disunity, but after I870 strong nationalistic attitudes developed. This new nationalism reached its peak in the period fol- j I lowing the accession of Wilhelm II in I89#. Lack of some I resources and a rapid population increase were operating to force Germany to seek new sources of raw materials beyond her boundaries. She found herself a competitor in ! I the world markets. I A group of German philosophers (perhaps a school) i I t I arose concomitantly with these developments. Their philos-* ! i jophies tended to be somewhat violent, idealistic, monistic,j stressing unity as a way of nature and praising Germans and Germany as sacred and superior.These were the men : Kne Her, op. cit.. pp. lGl-2. to whom National Socialism turned. Wickham Steed says that from Fichte to Hitler "the line runs straight.This line can he traced through Hegel, Lagarde, Nietzsche, Treitschke, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and others. Some authorities would trace the beginning of the Nazi idea even beyond Fichte to Herder Herder spoke of "race" and a "race-cultureand of the "folk-8oui.” He indicated that Germany had a "natural" racial superiority which might lead her to a higher cul tural development than other nations. He did not advocate German domination of world culture but rather fitting Germany into the culture of the world. He spoke much of divine destiny and self-realization, both of which ideas fit the Nazi Weltanschauung. but he decried militarism and military claims to glory. This latter view clearly does not fit the Leader’s dream, so Herder cannot be marked as a true prophet of Naziism. Of Herder, Eneller says : It is exceedingly doubtful that Herder would have supported a system of pedagogy based on the supremacy of the Nordic race and preparation for military life as the pinnacle of educational endeavor, and emphasizing such realism of instruc tion as defense, physics, and geopolitics.^^ j ^^Wickham Steed, Hitler, Whence and Whither ? (London: iNisbet and Go., Ltd., 1937)» p. 7. ' ' ' 12 Kne Her, op. cit.. p. 89.______ . ___ Fichte differs from Herder add other German philos ophers in that he was am activist. It was to this man that National Socialism turned most often for support and guidance. There are certain fundamental concepts in his philosophy which admirably suited the purposes of the Nazis. He developed the idea of a German race and the concept of Germany’s becoming a model nation. He pointed j out that the individual must subjugate himself and become j I a part of the whole; he must follow the leader blindly. ! ; The state, he said, must control education because the \ ■ ■state is exalted and eternal, and the prominance of intel- {lectualism must be ended. j Hitler and the Nazi philosophers did not adopt these I concepts in their original form, but they took such ideas I and in many cases remolded them to suit their immediate jpurposes. This was true of the Volk or race idea.13 It is I I also true of the idea of individual surrender to the state. I Fichte advocated the surrender of the individual to the I whole for the purpose of creating a better "civilization,” not a stronger immediate community.l4 ^^Isaac L. Kandel, The Making of Nazis (New York: Teach- , era College, Columbia University, 1935)$ pp. 95-6. ^Kneller, op. cit.. p. 91* ^ 31 In the matter of following the leader, Fichte was in his narrower interpretation speaking of the training of the young. He felt that the state had an obligation deliber ately to create the moral character it needed for group welfare and that this function should not be left to chance or family training* At the time, he was speaking to a badly divided Germany, and he felt that national unity I could be attained only by extreme loyalty to good leaders. ; Regarding state control of education, Fichte looked I upon the state as "the complete expression of man's ideals I and purposes."15 Consequently, it becomes the only social ^ jagency fit to carry on the function of education. It is | I through this education that man can attain participation I in the larger self, which is God. These are the thoughts ! . ! I of an idealist, and, it seems to the writer, not comparable I to the Nazi theories of education. Some of Fichte's ideas I I are in considerable discord with the teachings of Hitler. I I jlhe Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest and Ieducation along preconceived lines of character worthy of a member of the Volk were not present in the philosophy of Fichte. "Fichte wanted Germany to be a model. not a master nation."16 p. 93. p. 9ll-. As to Fichte's deprecation of intellectualism, he d.id i not wish to destroy it but only to develop it side by side | with the moral, religious, and physical aspects of human ! Ilife. This was a part of his desire for, and stress on, I action. He did not mean that knowledge and thought could I originate only in and through the community, as Hitler j I taught. Neither did Fichte simply make the university an jorgan to advance the policies of the state, but he con- jceived of it as a training school for government officers I and as a truly free community for scientific thought.17 ‘How different this idea is from the function assigned to j the university by National Socialism of advancing the Volk I toward the realization of its own divine perfection which I was German, exclusive, and dominant. ! Then what is the relationship of Fichte to Hitler and [National Socialism? The similarities are great on the 1 ' • I surface, but on closer inspection these similarities pale Ibefore the differences. There is not the same fierce I determination to dominate non-Germanic peoples in Fichte as there is in Hitler. While Hitler thought in terms of struggle and strife, Fichte thought in terms of peace and unity. ^7q^ H. Turnbull, The Educational Theory of J. G. Fichte (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 1926), pp• 106-9• 1A Kandel, ©p. elt., p • # Kne Her, op. cit.. p. 96. 3uch an opinion of this relationship is not unanimous j among authorities of Naziism. Professor Kandel," in dis cussing propaganda in Nazi Germany, quotes Fichte as saying, "truth in reality, then, is what you wish to he true ; false is whatever you wish to be false."!® Admittedly this reflects a view different from that described above, j ! but KneHer, whose view of Fichte is broader and possibly | I I I somewhat less impassioned, supports the point of view that : ! ; was first expressed here, namely that surface similarities ; I t ! are deceiving when the whole philosophy and purpose of ; i ' I Fichte is taken into account. Kneller's attitude in the I - . . I ; matter is well expressed in the following quotation: | I ; If Fichte is reread and quoted these matters must be borne in mind. Much of his thought does I suggest National Socialism. In fact, one cannot j help being struck by the powerful outward sem blance of the two theories. But they are fruits I from different vines. The similarity is decep- I tive, and belies their roots and flavor.19 I Next to Fichte in importance among the philosophers ' I I j of Naziism is Georg Wilhelm Hegel, who lived during the | last quarter of the eighteenth century and the first quarter I of the nineteenth. It is of interest that Hegel was not j unanimously accepted hy Hitler's philosophers. Nor is he | uniformly evaluated hy non-Nazi scholars as to his relative effect on the principles of National Socialism. Wickham Steed is clearly of the opinion that Hegel had a far more important effect on Naziism than Fichte. He considers Fichte to he "in many respects the antithesis of Hegel. He insists that Fichte was a strong advocate of individual freedom, whereas Hegel declared that all individual rights are absorbed in the state.^1 There is no need to press this point farther, but it should be noted that such a disagreement exists, and that j the tendency of American students of Naziism is to credit I Fichte with a preponderance of the basic ideas of Naziism, Iwhile their British counterparts give the credit to Hegel, jHowever this may be, it is certain that some considerable I effect on Nazi doctrine is due to Hegel, and, therefore, I we shall examine those concepts which have application 1 here . I First, Hegel deified the state as the total embodiment , p. ^3. . cit. of morality. Freedom was law; equality was diseiplime; the individual was submerged in the state. The state, however, could mot be absolute unless it embodied a universal moral right. There is a difference at this point between Hitler and Hegel because Hitler instructed his people blindly to accept the "natural" laws of the Volk or race# Hegel, however, believed that the individual must accept such laws I rationally, rather than emotionally on the bases of the 1 I ties of blood and soil. It is difficult to reconcile the j I I j"instinctive" concept of Hitler with the rational, ideal- ! istic view of Hegel. However, Naziism was not in the habit I of delving too deeply into the thought of those from whom | it could draw strength. So far as Hegel is concerned, his Î I influence on Hitlerism is still a moot point, and the I I question will undoubtedly echo in academic halls for some j time to come. I Hegel's ideas on education are somewhat obscure and jmust be deduced from his broader concepts, but the follow- j ! ; i ing appear to be his major thoughts on the subject. Eduea- i I tion is the process of making men ethical; the beginning I of education is obedience, but it is rational, not blind obedience, as advocated by Fichte.^3 op^ cit.. p. ^3^illiam M. Bryant, Hegel's Educational Ideas (Chicago: School Book Co., 1896), p. lb? ff. 3^ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (l8i|4-19®©) l3 chronolo gic ally the next precursor of National Socialism. Again we find authorities in disagreement as to his precise role as prophet of the Nazi movement. However, the Nazis made frequent references to him; hence he must be included in any survey of Naziism philosophers. Nietzsche denies the existence of beauty, truth, and goodness because, he says, no instinct for them actually exists. But will power for ! a stronger and higher existence does exist, and the things ' ! the individual picks out as good, true, or beautiful are ; I ! those things which are useful in the effort to surpass or 1 ' * ! conquer others. This makes goodness, truth, and beauty I relative rather than absolute. Here it is quite easy to I see the possibilities for advancing Nazi objectives. ! j The doctrine of the will-to-dominate is an important j part of his thought. It demanded sacrifice by the present I I generation to create future supermen. Laws were made not j ! for the present but for future race welfare, and education , was not for all but only for the supermen who would lead inj creating a higher c u l t u r e . , Macli has been said and written of Nietzsche's doctrine of hero worship, his anti-Christianity, and his advocacy of George Gatlin, The Story of the Political Philosophers York: McGraw-Hill, 1939), pp. 37 I austerity, discipline, and training. All ©f these things | are found in his system of thought, and the resemblances | ■ I to the emotional policy statements of Hitler are more than | a little startling. However, it appears that the Nazis ! read into him some things which suited their aims and purposes. A French scholar, M, p, Nicolas, has pointed out that for Nietzsche might was not always right, that his ideal man did not advocate community spirit ; he did not approve sacrificing the true for the practical, and he was not basically an opportunist. I These points may be argued pro and con, but we may ; safely conclude that Nietzsche gave aid and comfort to the j Nazi movement. Whether the soldier fought blindly or with I a consciousness of reason, Nietzsche helped Hitler to I I encourage him to do so. I Heinrich von Treitschke, like Nietzsche, praised war, iloved power, and sought conquest.^5 The basic teaching of Treitschke was that "the state is power," but unlike Nietzsche he was a nationalist and, in this, closer to Hitler. His state was not capable of achieving its own ends but represented the nation only in the aspect of power. He adored a German culture which was unique. ^^Ernest Barker, Nietzsche and Treitschke (London: Oxford University Press, 1914)* PP* 4-5. Addressing himself to education, he said that the aim of the state is to educate humanity so that the people may I form a character within and hy means of the state. It is I ■ the function of the state to provide opportunities for enlightenment without the use of force. We must admit to I some surprise at discovering so great an exponent of power I to he opposed to its use in the matter of education. ! In general, he favored discipline, order, organization ; of the energies of free peoples, and obedience. He adored ! jmen of action and decried the state's fostering culture , I I ; I and the fine arts— a likeness to Hitler. Education should | strive first for power, secondly for character, and lastly j j for intellectual advancement— again a likeness to Hitler. ' {There was for Treitschke no such thing as a universal I right. ^6 I We might easily say, "This is Naziism," and we would Ibe partly right, but there are still some missing factors. j ! IThe concept of Volk and of physical education are notice- ' I - i ably absent. Further, the training of an elite under i I f Hitler differs considerably from that of Treitschke*s "statesmen." Kne Her, op. cit.. p Paul Lagarde was a German with an assumed French name. He did not advocate race culture as the basis of national j j success, but much of his teaching indicates that this was | 1 his actual belief. He taught that spiritual powers were * ! the only means of keeping a Volk young. He stated that j I the individual, not blood, was the important thing, yet he I often spoke of Volk and racial backgrounds. I Lagarde conceived humanity, nationality, racial I characteristics, family traits, and the individual as a ipyramid closer to heaven at the top than at the bottom; I he examined the racial backgrounds of peoples and persons. ; j These things give him some claim to the development of ' I • I racial theories. i I I Culture, said Lagarde, is the greatest asset of iGermany, and it is passed on to individuals by education. : He advocated education for "fantasy, feeling, and will."^7 I There are aspects of Lagarde*s concepts that might be ; . ■ j j considered to be at odds with Hitlerism as well as with the i I other German philosop^iers, but he was the most nationalistic I of all the German nationalists, and he lent this quality i to Naziism in its full-blown modern form. Ibid., p. 111. The Count Arthur Joseph de Gobineau, a French diplomat and writer of the late nineteenth century, was an out standing champion of the doctrine of racial superiority. He denied that environment or social conditions had any I effect on the development of civilizations or culture; j j ! I culture and civilization, he said, were solely the result | I jof the racial factor. The only completely civilized, or j ! ■ * j "culture-creating," race was the Aryan, composed mainly of I the Persians and the Teutonic peoples of E u r o p e .28 | j The Aryan race was exhausted in its function of { . { cultural development, he said, because its composition was no longer pure. Further, the only way racial character! : could be changed was through intermixture with alien races.29 Gobineau* s inclusion of the Persians in the I ! favored "Aryan race" was probably due to his sincere ad- ! miration for Persian culture, which he developed while I serving the French government in Teheran. I j ‘ There is a considerable degree of similarity between I ide Gobineau* s racial ideas and those of Adolf Hitler, Trsncls W* Coker, Recent Political Thought (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 1934)# p. 3^1* ^9**Count Arthur Joseph de Gobineau," Encyclopedia Brit annica, 10 (1956), . p. 459* although their concepts of the results of racial inter mixture differ to some extent. The ideas expressed hy I de Gobineau were developed further by Houston Stewart Chamberlain to form an ideological foundation of consider able . strength upon which the National Socialists could | lballd.3Q I I I j Houston Stewart Chamberlain was an Englishman who I I f I married Richard Wagner * s daughter and became German by ! i I conviction. His greatest contribution to National Social- ; ! I ism was the development of a new theory of race and of ! Nordic ideals. He developed the idea that races cannot be ! I I defined by language or physical characteristics. I As to learning, he opposed the attitude of objectivity. I The final aim of learning was culture, and this was im- ! possible without preconceptions. Germanic nobleness could not pursue "teachable, ready-made knowledge." Universal truth was not truth for Chamberlain because truth could only be attained to the extent that man had the physical and moral characteristics to perceive it# Moral teachings j were derived from the community through instinct.3^ Kne Her, op. cit., p. 11$. ®^Loc. cit. L Chamberlain was praised by Alfred Baumler, probably the most favored of the Nazi philosophers and a professor of political philosophy at the University of Berlin, as one of the greatest authorities on National Socialism. Baumler speaks of him as having great "vision" and "feel- Iing,"32 as well as a great mind. Writers on this subject I seem agreed that Chamberlain (and his French counterpart, de Gobineau) were the true creators of German and Hitlerian racial theory. Dr. Ebenstein points out that: The important point about de Gobineau and Chamberlain is this ; although these popularizers I of the racialist fallacies were not German, they I were hailed in Germany rather than in other I countries as scientists and profound thinkers. { While the French and British laughed at the I » Nordic * nonsense of de Gobineau and Chamberlain, the Germans founded university chairs, * learned* journals, and pseudo-scientifle societies in which racialism was fostered with loving care.33 ! j Julius Langbehn, the athor of Rembrandt als Erzieher. I contributed to the idea that education must serve the I "German soul." Intellectualism, he expounded, tended to I I divorce man from the community to which he was bound by nature. Education for personal rather than national aims » « pp. 117—18. 33^111iam Ebenstein, The Nazi State (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1943) , p. 301. 1 was decried. Emotional incitement of patriotism was ad vocated. The her© of his book, Rembrandt, taught loyalty to Germany and to all German things. Friedrich von Bernhardi (1849-193^) was a German military leader and writer. He served as head of the I history department of the Grand General Staff in the latter| part of the nineteenth century. In 1912 he published a | I book, Germany and the Next War. | His work caused considerable attention because of his | forthright application of Treitschke* s nationalistic views. He held that war was inevitable, that Germany must conquer , I or fall, and that she was entitled to gain victory at any ' cost.34 He called war a biological necessity--a necessary i I regulative force due to the universal struggle for jexistence, resources, power, and sovereignty. The Ency- i ! clouedia Americana says that "his name became a byword ' . „ I for Pan-Germanic chauvinism and warmongering*"35 ; " ! I Bernhardi* s contribution to Naziism was probably the | I application of Treitschke*s "gospel of force" to Germany*s ; international situation at the turn of the nineteenth i 3 4 **Friedrich von Bernhardi,” Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 ( 1 9 5 6 ) , p . i|-S 6 . - --------------------- -: ------------------------ i 3 > " p r l e d r l e h vom Bspahardl." Eneyelopedla Americana « 3 ( 1 9 5 6 ) , p . 5 7 2 - 3 . ---------------------------------------------------— century and after. There is considerable similarity between Bernhardi*s aggressive ideas and those of National Socialism. If we ask ourselves if there is one man who laid the intellectual groundwork for Hitler, the answer must probably be "no." Hitler drew from each what suited his immediate objectives and let those tenets that did not serve him lie quietly in the books. We can say, however, that Chamberlain stands out as Hitler* s mystical helper I - I in the development of the race concept, and Nietzsche I I iand Treitschke are close followers. I I As to how much Hitler and his minions drew from the I j other philosophers we have summarized here, there is, as I I we pointed out, considerable argument. There is very ilittle doubt that as a group these thinkers brought forth I the elements that Hitler used to weld Germans together into one of the most powerful fighting machines the world has yet seen. III. SIMILARITIES TO PLATO Houston Stewart Chamberlain is reputed by Kne Her to have said: * Every inch Of Hellenic soil is sacred to us and rightly so.* Greece with her * heroes, rulers, warriors, thinkers, poets, sculptors* is a model for Germany, for with her * dumb nature awakes to eonseiousness**36 | We have already pointed out that the Englishman-turnedi German is probably the major prophet of Hitlerism, and he remains in eharacter so far as this assertion is concerned. It is, indeed, surprising to discover the points of similarity between the practice of National Socialism and the theories advanced by Plato in the Republic. It is important to remember, however, that the end objectives of Hitler and of Plato were not similar in most respects, but it is also important to realize that these two state-plan- ners, living several thousand years apart, should find some of the same tools useful. i I There is a considerable element of similarity between Nazi philosophy and Plato in the matter of the use of the propaganda and the lie. One of Hitler* s most shocking ! pronouncements was the theory of the big lie which he jexpounded as follows: I Therewith one started out with the very I correct assumption that in the size of the lie 1 there is always a certain factor of credibility, i since the great masses of people may be more corrupt in the bottom of their hearts than they I will be consciously and intentionally bad, there- I fore with the primitive simplicity of their minds ^ Kne Her, op. cit.. p. 113. they will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one^ since they themselves perhaps also lie sometimes in little things hmt would certainly still he too mach ashamed of too great lies. ^Thus smeh an nntrmth will not at all enter their heads, and therefore they will he mnahle to believe in the posslhility of the enormous impudence of the most infamous distor tion in others; indeed, they may doubt and hesitate even when being enlightened, and they accept any cause at least as nevertheless being true; therefore, just for this reason some part of the most impudent lie will remain and stick; a fact which all great lying artists and socie ties of this world know only too well and there fore villainously employ.37 Hitler at this stage of his career was condemning the use of this device by others. However, he did not rule out its use by Naziism, and later he gave it his full and I i I complete blessing. I In the first three books of the Republic Plato dis- jcusses the use of lying at some length. In book III Plato offers the following commentary: To the rulers of the state then, if to any, it belongs of right to use falsehood, to deceive either enemies or their own citizens for the public good; but no one else may have this priv ilege; and although the rulers have this priv ilege, for a private person to lie to them in return is to be deemed a more heinous fault than for the patient of the pupil of a gymnasium not 9 Op • o it # # p # %7 to speak the truth about his own bodily illness to the physician or to the trainer. • • .38 There is a rather marked similarity between these 1 I two statements. Both men consider the lie useful to rulers^ ! but it should be pointed out that the ultimate purposes of j the two men are quite different. Plato set up moral j perfection as the aim of his state and ruled out power as ■ 'an objective. Hitler, on the other hand, spoke much of I i I self-realization and, at times, of morality, but there is ilittle doubt that the true aim of the Nazi state was com- I Iplete and total power. j j It should be noted that there was some doubt in Platons j I mind that anyone should have the right to lie, but no such questioning of the principle appears in the writings of i /Hitler. Plato spoke much of the character of justice and morality, but these concepts are noticeably lacking in Hitler. In the writer’s estimation this lack indicates that the only morality for Hitler was power and nothing | I I ! ■ ! I else. j * i j There are other elements of similarity between Plato I ! and Hitler. Plato taught that the highest good of the : i I individual is secured in the highest good of the state, the. 3®plato, The Republic, tr. by B. Jowett (Mew York; Modern Library, 1%1), p. ~1 former being merged into the latter* This idea is reflected to a considerable extent in the Volk concept of National Socialism and in the principle of the total sacrifice of j the individual for the welfare of the state* There is | also a degree of likeness in the concept of the individual j as merged into thé German soul* It is even more interest- ! ing that this similarity should exist because Hitler makes j \ no mention of Plato in Mein Kampf♦ It appears obvious, - ■ i however, that the idea had by devious routes found its way ’ into Hitler’s mentality, probably through the concepts of the German philosophers to whom he occasionally turned to support the development of his theses* ' Plato speaks of temperance, a virtue, as consisting ; of obedience of men to their governors *39 How different is this form from the Nazi concept of obedience as a virtue? Essentially Hitler’s state was a military one in which each individual was exhorted to follow his leader unquestioning- » ly for the collective good. For Hitler as for Plato, i obedience was a prime virtue. There is a difference in the! I kind of governors set up by Hitler and by Plato, but given , the governor or government, then obedience becomes a virtue oc. cit* k9 in both the Republic and the Third Reich. Plato’s obedience, however, is rational; Hitler's is not. After the Nazi government was well established it I began putting out ’ ’suggested” bibliographies of stories I for school libraries over which it exercised thorough ! censorship and control. Plato also advocated censorship I for youth. All fiction writers were to be subject to Î I censorship in the ideal state. Suitable ones would be ! passed, others which do not serve the rulers’ purposes were \ Î to be rejected. Mothers and nurses were to be allowed to ! repeat authorized tales.Great men were never to be I portrayed in undignified positions. The gods were never I to be portrayed as wicked. In short, no tales were to be i told which disagreed with the purposes of the state. Granted again that the ultimate goals of Plato were moral, the practice of governing ideas seems to have recommended itself to Plato as well as Hitler. ! In the field of education there are wide discrep ancies between the ideals of Plato and those of National Socialism, but there are some resemblances in practice. . p. 377. Plato, as a true scholar, placed a high value on intellect.; This attitude, as we know, was not shared by the Nazis. I There are some similarities, however, in the objectives I and techniques of education. The objective of education I for Plato was training for citizenship, and it was the I means by which the unity of the state was to be aehieved.^^ Education was to take place under strict state| , control, and deportment was to be emphasized.4-^ I Gymnastics was to be part of education in the ideal I state and was to be of the military type, which recalls the I war sport of the Nazis. Education was to be general for all, plus a specified education for each rank in the j state, with the rulers receiving the longest and most j intense training. The warrior class, ranking next to the jrulers, was to have a high degree of military training and I to be the recipient of great honor. The merchant and farmer classes were to be trained in the pursuit of their particular trades. Here, once more, elements of similarity ■ with Naziism are apparent, but we must keep in mind that ' the over-all picture is quite different. ^^Plato, The Republic, tr. by Frances Mac Donald Corn- ford (New York: Oxford University Fresss, 191^-5), p. llif. Ibid.,_ p. 115. 51 In summarizing these educational eomparisoms it should be pointed out that the sequence of objectives in education for Plato and Hitler was quite different# We have noted previously that Nazi educational values, ranked in order of their importance, were (a) physical perfection, (h) character, and (e) intellectual achievement#W The objectives of education for Plato were (a) truth ! for the rulers, (b) courage for the warriors, (c) moderation I for the craftsmen and farmers, and (d) justice, which I * ' I re suits when the other aims are achieved #M4- The difference I j in the stress on the intellect is quite obvious here. It I ; is also clear that the ultimate objectives of these two I states cannot be the same, despite the similarity in tech niques, for Hitler never spoke to the German people with or I about moderation; he thought in terms of maximums and I commended them to his people. I One further similarity of Plato’s teachings with those I ;of National Socialism should be discussed# Because Naziism I ■ I iplaced so much stress on bodily perfection it is not I j ! surprising that Hitler declared the right of the state to • p# 21. lliam Ebemstein, Great Political Thinkers (New York: jRinehart and Co., Inc#, 195j), p# 6 ff# control the breeding of Germans. Few states in the history of the world have attempted to go as far in this matter as did Nazi Germany* But Hitler had been anticipated in this regard, too. Plato established a more rigid program of selective breed ing than any actual state has ever done, although it was personal, not racial. In his discussion of Plato’s con cepts Ebenstein says: The preparation of the rulers begins before they are born, as the very pairing of the parents is arranged by a preconceived plan that is to insure the highest physical and mental qualities of the offspring to be bred.4-5 Both writers show a high degree of prenatal concern for their citizenry. It would be interesting to know what kind of a Volk Germany would have produced had the Nazi regime lasted long enough to have become fully effective. (Let us point out again in closing that Plato aimed at physical and mental perfection, but that Hitler’s concern was with physical perfection almost exclusively, although he did not go so far as to approve the mating of physically perfect but mentally deficient persons. To sum up then it is true that there are striking k$ Loc. cit. similarities between the techniques and some of the ob jectives of Plato’s ideal state and those conceived by Hitler# The same statement cannot be made about the principles on which the two states rest. The Republic j rests on what Plato conceived to be truth, justice, and | wisdom, but Hitler’s Reich rested upon a basis of physical t force and strength of will with wisdom running a poor j third. It must be concluded then that these two men were ' using some of the same tools but not for the same end. I Plato sought happiness for the inhabitants of his state; I Hitler sought power and unity as a means to the higher j realizations of humanity. For Plato the ’ ’vision of Good- I ness” was the highest goal, for Hitler it was a mystic j unification of the individual with the Volk. Î I IV. THE POLITICAL SOLDIER I I The Nazis conceived of Germany as a completely ' I I ”ordered” state, in which each person had a function or j ! functions which he performed willingly and happily. There ' i ’ ! was to be no dissension, because dissension created doubt and disunity. Hitler envisioned for the German people a state in which each person was a "political soldier,** ; a difficult concept for citizens of a democracy who traditionally divorce the military from politics. The political soldier was the ideal German who had a talent for the heroic-soldierly way of life. He was to be educated first for capable activity and secondly to under stand the political situation of his people, Aurel Kolnai speaks of this ideal Nazi creation as follows : The Political Soldier--the fulcrum of the j Nazi State--is not satisfied with the word ’ fa- j therland,* which fails to convey to him a eon-* ; Crete image of the sacred Things to which he j pertains. He wants to know where the enemy Î stands, # . . to participate in the State, for j it is the State that defines the Enemy,48 ; • If we translate this statement into less spirited I jlanguage, what we have is a sort of reckless, obedient, pugnacious, and courageous individual with a strong straight body who waits only to have the person who must be con- jquered pointed out to him. And who will point him out? I Of course, it is the state, and he is taking part in the i state when he follows her direction as to where he should * apply his strength. He does not think, he does not reason, I ; Ihe awaits the command and acts, A good portrait of a i i I I soldier perhaps, but is it an equally good picture of an | : ideal citizen? The implications of this ideal for educa- I : tion are many. The teacher became a military commander to ! Aurel Kolnai, The War Against the West (New York: Viking Press, 1938T, p. 149• whom his charges were responsible as he, in turn, was totally responsible to the state. The emphasis of educa tion on physical development, courage, and obedience was made paramount, and the teacher who failed to inculcate the hates, fears, and prejudices dictated by the state was soon purged, V I Mental training and the development of the scientific | I attitude were now thrust into the background, because Naziism convinced itself that youth would accept fundamental ! virtues without reasoning them out. This was a true edmca- ! - ' I tional revolution, because the school could no longer I develop individual personalities but must endeavor to jcreate a group personality. Once the concept of the : political soldier invaded the school, the school also fell I into lock step with the Nazi We It ans chauung and became ! totally regimented, teacher and pupil alike, i j In reading the literature of Nazi educational philos- I ' ! ophy certain words and phrases become commonplace : ’ ’ warrior: j band,” ’ ’ political soldier,” ’ ’militarism,” ”heroic mode of ! life ; ” all such phrases can be translated into one word, aggression. It was disciplined aggression that Naziism I I ordered educators to nurture in the young and to their I everlasting shame they did so. V. "PAITH IS THE PUHREH, LOVE FOR THE FÜHRER, HATE FOR THE EHEMIES OF THE REICH" Nazi education did not take place in the school alone. Every possible means was used to ’ ’educate” the | young, The school boy or girl saluted the Leader from : j fifty to one hundred and fifty times per day, according to i I Erika Mann,47 1 I As the child walked the streets he was constantly I ^reminded of the Leader by posters, magazines, theater I j placards , and the Hitler Youth to which he was required to I belong. His success in school depended largely upon his ^ ability to parrot the eut-and-dried answers to the eut-and- ! dried questions that told him again and again that he must Ilove the Leader, he must have faith in the Leader, and he I must hate those the Leader instructed him to hate, I Mo less an authority than Hitler himself pointed out Ithat youthful brains were being burdened with knowledge i Î ninety-five per cent of which they did not need and would | I consequently forget,This ninety-five per cent did not j I include any of the Nazi doctrines. I l7 ^ Erika Mann, School for Barbarians (Mew York: Modern ge Book, 1938), p# Al, ^^Hitler, op, cit.. p. Under these doctrines the child was taught that t^e I Leader was infallible and that it was his moral duty to obey willingly and happily. He was taught that the Leader was the living symbol of the German Volk and that by bending his will to that of the Leader’s he became one with him and the whole ”folk-soul,” He was taught that he belonged to a master race and that he, as an individual, I might be called upon to sacrifice himself for that r ace. I The school, through the Leader, drilled the student in i -, I the pure German tongue; he was taught history featuring i * race purity and stressing the German struggle against her t I I enemies; geography included the German lands beyond the j Reich; his biology class concerned itself with race I science; physical education consisted of war sports and j terrain sports. He received some preparation for entrance I into a vocation or profession, but he received much greater training in the political will of the state and i therefore his own will,49 i I I He believed his mentors because they were never con- j I tradieted, H@ loved because the Leader was constantly j I presented to him as the saviour of the German people, and I I none denied it. He hated because the bestialities of I Germany’s enemies at home and abroad had been pointed out } to him repeatedly. He lived in a sado-masochistic world ^^Kandel, op. cit., p, 44^* in a constant state of siege, and he had an excellent chance ©f dying in it. CHAPTER III PRimRY EDUCATION I. GRUNDSGHULE (FOUNDATION SCHOOL) On the eonclusion of his sixth year the child is compelled, to enter the Grmndschule, He mtist remain at the Grumdschule for four years* The aim of the Grnndschule is gradual ly to transform the natural aptitudes of the child into a will to work*^ This statement of Wilhelm and Grafe is an interesting 'one because of the last phrase* It is pertinent that it i ! was made in a booklet intended for distribution in English I ' speaking countries and was somewhat ”toned down,” Dr* j Susanna Engelmann in her short treatise on German education I expressed her conviction that the entire curriculum of the I ! elementary or Grundschule was built around the concept of racism and race superiority* The purpose of this training I 1 was to convince the child of German superiority over other ' g I peoples*^ Perhaps this attitude motivated the will to , I I I work, but there seems to be a real possibility that it ^Theodor Wilhelm and Gerhard Grafe, German Education Today (Berlin: Terramare Office, 193®), p. b. ^Susanne G* Engelmann, German Education and Re-Education York: International University Press, 194^), _p* might have dome exactly the opposite* The Grundschule was required for all German children and was a prerequisite to any further education* Its duration was four years* The techniques employed were intuition and perception* In some respects this school might have been considered ”progressive” because it in volved active participation in the cultural and creative 1 life of the German people* The tools of learning included ; radio and all types of audio-visual education* So far as ! the basic skills were concerned, they were not to be I ; neglected, but neither were they stressed* Instruction I was integrated as far as possible, but was departmental- Iized when integration ceased to be practical, and the I study of German heroes and German feats of arms was prev- Î aient throughout the Grundschule y e a r s * 3 i I The Grundschule* according to Krieck, was to be ! rooted in the blood and soil of Germany, integrated with j the life of the community, and was to make intellect the i I servant and not the master. Instruction was to be of a | I functional nature and was to consist of ”organic unities.”4' _ P* Kneller, The Educational Philosophy of Nation al Socialism (Hew Haven: ïale University Press, 1 9 4 1 ) , PP# j IWI " i ^J©ha W. Taylor, "Edaeatlon In the New Germany," Inter- i nationale Zeitschrift* V (1938), pt. II, 3^8. This does not sound greatly different from the aims and techniques of an American elementary school, although the j I Reich Minister’s point on intellect is open to question; certainly the similarity of ’ ’organic unities” to the Ameri can ’ ’ unit of work” is obvious# The school was to become a living part of the community, for the aim of Nazi educa- j tion was, as in all things, unity. ! 1 II. TEE OBERSTUFE (UPPER GRADE SCHOOL) I This school consisted of the upper four grades of the j Volkschule. Most German children continued through the ; entire eight-year course in the Oberstufe, at the conclusicn i , . . 1 of which they entered the various types of vocational and jcontinuation schools to complete their education.5 This ' kind of education was comparable to our ’ ’vocational course” in the high school. The age of German children when leaving school was normally fourteen years. The school I year, divided into three terms, was from Easter to Easter with eighty-five days of vacation. { j I The technique of the Oberstufe was to base the train- | I ing on the independent activity of the student. Knowledge ^Horace Taylor, Redirecting Education, ed. by Tugwell and Keyserling (New York: Columbia University Press, 1935), II,, p# l6. I was to be discovered by the pupil by watching, experiment ing, and thinking, with the teacher acting as guide and mentor* Knowledge was not to be directly taught by the teacher to the student* Most important, the Oberstufe was directed by the Leader and the Reich Minister to develop a well-rounded and balanced personality in thought, desire, and behavior.^ I Some of us who have had contact with the American I ■ educational scene over the past twenty years remember well I the scorn and derision which met the ’ ’progressive” school I ^ I and the ’ ’directed play” movement, It is interesting that jthese ideas and techniques recommended themselves to the I j democratic and totalitarian minds at approximately the I same time. I Students who distinguished themselves in the Ober stufe had the further opportunity of entering the Aufbau- Ischule in the secondary division, so it was not the policy I to direct the path of the student irrevocably at the age j of ten. The number of students who did this was small, however•7 The Oberstufe with the Grundschule covered the entire ^Ibid., pp. 12—13. ^Kneller, loc. cit. period of primary ©duGatlon* The two schools comprised the Volkschmle» which was the only school for the majority of Germans, both under Hitler and during the Weimar Republic* Some attention should be paid to the fact that the arrangement of primary schooling in Nazi Germany was not ! ! original with the Weimar Republic or with the National i I Socialists* Alina M. Lindegren, a United States Office of 1 Education specialist on Western European education, ex presses her attitude as follows: The main features of present German education were in existence long before the period of the republic. . . . Elementary and continuation schools, many types of vocational training, the various j kinds of 9-year secondary schools, provision for ' teacher training, and nearly if not all phases of a modern educational system were developed during the Empire.® In regard to curriculum, however, the differences were very marked. We shall leave the discussion of this point for a later section* III. SPECIAL SCHOOLS ' I Nazi government issued a decree late in 1935 which ^Education in Germany. by Alina M. Lindegren, U.S. Office; of Education, ho. 15 (Washington: 1938), p* x. set up special schools for Jews*9 The decree was not published in the official Journal, but was reported in the ”International Education Review*It provided that special classes and schools were to be established for Jewish children whenever twenty or more could be assembled* Prior to this time limitations on admissions had applied only to secondary schools*^^ Segregation of the "Aryans” iand Jews was to be as complete as possible* I Selection of children for these schools was to be 1 based on racial ancestry rather than religious preference.^ It is a matter of some interest that a child qualified as , I a Nordic if he had no more than one Jewish grandparent* If we compare this edict with the theory of race purity, we find that some difficult practical decisions arose iêt : Berlin* There were also special schools for blind and/or deaf and dumb children* The schools were known as auxiliary ^John W* Taylor, op* alt*, p* 331* 11 12 Loc * cit* schools or Hllfschulen* It was felt by some educational observers outside the Reich that National Socialist theory j would require the closing of the Hilfsdhulen, but this did \ I not occur# There was, in fact, a stepping up of this j program by a decree issued in 1938*^3 It would be incor rect to infer that the Hilfschulen represented a Nazi creation, however, since they existed in the pre-Nazi ! Noticeable because of their absence were primary ; schools for exceptional children— either of high or low I mentality# The German philosophy of primary education did i I not appear to differentiate the needs of children on a 'mental basis# Much controversy has ensued in the United jStates over "automatic promotion,” which is a means of i I dealing with the problem of the slow learner# How this ; problem was handled in the Tolkschulen under Hitler seems I to be a moot point, insofar as the educational literature I I is concerned# There can be no doubt that it did arise# I I The number of possibilities for dealing with it are quite I I limited— dismissal, special classes, or automatic promo- Ition. I ! l ' a Loc # clt # I . . . . . IV# VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS The Republic stressed vee&tional education as a means of assisting individuals to achieve their social and economic aims# This objective did not fit the Nazi principle of subordination of individual ambition to that of the state# The old aim of producing a competent work man gave way to the production, first, of a good citizen as judged by the Nazi criteria, and, second, of a reason ably competent workman# The Nazi plan of vocational training essentially was to provide training by means of activity and production for the common good, as in the labor service# Dr# Kneller has stated his viewpoint in the following paragraph: • # # In the belief that education should not be limited to schooling. National Socialist educational planning sees to it that the ’practical-minded* youngster is privileged to get his training systematically and with reason able thoroughness through 'experience on loca tion’ and under the direction of sympathetic, adaptable instructors especially trained for the work# There is no stigma attached to the youth who pursues his training outside the traditional j « # # # ! The Intention here is clear# The slogan might have i ■ I I been, "Help the Volk while you learn,” not, as in America, ! Kneller, op# cit# # p# "Earn while you learn.” This policy meant that the entire arrangement of vocational schools set up so laboriously under the Republic was to go into eclipse# The apprentice-| ship system, however, continued# Labor service was com pulsory after 1937, and the Nazi educators looked upon this as a period of learning, although much of the labor was j manual in character and had doubtful educational value# I ! The handling of vocational schools by the Nazis is I ■ : one of the best illustrations of the contempt that the Nazi| I leaders had for the formal education of the great mass of jcitizens simply to improve their individual positions in society# It would be difficult to indicate less concern for individual welfare# Horace Taylor, in discussing vocational schooling, voices the thought that "such an educational purpose |to create skilled craftsmen3 caters to, and fosters, a strong individualism#"^5 This was far from the goal the Leader had in mind# I I V. CONTROL OP SCHOOLS ! After May 1, 1934 schools of the Reich were brou^at under the control of a national ministry of education#^8 l5 '^Horace Taylor , op# cit#. p# , loc# cit# They were subjected t© the Fuhrerprimzlp (leadership principle), as were all other social, political, and economic agencies of the Reich. Within the schools the principle was applied in the same manner. The committee system of control was abolished. The school heads were appointed by the central government largely on a basis of 1 party membership— the earlier one had Joined before 1933, the better was one’s chance of appointment.17 All teachers! were required to belong to the National Socialist League j of German Teachers#^® Each school head or principal was ; i held responsible by the party for the activities of the j I ! : teachers; the logical consequence of this was the creation * of suspicion and fear among the members of the school staffs. Staff meetings were considered mainly advisory. Each state had its state education office which was ordinarily comprised of the old state ministry of educa tion reorganized to bring it in line with the new prin- I Giple. It was the duty of this office to enforce all ^^William Ebenstein. The Nazi State ( New York; Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1943), P* 1®T— ^ cit. 69 educational decrees from the Reich Ministry# In the larger states--especially Prussia— control of higher education was directly under the state education office, hut other schools were left to the immediate control of local authorities, providing they complied fully with all direc tives from higher authority#19 There is a close similarity between this type of school organization and military organization, and as a matter of actual practice the Nazi primary schools were more military and political than educational in character. Organizationally, they were nearly perfect for the Nazi’s purposes. Even the parent-teacher organizations (Schulgemelnde) were brought under the control of the Reich Ministry# They became advisory bodies to coordinate the school, the home, and the State.20 la reality they were reorganized into rather powerful institutions to carry the educational policies of the Reich Ministry beyond the school into community life. VI. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS By the law of July 6, 1938 the period of compulsory , P* XI. Kneller, op. cit.. p. attendance was set at eight years--that Is to say, from the sixth through the fourteenth year of age $ One of the states, Schleswig-Holstein, had a nine year period of com pulsory schooling, but this was reduced under the direction of the central Ministry* After the beginning of World War II pupils could 1 i receive work furloughs when their labor was especially j needed. There was a trend after 1937 to begin the teach- I ! Iing of trades and technical fields for the purpose of i I : I shortening the period of apprenticeship or further voca- | itional education.21 it is quite plain that the Leader’s j education ministers were convinced that there were more ' I I important functions than school for twelve- and fourteen- I . year-olds at this stage of the Nazi struggle. I Attendance during these years was at public expense. * However, we are informed by A.M. Lindegren that the Reich I government did not appropriate funds for educational I i I purposes, but that these costs were borne almost entirely j ! by t h e s t a t e s a n d t h e l o c a l community o r g a n i z a t i o n s.22 I ' I ‘ This would seem to be a case of taxation without represen- : tat ion. Naturally there was little complaint on the point Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. Y i l within Germany# Some misunderstanding has arisen in the United States regarding the early age at which German students ( and those of many other European countries) could leave school. The writer hopes that it has been made clear that students I I destined for the universities had a much longer period I of attendance than the vocational student. During the I pre-Hitler period, in the case of the vocational student, ! either a lengthy period of apprenticeship or further ivocational training was virtually required before he could I expect to be completely self-supporting. 1 It should also be noted that the Constitution of the I Republic prescribed compulsory school attendance from age I six to eighteen, although the last four could be continu- I ation or part-time school.^3 Here we have another I indication of the National Socialist intention of devoting ias little as possible of the early years to formal eduea- j j tion of a non-political nature# It is apparent that ! Hitler was serious when he spoke of over schooling and the cluttering of young minds. Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf (Hew York: Reynal and Karl Schwarz, described by Kneller as *^a capable young confrere of Theodore Wilhelm,” writing in the monthly Journal of the Akademiacher Auatauschdienst> offered the opinion that the lowered school age would aid in bolstering the national economy and help satisfy the demand for more skilled workers created by the restoration of military sovereignty; also, the young men would reach their full j I occupational development sooner, he said.% ; It is difficult not to compare this reasoning with ; ■ ' * the present discussion of educational needs in the United ! States created by the need for "restoration of military i ^ i I sovereignty# Developments in the past twenty years seem I ‘ I to indicate that more and not less education at a higher I j le^el and of a higher quality is needed. The cry in Germany I was for technical skills in the 1930*s while perhaps a I louder cry has been raised in the United States of the I ' *195G*s for nuclear physicists and engineers. The formula 1 - I ifor survival appears to have changed. I I i VII. TOMBER ® P S G H O O t S I ; I I j Dr* William Ebenstéin has extracted the following } statistics from Deutsche Wissenschaft » Brziehung. und , op. cit., p. 213 73 Volksblldung for August 20, 19IJ.G! Beginning with the grade school (for child ren six to ten years) we find that the number of schools and teachers has decreased while that of the pupils has remained fairly stable. From 1931 to 1939 the number of grade schools declined from $2,9^9 to There is a good probability that these figures are accurate since they were issued by a National Socialist j ministry which would not be anxious to report that its i function in the Third Reich was declining in size or I j prestige. However this may be, the inevitable result of I I the situation undoubtedly was more pupils per classroom I and more per teacher, which is referred to in the United States as "increasing the norm"--a highly undesirable situation. The Reich, like the United States, suffered a teacher shortage both before and during the war. There were several causes for this which we shall leave for later consideration, but the inevitable outcome was that those schools which could not obtain teachers had to close. In the next section of this chapter we shall consider what the effect of this action was on those schools which con tinued to operate. Ebenstein, loe. cit. One definite cone Ins ion may be drawn from the sitma- j Ition: the Nazis were not interested in the quality of | I education as that term was understood in the Republic, nor | f I as' it is presently understood in the United States. This j I attitude must have been partly due to Hitler’s personal | j antipathy toward formal schooling which he expressed in j I Mein Kampf .^7 I ' j In a sense the Nazi view of education was a broad one. 'They believed, as Dr. Ebenstein believes, that "the most i . . 'important education a child receives is not necessarily i given in a school or in any other formal fashion. Environ ment is in itself an agency of influence and control.’ I Nazi education was devised to be continuous--in the j ; home, in the school, in the Hitler Youth, and, above all, in the Army.But the education in which Hitler was most i interested was not history, language, science, or mathe matics, but "patriotic education.” Early in the war the supreme commanders of the German were expressing the opinion that "grave damages" r, op. cit.. p. Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. ll4-7# 7^1 would result for the military services if elementary school standards were not improved over those which pre- I vailed at the beginning of the war.30 It is probably well j i contended that a sizeable part of this deficiency was due to the constantly decreasing number of schools. The word "mass" had great attraction for the National Socialist I planners, and they seemed determined to apply it to educa- | tion. I i VIII. DENSITY OP POEÜLATION Depending again on Dr. Ebenstein* s figures from the source previously mentioned, we find that during the years ' 1931-1939 the student population declined slightly, but I that the average density per classroom increased from ! 38.9 to i|-0.3. On a per teacher basis the increase was j from 39*3 to The actual density was often between I 5© and 6© owing to the fact that about one-third of the elementary schools were one-class schools.31 Aline M. Lindegren, quoting a statistical report ; taken from the Statistical Yearbook for the German Reich published in Berlin in 1937» shows a total public ^^Ebenstein, op. cit.. pp. 158-9. ^^Ibid.. p. elementary school enrollment of 7,892,1% pupils and a total number ©f classes of 192,6% on May 1$, 1936.32 Working these figures out, the average classroom density is approximately I 4 .I, which gives reasonable support to Dr. Ebenstein*s figures, since I936 is the approximate mid-point of the period considered in his report. The decline in the number of private schools was very I marked. By 1939 the total number of private schools was 1 only 207 with a total enrollment of 16,537#-^^ These ' I schools were attended by "Aryan" students who required ! I special care, Jewish children, and a few foreign children. I ' . I Courses of study and appointment of teachers were strictly I regulated by the government.3^ These figures give an I average enrollment of about eighty students per school, j Aline Lindegren* s figures show a total of i j .76 schools with I a total enrollment of 37»793 pupils on May 15» 1936.35 ! Here the enrollment is just under eighty per school, j Miss Lindegren gives us another figure which is quite , interesting, the number of private school classrooms in , op. cit.. p. , p. 211. 77! I , which enables us to calculate the density per class- j room. There were 1,509 c l a s s e s , 36 therefore the classroom density was very slightly over twenty-five per classroom, an interesting contrast to forty or more in the public schools. The most significant fact in comparing these statis tics is that the total number of private schools had i j declined from ij .76 in 1936 to 207 im 1939 # The logical i ,deduction is that private schools were fast losing favor i with the German people* When we consider that the private school was now strictly regulated and that both Catholic and Protestant church schools were prohibited by 1939 » it is not surprising that well over half of them closed their doors between 1936 and 1939#^^ What general conclusions can be drawn from these figures? First, classroom density rose continuously under Nazi control of the educational system. Secondly, the total number of schools decreased because of teacher I shortages and the unpopularity of the private school with ! the National Socialist government. Third, the private I I school organization, which had been sizeable in the I Republic, had been virtually forced out of existence by j_______________ _________ _ I ^^Loc. cit. I 1939» and, lastly, German educators did not appear to relate class size to pupil achievement. I i IX. GURRXGÜLUM IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS I The most obvious effect of Nazi ism on the German j primary school system is in the area of curriculum. When j we consider Hitler’s general policy statements regarding ! I education, it is logical that sweeping curriculum changes iwould take place, for it was through the schools that I Hitler hoped to initiate the process of creating the ("political soldier." To gain a full understanding of the changes that took i place in this area we should first examine the curriculum : of the elementary schools under the Republic. The typical ! course of study in most of the German states was composed j of the following subjects : German, arithmetic, singing, I drawing, religion, gymnastics, manual training, and Heimat- I kunde. which included German customs, traditions, and local geography. Most educators would agree that such a course j I : of study is quite acceptable in the schools of a democratic society, though some might object to the inclusion of i ; religion. There is an interesting resemblance between this i I course of study and the nineteen subjects included in the j Los Angeles City elementary curriculum at the present time. I I Religious instruction was on a voluntary basis in the 79 schools of the Republic, and parents who did not belong to any religious denomination could not be forced to permit their children to attend such instruction. Pupils were allowed to decide for themselves whether to continue this instruction after they reached the age of fourteen.38 Much has been said regarding the relationship of the Heimatkunde (environment) as taught under the Republican government and under the Nazi regime. To quote Horace Taylor, "Here the-child Is-given Instruction in . . . Heimatkunde. which comprises German manners and traditions ! and also local geography."39 I This statement must be compared with the definition of this study made by the Reich Minister of Education in a decree of April 10, 1937 : In the study of environment the child shall learn to know, experience, and love the homeland, and to feel himself a rooted member of the German people. Eince in a broad sense, all instruction at the Volkschule serves the study of environment the special instruction in the subject during the first four years of school shall not only impart information but also lay a firm foundation fpr pride in homeland, family, race, and leader , on. cit.. pp. Horace Taylor, op. cit.. p. l6. Lindegren, op. cit.. p. i j . # There was a very apparent change in the objectives of this subject under Nazi guidance. The words "race,” "home land," and "leader" had a great significance in changing the purposes and, to be sure, the content of the study. For instance, the study of environment became military geography under the Nazis. I The curriculum of the Qberstufe under the Republic was generally similar to that of the Grundschule. but I I Heimatkunde was replaced by German history and civics, and I ; ' I natural science and geometry were added. Aline Lindegren ; indicates the following subjects as the curriculum of the I Prussian Qberstufe. which, she says, is representative of jthe other states: religion (voluntary), German, history, i civics, geography, natural science,^ arithmetic, geometry, ! jdrawing, singing, gymnastics, manual training (for boys) I and sewing (for girls) ‘ j This was the pattern of the curriculum in the German I primary schools during the period from 1920-1933* The I situation in the primary schools between 1933 and 1937 was I deliberately left confused by the Nazis, but in 1937 a i primary school reform decree was promulgated by the Reich ! Minister of Education which was to change the Republican ^^Lindegren, op. cit., p. 6 pattern consider ably *4^ Essentially the reform was a shift in emphasis, more than a change in subject matter# Physical education or gymnastics became a prime subject# There was a provision limiting the amount of homework to give greater time for youth activity# The school program was integrated with after school activity, stressing physique and character# Purely intellectual activity was relegated to a tertiary position, and, of course, Heimat kunde received the new content which we have indicated I previously#4J Nazi educational leaders such as Bernhard ! IRust insisted that intellectual activity was not receiving j I decreased attention but that better schedules made possible [more time for sports and gymnastics#44- There is a great I I mass of evidence that Dr# Rust's opninion in this matter Iwas not correct# New techniques were to replace the older ones, and I many of these innovations would have been called "progrès- jsive" in the United States at that time# ! I Considerable use was made of motion pictures (audio- ! visual education), but all films were subjected to a severe censorship to prevent conflict with National Socialist Kneller, op# cit# # p# 205# , p. 75. ^Kneller, op# cit## p. 82 ; i philosophy#^5 The idea of Volk was to be constantly j I stressed, and the hero concepts were to be kept before the • pupil constantly# Reading, writing, and arithmetic were | not to be cast out, because they were necessary for the j other concepts and skills pupils were expected to master#4-6| The situation in the upper school (Qberstufe) was | approximately equivalent to that which has been described, j I t except that the work of the student was to be based more I on guided independent activity# Aside from this, the i j curriculum was much the same as that of the Republic, but I I the work was not to be one-sided, self-centered training of ' the intellect; it was to produce a balance of thought, i desire, and behavior#^7 i X. TEXTBOOKS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS In July, 1933 the Minister of the Interior of the ; Third Reich issued the following instructions to writers ! I I of history textbooks to be used in German schools: John Eugene Harley, World-Wide Influences of the Cinema (Los Angeles : The University of Southern California Pressi , p# 131# Kneller, loc# cit# , pp # 11— Historical instruction at all levels imist interweave the idea of the hero in its German expression, associated with the idea of the leader in our day. . . . The idea of the hero leads directly to a heroic world viewpoint which is characteristic of us as a German people, and of no other, and permits us to derive ever new power in the struggle for national self-determi nation in the midst of a hostile world.4-3 These instructions go on to point out the outcomes j ) at which historians are to arrive in their examinations i I of history for the preceding twenty years. No mention is jmade of facts, objectivity, or even self-respect. ! j We cite this example because it is typical of the I - j entire Nazi attitude toward the scholarly pursuits, text- i j books, and truth in general. For the followers of Adolf | ! I Hitler, truth was what Hitler Indicated, and anything ; I . I which pointed elsewhere was a f alsehood to be stamped out j I by every possible means. Gne might well question the ' I willingness of learned men to debase themselves suffielent- I ,ly to follow this directive, yet such men were found and j they did follow the directive. The only conclusion that | I I I can be drawn from this behavior is that for these men the j I I great universities of Germany had failed and that they ; helped forge the chains which were subsequently to bind these renowned institutions. ' Horace Taylor, op. cit.. p. 38. % Dr. Engelmann says, "This flattering conviction [of German superiority] was fostered in the elementary school in four main subjects: German, history, geography, biology."^9 As a consequence, it is in these areas that new textbooks began to appear. In history there was a wealth of material available to the Nazi pedagogue. Lists of permitted textbooks were published by the Ministry of Education as well as a list of those not acceptable. Textbooks were not standârdized throughout the Reich but had to be taken from the approved listOccasionally a book was published by the Franz Ehr Publishing Company which all children were required to purchase--an excellent device for the publishing house which was owned by the Nazi party.5l in these publications much was made of German achievements and heroes ; nothing I was said of German defeats and German failings. The famous work of Alfred Rosenberg, The Myth of the Twentieth Century, which violently attacked the fundamen tals of the Christian faith, was adopted as a history text ^usanne C. Engelmann, German Education and Re-Education (New York: International University Press, 1945) » p. 8o^. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. l50. p. 151. for schools of the secondary level and upward, and became i the basis for the history section of the famous little book used in the primary schools. The Nazi P r i m e r . 5 2 I Dobers and Higelke, a pair of professors at the j I Teachers' College at Elbing, produced a manual for elemen- j tar y teachers in which they unhesitatingly averred that j Germany's past performance proved her future invincibility.; j . , i I The manual was written in I9I 4 - 0 before the United States I entered the w a r .^3 ; A most unusual development of the Nazi educational I system was the appearance of textbooks in the elementary I schools which presented very doubtful theories regarding i ; German achievements in the Stone and iron ages and the , Nordic character of the Greeks and Romans as established historical fact. These theories were developed by Rosen berg and Johann von Leers.54 In geography the textbooks dwelled at length on the "Lebensraum theory" or the need of the German people for living space. The superiority of Germans to all other European nations was the theme as the class moved from ' Ibid.. p. 83. Ibid.. p. 81. nation to nation.55 j Biology textbooks devoted many pages to race purity; { I blood and soil were mystically explained in chapters which | I convinced by their length alone ; the master-raee idea was j extolled in every conceivable manner. The problem of in- j I creasing the number of young Germans was handled with unusual frankness, and examples of the consequences of too I low a birth rate were placed before the very young for thei^ careful considérâtion.56 It should be mentioned that the German elementary school has traditionally depended little on the pupils' I direct use of textbooks. Information was often furnished to the teachers in the form of text-lessons which were to ^ be passed on to the students by oral means.57 The mere listing of books recommended by the Ministry of Science, Education, and Popular Instruction for primary school libraries makes Nazi educational policy quite plain. i Some such typical titles published in 1939 are the follow- : ing: The Germans and the Sea. Bismark and His Time. Julius | Caesar. The Conquest of Mexico. German Nurses at the Front. ' . p. 83. ^ Ibld.. p. 81^.. Ibid.. p. 85. I 87 Four Years of French Warfare in the West, Races. Nations. and Peoples, German Science and the Jewish Question, The People in Arms, and God's N a v y .58 Plainly the compilers of such a list were not fundamentally interested in the gentler side of human nature. One of the best examples of the type - of reader ad vocated by the National Socialists was a primer written by Richard Seewald and Ewald Tiesburger entitled Rhineland Children, which dwells on the glories of war. A supplement to this book by Elvira Bauer and highly recommended by the Party had the following title: Trust No Fox on a Green Heathi And No Jew on His Oath. Erika Mann, a bitter enemy of National Socialism, describes it thus: On the bright red cover are two pictures with the title. One is of the fox peering around a corner maliciously eager for his prey; and the other, a typical Nazi caricature of a Jew, beneath a star of David--huge nose, thick lips and bleary eyes, swearing his false oath with fat fingers raised. The book is printed in a luxurious edition with many colored illustrations and with a two color text. That is, those words which the authors wish to impress upon their readers are in red— "Devil," "Jews," "thick lips," "gangster." It is impossible to describe the level of sadistic cruelty, the dishonesty, and barbarism of this book, the core of all future training.59 5^Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. l52. ^^Erika Mann, School Age Book, 1938), p. 57. ^^Erika Mann, School for Barbarians (New York: Modern XI. FACULTIES ! i ! During the period of the Weimar lepuhlie the elemen- ; I tary school teachers had been considerably upgraded. They | I had been for many years before the Republic the only German; teachers without university training.6C After World War I ! I special training schools for elementary teachers were I established in Prussia at the university level, and other states admitted them to the universities to which training ' schools were attached. High school graduation was I The Republic gave these teachers the status Of state I officersThe principal of the school became "the first I among equals," and the general climate of teaching was i I j democratic and with a high degree of academic freedom. The ! committee system came into general use in the elementary I and primary schools. In short, the entire status of the jelementary teacher was on a higher plane. According to * ' Horace Taylor, "By these means the states of Germany I . _ , I developed a highly professionalized and competent body of | I teachers."63 f CP » cit. , p. Loe. cit. 62isaac L. Handel, Gomparative Etecation (Boston: Hough ton Mifflin Company, 1933) » pp. ‘ Horace Taylor, op, cit,. p. 22. On July 11, 1933 the Nazi gevernment issued a decree to all civil servants advising them to place their loyalty with their new regime and to study Mein Kampf# Shortly j after this they were required to sever any connection with ! I the Social Democratic Party and were screened by commit tees of "reliable” persons* Those showing any semblance j of opposition were dismissed# All of the liberal practices; I of the Republic were eliminated, the leadership principle 1 was established, and those who remained in the employ of the government showed considerable zeal in acquiring the i j Nazi viewpoint. The teachers were now deemed to be tt I The next step was the revision of the training for I teachers at the pedagogical institutes* The revisions, t j needless to say, involved the indoctrination of young I : teachers with the Nazi ideology, including the concept of I Blut und Boden, Volk, and Fiihrerprinzip. Some new sub- t ' ‘ ' ' I jects were added to the curriculum and others were to be emphasized: Volkskunde (knowledge of the folk), Wehr- geogiraphie (military geography), and Grenzlandkunde (know ledge of frontier lands)# The old pedagogical academies were reduced to the status of high schools for teacher training, thereby reducing the status of the teacher# Special institutions were established to devote themselves to the problems of rural education# The requirements for entrance into teacher training , were revised in 19A* These included such non-educational | things as detailed evidence of Aryan birth and a record of [ service in militant political organizations# Male appli- j cants were required to demonstrate musical skill and j ability to teach athletics, gymnastics, and popular sports#| Women candidates had to show ability in the household arts,| s ' I sports, and music# Both male and female candidates were I I required to have a certificate of maturity from a secondary- ! i ; school, and compulsory labor service was required of all I teacher candidates# ! * j A few words should be said about the type of examina- ! I I tion to which teacher candidates were subjected, usually j after two years in the training school# The prospective j teacher was examined in the following subjects: science of Î I education, character study, and child study, hereditary and • racial science, folklore, and general and special science 1 of instruction. The first subject, science of education, . f had a special emphasis on the place of the school in | relation to the Reich, the Party and its organizations, and! on the demands of the Reich on the school# Character study and child study concerned themselves with heredity and "racial science." The candidate was required to demonstrate his understanding of this subject i and how it could be applied in the educative process, and 91 h© had to show profiGiency in the methods of instruction in two fields he selected from the list of approved school subjects. Another interesting requirement was the ability | to use films and slides as teaching aids.6) 4 . j After the first examination was successfully passed, | the new teacher taught under a temporary appointment for j I i I a period varying at different times from two to five j 1 ' I years. He was required to attend study groups during this ! ^ j probationary period and was subjected to an oral examina- I j tion at the conclusion of it. Successful passage of this I examination led to a certificate of qualification for I ! ! j permanent appointment as an elementary teacher. There was | I the additional requirement for women that they had reached - ^ their 35th year of age.65 I The final step of the Nazi government was to organize I I the teachers into political acceptable groups. Two such I I groups were established by the Reich and the teachers 1 I j quickly decided at a meeting in Magdeburg in 1933 to join | I I I them, all other groups being disbanded. One of these j organizations was essentially philosophical and political Lindegren, op. cit.. p, 65 Loc. cit. while the other had the duty of promoting professional j activities.66 , The general outline presented here regarding primary j faculties follows that presented by Isaac Kandel,^^ and I I Aline L i n d e g r e n , 68 ^]^o are in substantial agreement. Other! authors present essentially the same ideas but are some- | I what less comprehensive. - I XII. WAR PROGRAMS ; ^ ... I i j A special war program was set up for the primary I schools in 1939 under the direction of the Nazi teachers' I association. A number of activities were instituted under I the program designed to assist the war effort. ! j A war celebration hour was initiated in which recent ! military victories were commemorated, or, in the absence of such achievements, past or ancient military feats were ! regaled. The week's program for the school was keyed to I I I the spirit of this celebration hour. A slogan was announced I which summed up the program for the coming week, and this I Isaac L. Kandel, The Making of Nazis (New York: Teachers College, Columbia Univerity, 1935)» p. 92. Kandel, op. cit.. pp. Lindegren, op. cit.. pp. 26-29, was posted Im a eonspieuoms place In each school• j ! à magazine. HI If Mit I. was published for elementary j \ school students, which like our comic sections, was read | by students and parents alike. It was made up of material j emanating from Dr. Goebbels* office designed to keep up i I the enthusiasm for the war. It succeeded well through the j early 1%0's, but its efficiency declined as Germany's | military star began to set. ^ I A pamphlet program was carried along with the activi- ' ties described above. Erika Mann says that they were scattered everywhere in the school as if by chance. They were usually published by the Nazi teachers* association and sold very cheaply. They repeatedly told the story of the greatness of German arms, "the heroic manner of life," and the necessity of fighting.69 The new education was thorough in its techniques. The war celebration hour and other military activities of the school were broadcast by radio to parents at home--an advanced means of maintaining the line of communication j between school and home I It was reasoned, no doubt, that ! those things which encouraged the children to hate, fear, and fight would do much the same to their parents. The | Mann, op. cit.. p tenacity ©f the German war effort is substantial evidence that it worked well# A word for which Hitler had great respect was Gleichschaltung ( coordination) # Everything in Germany was j to be coordinated with the fundamental purposes of the j Leader to prevent any internal disagreement and to win the i i war# The schools were no exception to this plan, and the | entire study program was coordinated# History, for example, became nothing more than a recounting of the National ! Socialist interpretation of events between the two World Wars. The Leader was extolled, German loyalty and unity I ; Iwere re-emphasized, and the justice and the certainty of I ,Germany's ultimate victory were recounted endlessly. If I i repetition is the soul of learning, as some educators have I I contended, then it must be admitted that the Nazi schools ! jwere doing an excellent jobI I I Geography, to be sure, became "war geographÿ^ in which I the teachers had passed an examination at the training German was taught by reading and writing themes on German heroes and heroic aspects of the war# Girls wrote on the contributions of women and girls to the war effort. Physics and chemistry were turned to the study of such Ithings as fire and air raid protection and ersatz materials. Each school week closed with a summary of the week's | military events* Addresses of the Leader were explained along with new laws, decrees, and regulations. Propaganda ! stories were discussed and given the fullest possible | psychological value, and the teacher was required to read j I letters from soldiers to their families to his charges* j There was no academic leeway for the teacher in these * 1 activities; they were to be regularly and fully complied with. I i I Teachers were required to take their classea out into : public places and military hospitals from time to time to ' I i sing patriotic songs to help maintain morale * By selling I song sheets to those whom they cheered, classes raised I ; funds which were used to send military song books to I soldiers. j The foregoing is principally a summarization of the I material presented by William Ebenstein on the war time 1 I I activities of the Nazi elementary schools. ! \ It is well annotated with primary source materials, j ‘ land it is possibly the only account of this aspect of the Nazi system available in English* 70 Ebenstein, op* cit*. pp* 153-56* CHAPTER IV SECONDARY SCHOOLS I. OBJECTIVES ■ ( ■ The edtieational position of the secondary schools was imich the same under the Empire and the Weimar Republic* Their basic aim was preparation of students for entrance into the universities* Until I9OO the Oymnasium was the only school authorized to issue the certificate of maturity on which university admission depended* From time to time after 19OO, other types of secondary schools were establish ed and permitted to grant the certificate of maturity, chiefly under the direction of the states* There were five main types of schools and a number of sub-types enjoying this privilege when Hitler came to power* On May 15, 193$ there were 1,989 such schools in existence within the Reich*^ The differences among the various types of schools lay chiefly in the foreign language requirements* The ^purest” type of school was the original Gymnasium* which demanded extensive pursuit of Greek and Latin. Other types ^Education in Germany * by Alina M. Lindegren, U*S* Office of Éducation, no* 1§ (Washington; 1938), p* 8, 97 permitted the substitution of one modern language, and some omitted the foreign language entirely. There were other differences involving stress on science and mathematics. The German secondary school system was ripe for re organization in 1933, for many of its objectives were antiquated and unrealistic. The word *^real” which appeared in the names of so many of the schools of Republican times signified that the school was an effort to meet the ’ ’realities** of the times. Hitler’s ministers were aware of this and took advantage of the situation to reorganize the schools and their objectives. Under the guidance of the states during the period of the Republic, the secondary schools continued the practice of preparing capable students to enter the professions and high governmental and business occupations by means of further training at the university level. This led to what ft o Kandel calls an ”overproduction of intellectuals, and provided still another opportunity for Hitler to alter the aims of the schools to suit the purposes of the Party. The traditional practice of the German secondary schools had been to provide the student with a well rounded ^Isaac L. Kandel, The Making of Nazis (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 193$)* PP* 9$-9o. 98 classical education with, more emphasis on. language and literature than on anything else, although there had been an increasing tendency during the later years of the Republic to stress science and mathematics. Observers generally agreed that these schools were thorough in that respect. Erika Mann tells us that "graduates of the Gymnasinm used to receive an education which brought them to the level of the sophomore or junior year of an American college."3 This kind of education was not what Rational Socialism desired, and the Nazi party began early to take steps to alter these aims. One of the earliest of these was to limit admissions to the secondary schools by a series of decrees beginning in 1933. In April, 19314- it was declared that Aryans were to be given preference over Jewish child ren, even in Jewish schools, if the number of acceptable students exceeded the number of places.% It had become a function of the secondary school to limit the number of persons eligible to enter the universities. Here is an indication of the Hitlerian philosophy of education and his deep-rooted antagonism to formal education. It was the 3grika Mann, School for Barbarians (Rew York: Modern Age Book, 1938), p. ^Kandel, op. cit., p. 9& 99 of the secondary school, as of all other schools, to provide vital instruction in the areas desired hy the Rational Socialist philosophy. After the reform of 1938 the new objectives became quite clear. They had a familiar ring, because the secondary schools were now to be brought into the service of the Volk idea. The basic subjects became the same as those of the elementary division: German, history, geography, and biology. Because English was more "Nordic” than French] «.p I it was substituted for French in some of the schools. Bernhard Rust said that the duty of the German secondary school was to educate men to be faithful to Führer and country, to live a German life, and to execute Germany* s tasks. It was not the duty of the school to produce intellectuals but to train the whole man by vital teaching in physical and character development. Secondary schools did not prepare for professions^, but they were to sift out those capable of greater responsibilities and develop capacity for decision, trustworthiness, and other character attributes that would fit them for professional responsibilities.$ Knowledge ceased to be a primary objective, and physical and character development took its ^George P. Kneller, The Educational Philosophy of Rational Socialism (New Ëaven: Yale University Press, I9I 1 -I), pT”2I2.----------- place. The old formula expressed in Mein Kampf had reached the secondary schools of GermanyI II. TESTS FOR ADMISSION In a decree of April 25, 1933 the Nazi government enacted what has come to be known as the numerus elausus. This act reduced the number of Jewish students admissible to both secondary schools and universities*8 It was rationalized by the Nazi authorities as an attempt to pre vent overcrowding and protect against excessive foreign elements at the universities; in reality, it was the first basic 3 tap in making professional and political occupations unattainable for Jews. The percentage of Jewish admissions to the universities in the summer of 193^ had been over four per cent (even higher by Nazi criteria); the numerus elausus limited future admissions to one and a half per cent. Reduction in secondary admissions were not quite so drastic, but in all cases Aryans were given preference. As a result of this decree Aryan blood became a test of admis sion to the secondary school. ^Horace Taylor, Redirecting Education, ed. by Tugwell and Keyserling (New York: Columbia University Press, 1935), II, p. 20. 7loc. cit. 101 The Decree of March 27, 193$ set up the principles governing the selection of students for admission to the secondary s c h o o l s .8 first and most important test of admission as outlined in the above decree was physical fitness--only those who were completely fit and who were regular participants in gymnastics were to be accepted. Any permanent infirmity which decreased vitality or any hereditary disease was disqualifying. A child could be dismissed for failure to meet the standards of physical cleanliness required. The second test was character traits. The student * s general conduct had to be acceptable. Breaches of dis cipline, orderliness, or honesty disqualified him. Failure to exhibit the spirit of comradeship and community welfare also meant disqualification# The third requirement was mental ability. It was to be judged on the basis of reasoning, mental maturity, and information. The deciding element was not to be information but mental maturity as a whole. Unsatisfactory performance in several subjects could be disregarded if the candidate showed exceptional ability in one, so long as reasoning ability and mental maturity were high. Just how such a ^Lindegren, op. cit.. pp. 136-II4 . 2. (Jnlv&rstty of Southern CaNfornim U 0m f 102 provision as this was applied by school officials is a matter of conjecture. The fourth basis of selection was national fitness. This test prohibited the admission of any Jewish student before all Aryan applicants had been admitted, and then onl^ in accordance with the numerus elausus. If any student’s conduct anywhere was judged to be injurious to the national community, he was ineligible for admission or subject to dismissal. The decree did not specify what such conduct consisted of, although it is not very difficult to guess that it would include any type of resistance to National Socialist policy. The general regulations then followed. It is here that we find for the first time any mention of the con ventional criteria for admission to a higher school from a lower one. The following additional requirements had to be met : 1. A recommendation (Gutachten) from the Grandschule. 2. A written, oral, and physical examination to be taken at the secondary school. The oral examina tion could be waived if the average report from the Grandschule was at least ”g#od,” and if this mark was supported by the written examination. 3. If the number of passing students was greater than the capacity of the school, they were to be admitted on a basis of highest average and final marks--except that Aryans were given preference over non-Aryans. Those who passed but were not admitted could be admitted the following year without examination— except non-Aryans. The remainder of the Decree had to do with the regula tion of students subsequent to their admission. The basic philosophy continued, i.e. that Aryan students who did poorly could be given additional opportunity to succeed, but non-Aryans were to be held strictly accountable and no quarter was to be shown them. We find in these tests a rather consistent application of the principles of education set down by Hitler in Mein Kampf.9 In one sense it is regrettable that we did not see the kind of men this type of educational policy would have produced in the long run. It is probably true that the Republic’s educational policy had overproduced "intel lectuals" in Germany, but the answer of the National Socialists to this problem was an extreme one, indeed. 9Adolph Hitler^ Mein Kampf (New York: Reyna 1 and Hitch cock, 1939)» P* ^^Kandel, loc. cit. 10k have been outlining here the admission requirements primarily for the Gymnasium and the Oberschule. both for boys. There were some differences in the admission require ments for comparable schools for girls, although they were slight. The same was true for the Aufbauschulen. both for boys and girls, with the exception of the age at time of transfer and the primary school involved (Oberstufe). It should also be remarked that girls could be admitted to boys* schools only in the event that girls* schools were not i available. Doctor Rust made it very clear in the 1938 | Decree that girls could be admitted to the Gymnasium only with the special permission of the Reich Minister of Educa tion; coeducation was not deemed to be consistent with the Nazi educational philosophy, and university education for girls was strongly discouraged.^^ III. HARMONIZING THE PAGULTIES National Socialism’s approach to education was unique in that it placed physical development at the head of the list of educational objectives. In the "Report of the German Delegation" to the Fifth International Con ference on Public Instruction at Geneva in July, 1936, it Ilwilliam T. Meyer, "Reorganization of the Secondary Schools of Germany," School Review. I 4 . 7 (January, 1939) * 37-%3. 105 was stated that the general aim of National Socialist educational policy was to develope "a sound body capable of enduring hardships, a clean character that knows neither fear nor cowardice, and an open mind that avoids every kind of intellectual trifling# • « This is what harmonization stood for in the minds of Nazi educators. There is nothing very radical in these objectives, except the order of importance and the "mind free from trifling." Possibly there is a problem of semantics here, but it is difficult to conceive of the con templation of ideas without some "mental trifling." It is more likely that what the German delegation meant was that they were aiming at producing minds devoid of any independ ent consideration or doubt ; Nazi philosophy tends to sup port this supposition. Pew educators would oppose the production of sound bodies, moral character, and open minds, but most of them, the writer believes, would want more; they would want people capable of independent thought, able to reach in dependent decisions, and to act upon them. Hitler did not want this. He wanted efficient machines able to carry out his will without fear and without question. He wanted. ^^"Report of the German Delegation," Internationale Zeitschrift fur Erzlehung, IV (1936), 297. lo6 above all else, good soldiers, and the record of the German Army seems to indicate that he got them. He wanted, as Professor Kandel puts i t , "the totalization of y o u t h . ” 1 3 Few nations have paid the attention to physical training that Nazi Germany did; it became truly a faith under the Nazi regime. It i s well to remember, that the physical training programs were all of the type which would be useful in national defense or offense. The War Sports program, the Labor Service, and the Strength through Joy movement all had a military application. It has been said that under Hitler Germany became a national fortress and every citizen a soldier. Even if the stress on intellectu ality had been too great in Republican Germany, it is hard to see the sagacity of attempting to make each boy "a Nordic beast.” This was Hitler’s goal, with one additional condition: that this highly conditioned human being should use his strength, not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the Volk. He would thereby achieve his only true meaning, his highest nobility, and his ultimate human realization. For many it finally meant the privilege of killing and, in turn, being killed. George Kneller points out that there is a similarity between Hitler’s concept of education and that ^^Kandel, op. cit., p. 106. 107 of Pestalozzi (the trilogy of head, heart, and hand), but that Hitler "reversed the t r i n i t y . " ! ^ In theory, at least, it appears that this is exactly what he did* There is a tendency for the most carefully worked out theory to descend from its pinnacles of thought when put into practice, and the evidence would indicate that this happened to Nazi educational theory* One reason was the traditional educational pattern in Germany, which survived the demise of both Empire and Republic* Hitler’s ministers knew there were limitations on how far they could go, and a study of the decrees issued between 193^1 - 1939 indicates this* The secondary schools of Germany could be consoli dated but one hardly dared rename them completely or eliminate the time-honored Gymnasium with its classical Whatever the theory, there were some violent changes in the character of German secondary education* A review of the admission requirements shows this clearly. We shall see that these changes had considerable implication for the curriculum and a marked effect on the organization of the secondary school system in Germany. It is safe to say that Hitler’s announced aim of harmonizing the faculties ^Kneller, op. cit., pp. li).9-$l. 108 was only partially realized, despite the continued stream of decrees from the Reich Minister’s office. IV. REFORM OF 1938 Hitler made his fundamental statements concerning education in 1933# Changes were made in the German schools before 1938, but there was no wholesale revision to bring the entire school system completely into line with National Socialist policy. This objective was realized in the reform of 1938# The schools were left in a state of uncertainty during the intervening five years, and some observers believe that this was done purposely to provide time to condition the young by means of experience and practice before subjecting them to the educational theories of the Nazis* The much publicized Landjahr movement of 1933 was an application of this principle* The philosophy of the Nazi educational movement has been described previously, and it is not necessary to review it here *1$ The concrete provisions of the reform, as stated by Dr* Rust in Deutsche Wissenschaft, Erziehung* und Volksbildung, the official organ of the Ministry of ^^Supra, Chapter II* Education, are as follows: 1. The traditional nine-year secondary school was to he shortened to eight years, hut standards of achievement were not to he lowered* 2* The entire work of the secondary school was to be directed toward college entrance, but weak-willed students were to be dismissed* 3* The standard secondary school was to offer a com plete eight-year course begun after the fourth year of the Grundschule, or the sixth year of the Volkschule if the student was to be admitted to the Aufbamschu1e. Partial schools were per mitted in rural areas, offering the first two or three secondary years * These had to be connected, with an adjacent complete school* ! { . * Coeducation was strongly discouraged as anti-Nazi. 5# The course of the Oberschule for girls was to prepare them to be wives and mothers* 6* No boy could attend a girls* school, but the reverse might be allowed in rare cases* 7* Attendance of girls at the Gymnasium was prohibited except with the consent of the Reich Minister* 8* The Obers chule for boys was to have two branches from the sixth through eighth years ; one branch stressed science and mathematics, the other 110 languages* Both divisions were required to offer biology, physical education, and Deutschkunde (study of things German) to foster the spirit of unity. 9* A joint work group was to be required for the upper three classes* 10. The Gymnasium was to offer Greek from the third to the eighth year* English, as a third foreign language, began in the fifth year, replacing French, which was traditional* French became an extra-curricular study* 11* No reference was made to religious courses, but those matters not in accordance with the unitary principle of National Socialism were prohibited. The foregoing provisions are the interpretation and translation of the Decree of I938 by William T* Meyer These are the internal reforms in the German secondary system* The external reforms are intimated but not specifically treated in the article. These have to do with the types of schools which were to be permitted* The new organization specified only five schools at the secondary level to replace the multitude of schools Meyer, loc * cit* Ill under the R e p u b l i c*17 These were: 1. Oberschule (for boys) 2. Oberschule (for girls) 3. Aufbauschule (for boys) k* Aufbauschule (for girls) 5# Gymnasium (for boys only) * The old MitteIschule (middle school) was continued, but plans for its reorganization were announced in the reform.I® This school was a six-year school, following six years of Volksschule, which prepared students for jobs of moderate importance in commerce and government. It awarded the "certificate of middle maturity," and transfers to the regular secondary school were allowed.19 V. CHANGED STATUS OP THE GYMNASIUM Of all the German secondary schools, it was the ^^See Table I, Appendix, p. 22$. I ^William Ebenstein, The Nazi State (New York : Par ran and Rinehart, Inc., 19^3), p• Ebonstein tells us that it was revised along the lines of the Austrian middle school early in 19i | - 0 on the grounds that it had been too specials ized. Kneller, op. cit.. pp. 209-10. 112 G-ymnasim^ which suffered the most under the Nazi plan. This school had been the aristocrat of the secondary field, during both the Empire and the Weimar Republic* It was a classical school stressing languages, especially Greek and Latin, and had been traditionally considered the finest preparation for the university. We are told by Ebenstein that these schools began to disappear rapidly under the orders of the Nazi regime, and only a few having historical importance remained open.^0 According to Alina Lindegren, there were l | . l 8 of these operating in Germany on May 15» 1935.21 The decrees of the Reich Ministry did not say so, but it was the policy of the Nazi government to make it almost impossible for these "intellectual” schools to con tinue operation* The government planned to divert the majority of the secondary students into the middle schools and the Oberschulen* over both of which they exercised greater control and direction. Professor Ebenstein considers the loss of the Gymnasium one of the most serious blows to German Ebenstein, op. cit.* p. l57. ^^Lindegren, op. cit.* p. 6. 113 scholarship administered hy the Nazis* He remarks that it was this school which produced the famous German scholars of pre-Nazi y e a r s*22 An interesting contrast to Professor Ebenstein*s attitude on this point was voiced by Fritz KeHerman in 1928. He said, "They [Gymnasia] drifted into compromises of genuine school ideas and practical needs, into flatness, dilettantism, superficiality, a soulless omniscience, an aimless hither and thither."23 Whichever of these views is correct— and perhaps both are, in part--the old classical pattern of German education had been administered a heavy blow by the relegation of the Gymnasium to the status of a historical curiosity. But there was no room in Hitler’s scheme for any organization which had the degree of independence and prestige enjoyed by the Gymnasium. The real reasons for Nazi actions in regard to the high schools are well stated by Susanne Engelmann in the following sentences: The main reason for this policy, however, was the Nazis* love of uniformity and their definite Ebenstein, loc* cit* ^8pritz Kellermann, The Effects of the World War on European Education (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, , p* 7* lack of interest in higher education. *A wide cultural knowledge, a broad education . . ♦ dulls the senses, a general assortment of in formation weakens, does not strengthen; too much universal learning tires the mind, para lyzes the will power and the ability to make decisions,* says the Reich Minister of Educa tion in his teachers* manual of 1938.2#. It is not difficult to see the conflict which was inevitably to arise between this attitude and that of the classical tradition in German education, represented most fully by the Gymnas ium. VI* STATUS OP PRIVATE SCHOOLS As the Decree of 1938 sounded the death knell for the Gymnasium, it did the same— even more firmly— for the private schools of Germany, Alina Lindegren, in her statistical summary of the German school system, indicates that the number of private elementary schools in Germany on May 15, 1935 was l j . 76, with a total enrollment of 37,793#^^ Professor Ebenstein tells us that by May, 1939 the number of private schools had decreased to 207» with Pit ^Susanne C, Engelmann, German Education and Re-Education (New York: International University Press, 194-5) » p# 91# The Reich Minister she quotes is Bernhard Rust writing in Erziehung und Unterrlcht in der Hoeheren Schule (Berlin: WeIdmannsche Buchhandlung, I938). ^^Lindegren, op, cit,. p. 115 a total enrollment of l6,537.^® These figures are, of course, primarily related to elementary schools, but there is adequate evidence to show that the same trend applied to all levels of the secondary schools and to parochial schools as well. Professor Ebenstein quotes an announcement by the Catholic bishops of Germany, in which they declared that the Catholic schools had been lost and that their kindergartens were to follow,27 George Kneller says, "Moreover, the decided drop in enrollment figures for parochial schools shows that it is no longer ’the fashion* to be a parochial- school student,”28 In discussing the reform of 1938, William Meyer points out that private schools were to be permitted only for special categories of students who had health or family problems, and that they were to be subjected to rigid political supervision. Courses of study had to conform to the requirements for the public schools. Inasmuch as the usual reason for establishing private schools is to provide something that is not available in public institutions, it Ebenstein, op, cit,, p. l i | . 7 # 27, Ebenstein, op, cit,, p, Kneller, op, cit,, p, 203* Is quite clear that private schools had to wane in Germany under the impact of National Socialism, The entire Nazi concept of unity was opposed to the carrying on of educa tion hy any group other than the state, and the government moved rapidly to make its theory a reality, VII. DE-EMPHASIS ON INTELLECTUALITY Reference has already been made to Adolf Hitler's contempt for the so-called "intellectual,"29 Dr, Kandel points out that there had been, in his opinion, over production, under the Weimar Republic, of persons educated for the professions relative to the demand#^9 Under these conditions, it was logical that the Nazis should have be come mope interested in the worker than in the thinker, and they did so. Strong moves were made to encourage teachers and administrators in the secondary schools to discourage any but the ablest students from continuing to the uni versity. The high and middle schools were reorganized under the 1938 reform in such a way that, without making it evident at first glance, the logical path at the conclusion of the prescribed course was into occupational fields, the labor 2, Chapter II* , OP, cit,. pp, 95-6, 117 programs, or the army. Strangely enough, the reduction of time spent in high school, which was already being considered during Republiear. times and was made a reality under Haziism, was favored by high school graduates who sought "practical" employment. It was also favored by the universities which feared the shortening of the training time at the higher level if it were not done in the high s c h o o l s .31 Consequently, it was easier for the Nazi officials to effect this reduction and thus reduce the stress on formal education still further. Most students of German education are agreed that educational formalities had come to play too large a part in German political and economic life. Taylor indicates that a university degree was required for many fields of public service, just as certificates of proficiency were i?equired of skilled workers. He remarks, further, that government posts were divided into two categories : the gebildete (educated— holders of doctoral degrees) and the ungebildete (uneducated), In Taylor* s opinion, the economic and social value of higher education had been very great in Germany for many y e a r s .32 ^^Engelmann, op. cit.. pp. 98-1. 32iîorace Taylor, op. cit.. p. 118 The Nazis felt that this value was exaggerated, and many ungebildete Germans thought so too--naturallyI There fore the de-emphasis on "intellectual" achievements gained much support in Nazi Germany. It should be said that Hitler had a larger measure of support outside Germany in this matter than in many others he undertook to change. VIII. CURRICULUM To describe the curriculums of the many types of secondary schools which existed in Republican Germany would be far too extensive a project to be undertaken h e r e.33 However, the basic curriculum of these schools will be presented in order to compare it with that which was established under the National Socialist regime. As noted previously, the major changes in German secondary education came in the 1938 reform. Consequently, the curriculums of these schools were much the same between 1933 and 1938 as they had been under the Republic. During the period of the Republic the traditional system of secondary schools was continued with some new additions, added in the hope of making the schools more democratic. The Gymnasium stressed Latin and Greek; the Realgymnasium omitted Greek and stressed modern languages ^%ee appendix, p. 227. 119 and Latin; the Qherrealschule omitted Greek and Latin and stressed modern languages, science, and mathematics. All of these had curriculums based on nine years of attendance. The Deutsche Oberschule concentrated on German life and culture, but it included the study of modern languages; the Aufbauschule permitted elementary students to enter at the end of the seventh year of elementary school and qualify for the university at the end of a six-year course. The subject stress in the Aufbauachule was approximately the same as the Deutsche Oberschule. The actual curriculum of the Gymnasium in Prussia, under the Weimar Republic, was as follows: German, Latin, Greek, French, history and geography, mathematics, natural science (physics and chemistry), religion, and technical subjects. The greatest number of hours was devoted to Latin.34^ The curriculums varied somewhat in the different states. By comparing the variations in the curriculums of the other types of schools described, it is possible to discern the approximate curriculum presented by each.35 The next step is to see how this situation was changed by Hitler to bring the schools into line with National ^^Lindegern, op. cit.. p. 13O p. 11%. Socialist philosophy. The reformed curriculums went into effect for the school year 1938-1939* The Oberschule was to carry the bulk of the secondary population, and its curriculum is, therefore, the most significant. It offered two majors--one in laguages and one in mathematics and science. The subjects and subject-groups (listed in order of importance) were as follows: physical education, German subjects (German language, history, geography, art, music), natural sciences and mathematics (biology, chemistry', I physics, mathematics), foreign languages (English and Latin)^ study groups (natural science-mathematics, third foreign language), and religion (very limited). Some remarkable features of this curriculum are very concisely stated by A. M. Lindegren— a specialist in com parative education and curriculum: The striking features of this plan are (a) the dearth of electives, (b) persistence of subjects, with a fixed number of hours, (c) relative importance given to physical education and the minor place assigned to religion, (d) large amounts of time allowed for German subjects as a group.,and (e) the allotment for foreign .30 Lindegren goes on to point out that only forty-five hours of electives are allowed out of a total of 228 hours •^^Lindegren, op. cit.. p. 13 121 that the choice is a quantitative, rather than a sub ject-matter, choice* She says, further, that all subjects except physics, chemistry, and Latin were carried through out the entire high school period. Physical education was allotted five hours per week-- more time than any other subject, German studies occupied thirty-seven per cent of the total time. A third foreign language was permissible only in the optional study group.37 The Aufbauschule followed virtually the same curriculum I but was more intensive because its duration was only six, j I instead of eight, years. In addition, no choice of majors was permitted, nor were any study groups allowed. Freedom of choice was much less in the Aufb au achu1e than in the Oberschule. The Gymnasium was limited to one form and one curric ulum, although it still offered and required Greek and Latin. The same emphasis was placed on physical education and the German studies, together with a reasonable amount of mathematics and science. The remainder of the curric ulum followed that of the Oberschule » and two hours a week of French could be offered.38 37loc, cit. 3Qibld.. p. 1%. 122 The eurriculums for girls were simplified even further and the number of types of schools was reduced to two, the Oberschule and the Aufbauschule $ In the Oberschule a choice of language or home economics majors was offered during the last three years, but that was all* No choice was allowed in the Aufbauschule* We have already indicated that the Gymnasium was virtually prohibited to girls* A moment’s reflection will show how consistently the Reich Minister of Education had followed the Hitlerian philosophy of education*39 The stress was, first, on physical development, second, on ’ ’character” (or violently nationalistic development), and third, on scholastic training* As for the German girl, her role was made plain* She did not need a university education to establish a home and produce children, thought Hitler, and his Education Minister made it virtually impossible for her to get one* Another remarkable thing about these curriculums is their simplicity* In this regard they fit the Nazi désire for directness, simplicity, and unity* It was truly a remarkable achievement to take a national school system ^^Cf*, Hitler, Mein Kampf* p* 613* with a complex, diverse organization and curriculum and turn it into the simplest one in Europe* The middle schools ( Mittelschulen)* which were destined to become more vocational under the Nazis, covered the school years five through ten* They enabled the student to transfer into the secondary system, if he so desired, at the beginning of the seventh year of the secondary school. The curriculums of the middle schools offered more vocational training and more variety than the regular secondary schools, but they were ultimately to be deprived of their previous privilege of giving a course making it possible to transfer to the secondary school* The deprivation of the transfer privilege by the Nazis was another technique for limiting the number of students eligible for university admittance* The opposition to ’ ’intellectuality” and ’ ’overschooling” is again apparent in the Nazi philosophy* IX. FACULTIES Requirements for secondary teaching in Germany were established by a decree of July l6, 1937* This required the prospective teacher to enroll in the faculty of philosophy at a university after having received the Lindegren, op* cit*. p* 12. 12ii. certificat© of maturity and after having completed two years at a high school for teachers. The purpose of the high school attendance requirement was to familiarize the candidate with the problems of the primary schools. He was required to complete three years at a university^, technical high school, or high school of music and art having university rank. At the university he was required to select a major and two minors from one of three subject fields, which were, roughly, humanistic, linguistic, or scientific. Some substitutions were permitted. ’ ’Folklore,” ’ ’prehistory,” and ’ ’racial science” were included in some of the subjects in each group; German and religion included folklore and prehistory; biology included racial science. Two examinations were required before the teacher could receive his license to teach. The first examination consisted of a thesis in the major field, to be completed in three months, plus oral and written tests, the written test in the candidate*s fields of study. The oral examina,: tion consisted of philosophical problems related to the subject and questions on fundamental political ideology. Prior to 1937 this oral examination dealt with philosophy exclusively. If the candidate passed the first examination success fully, he spent one year in practical training— reduced from two years by the Nazis. This training consisted of 125 observation, practice teaching, and seminars in pedagogics. At the close of this training the prospective teacher took the second examination which was given by the Reich Ministry of Education. In the second examination the student-teacher was required to demonstrate a thorough familiarity with the fundamentals of secondary training in the spirit of National Socialistic principles, and prove that he had had sufficient practice to be able to teach. The examination consisted of I three parts: (a) a thesis, (b) two hours of actual teaching, and (c) an oral examination. The candidate was given two months in which to complete all phases of the examination, and successful passage entitled him to a license to teach in all German secondary schools. A female candidate was required to teach for four years in a probationary status and to be at least thirty-five years old before receiving her permanent license. The new secondary teacher might also receive the doctorate by attendance at a university for from six to eight semesters (varying with the university), and passing the doctoral examination. This examination consisted of a dissertation and an oral examination ( Rigorosum). In the event that the candidate had already passed the State (second) examination, the oral examination was considerably leas searching. Each university had special regulations 126 which the doctoral candidate was also required to meet. The foregoing outline of secondary preparation follows that presented by Alina M. Lindegren, which the writer found to be more explicit than corresponding accounts by other authors. What kind of teacher was to be produced by this system? The National Socialists envisioned a straight, strong, athletic ’ ’Nordic,” an outdoor man, a sportsman, a devoted National Socialist, a man skilled in things military--as well as a dispenser of knowledge* He was to develop character and intellect. His training was to create ”an atmosphere of strict selection, comradeship, social harmony, and camplike discipline.” He was to be a man ’ ’likely to prove a steadfast and enthusiastic leader of the children entrusted to him.”%^ If we may add, he was to be a Führer for the classroom. What kind of teacher did the system produce? A few Fuhrers, to be sure, but we never really knew; the war and Germany’s defeat closed the record. ^^Lindegren, op. cit., pp. 61^-67, pp. %0-li.l. ^^Theodor Wilhelm and Gerhard Grafe, German Educ Today (Berlin: Terramare Office, I936), pp. . 127 X. TEXTBOOKS The Nazi government was more concerned with the development of the Volk idea, military preparedness, and political unity than it was with objective education. The utterances of all the Nazi leaders indicate this over and over again. A quotation from the Feuille Mensuelle d’in formation, October-November, 1933, of the Federation In ternationale des Associations des Instituteurs, cited by Professor Kandel, makes this point certain: We will never approach history impartially but as Germans . . . We care nothing about insipid enumeration of objective facts; we want a historical science for Germans.4-3 The concept of a "historical science” without objec tivity opens up an area of wide speculation. Its meaning for the Nazis was a history which supported the conclusions which they had "instinctively” come to "feel” were correct, and which supported Nazi theory. The bases upon which history textbooks were to be written were outlined in a somewhat lengthy directive of the Prussian Ministry (subsequently the Reich Ministry) of Education on July 20, 1933, early in the Nazi period of control. This directive is translated in full by Professor ^^Kandel, op. cit.. p. 73# 128 Kandel.W Certain words and phrases in it are quite revealing: "pre-history," "significance of Race," "national idea," "civic idea," "political history," "idea of the hero," "Nordic race in Greece," "German blood," and "Weltan schauung." These are, obviously. Hitler’s fundamental concepts as stated in Mein Kampf. The Ministry was merely saying, "Write your history books to support our political aims, and disregard the facts*" Alfred Rosenberg’s Myth of the Twentieth Century was used as a high school (as well as a college) textbook*^^ It was so absurd that the Nazi Party for several years insisted that it could not be responsible for Rosenberg’s w o r k . Nevertheless, high school students were told it was authentic. Another example of instructions for the authors of history texts is provided by an outline disseminated by the Hamburg educational authorities.^7 it reads as follows for the period 19lii--1933: Ibid., pp. 66-71# l i S ^ Engelmann, op. cit.. p. 82. ^^Loc. eit. ^"^Kandel, op. elt«. p. 72. Germany in Chains !• Outbreak of War 2. Peace dictate Nation without honor Nation without room 5# Nation without army o. Exploitation of the Reich 7. Emergency construction of the Reich 8. Tribute slavery Germany Awakes 9* Dawn in a perturbed time 10. National Socialism 11. To the awakening of the nation 12. The victory of the Revolution (Hitler’s Mein Kampf is to be used as the basis of the second section). The primacy of politics must, especially in the teaching of history, replace the autonomy of education.4® It might be possible to write a factual account from such an outline, but it would be falsified by its omis sions. What was the world like in the minds of men and women who accepted this as truth? Professor Ebenstein tells us that since 1933 the new textbooks for school children deal with the following topics: race, the German people, stories of great heroes and soldiers, Germany’s task in the world, anti- Semitism. Special books are devoted to the I 4 .8 Ibid. lives and works of the Leader, Goering, Himmler, Streicher, Goebbels#49 The story was the same at all levels# The subjects were not changed, but their content was changed and appended. Geometry students were given problems calculating the angle of fire of a field-plece or the height of a bomber. Thus mathematics and military training were "integrated#" The study of religion became the study of Volk--an easy adjust ment I Biology became the study of "race" and "blood*" One of the most appalling occurrences of the period of | Nazi direction of education was Dr. Hans Sehemm’s directive ! of March, 1933* He ordered all schools and all classes to devote the first four to six weeks of the school year to a study of the Awakening of the Nation. This book was translated in London and contained a Foreword by Professor Ernest Barker in which he said, "It is just the old instinct for national legend exalted to the nth degree.This comment could probably be applied equally well to all the other textbooks used by the National Socialists. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., pp. 150-151. ^^Kandel, op. cit., p. 73. CHAPTER V SPECIAL SCHOOLS AND. THE HITLER YOUTH I. THE NATIONAL POLITICAL TRAINING INSTITUTES (NPEA) These schools have been known popularly as "Napolas" or "Napoli." Their purpose was to train future Nazi leaders, particularly for service in the armed formations of the party (S.S. and S.A. troops), the labor service, and the police forces. The National Socialists took pride in them as Nazi creations, but Susanne Engelmann tells us that they were actually begun by the Republic to train future German citizens.1 Their original status under the Empire was that of cadet schools for the military, and Professor Ebenstein is inclined to look upon them as the rebirth of Prussian militarism.^ Three of these schools were in existence in 1933, but this number was increased to thirty-one by 19l4-3*^ Located ^Susanne C. Engelmann, German Education and Re-Education (New York: International University Press, 19^5), p. 95# ^William Ebenstein, The Nazi State (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 19M-3), P* IdO. ^Ibld.. p. 181. all over Germany, they were boarding schools which were highly publicized by the party in the early years of Nazi ism. For this reason they attracted world-wide atten tion, but it became plain on close examination that there was little new in them except the highly concentrated and systematized training in the National Socialist ideology# They were, to be sure, good examples of the Nazi charac teristic of concentration on a single idea. The schools were under the supervision of an S.S. (Schutz-Staffel) Obergruppenfuhrer (high-ranking officer of the elite guard). Three of the thirty-one institutes were for girls, since trained leaders were needed for the labor camps for girls. The bases for selection for these schools, which were at the secondary level, were character and physical ability, No mention was made of scholastic achievement. Social or financial status had no part in the Selection because the student became a ward of the state, but party activity in the Hitler Youth was very important. Competition was the keynote of the schools, and those who failed to measure up to rigid physical and "character" requirements were quickly eliminated. The technique was somewhat analogous to that used in some of the United States Army schools during World War II. Dr. Rust, who seemed always to be trying to prove to himself, to Germany, or to the world, that the Nazis had 133 not renounced scholarly achievement completely, had some thing else to say: We have made these schools experimental institutions for our ideas. We practice in these hoarding schools a new national, social, and com mercial education. We further character education by severe demands on physical achievement, without renouncing the general training of the intellectual side.4 This is the only information the writer has uncovered ! which indicates that the Napolas were concerned with any thing but physical education and military training. But Dr. Rust seems to have been a wishful thinker at times. Dr. Ebenstein quotes Das Reich for April 27, 19^1 as saying that combat was the basic instrument of education in the Napolas.5 This seems to be contradictory to Rust’s earlier statement. The schools were well equipped for the purpose of training "political soldiers." Each school owned its own horses, automobiles, and motorcycles, and each student was required to take and pass a course in glider piloting— a useful art in World War II. These training aids must have helped tremendously in teaching "the heroic mode of life" ^Bernhard Rust, "Report of the Geneva Conference," In- ternationale Zeitschrift fur Erziehung. IV (July, 19357, p. &97. ^Ebenstein, loc. cit. 1* to young men of secondary school age. Graduation occurred at the termination of eight years of attendance and took place with all the ritualistic and mystical ceremony in which the Nazis e x c e l l e d .8 The student was eligible for admission to the university after gradua tion, but it is difficult to see how he could have competed with students entering with the regular certificate of maturity from the Granas ium or Obers chule. Most of the Napola students did not choose to follow the road to the university, however, but entered the S.A., the S.S., the labor service, or took leadership positions in the police services. II. THE ADOLF HITLER SCHOOLS As the name of these institutions indicates, they were closer to the party and the National Socialist movement than to the state. Also, the control of the Adolf Hitler schools was in the hands of party officials rather than of the Reich Ministry of Education. They were more selective and exclusive than the Napolas. Tests for admission were administered by the Hitler Youth Organization, the most essential being a demonstration of a high degree of leadership ability. Dr. Ebenstein ^Engelmann, op. cit., p. 98. 135 says that the boys did not need outstanding seholastic records; satisfactory grades were adequate, or even below the average was acceptable if leadership ability was high.7 Candidates who were accepted were admitted with much ceremony on April 20th of each year (the Leader’s birth day) . Accepted students were maintained at party expense, but well-off parents were given an "opportunity" to con tribute to a maintenance fund for the schools, of which there were ten during the war years. In the first three years (1938-19^0) three hundred boys were admitted per year, but starting I9I 4 .I the number was increased to four hundred. The students were boarded thë schools, all of which were located on a large estate in Bavaria. The same spirit of intense competition and combat prevailed as in the Napolas. The entering age was twelve, and the period of schooling covered six years# The graduate could choose to enter the university, the army, the party, or the govern ment service. Regardless of the choice he made, he was assured of high party standing and economic security. Political training was, as usual, the focal point of the training. It centered around the "kernel fields" of ^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. I87. 136 biology and Volk, the obvious intent being to ineulcate the "right" ideas relative to raee.® A current events program was also carried on by means of the use of news papers, pamphlets issued by the party, and radio broad- casts--all carefully censored, to be sure# Two foreign languages were required, one of which must be Italian— a marked change from the classic German secondary educa tion! III. THE ORDER CASTLES These schools are the most interesting of the political, schools established by the Nazis. They were based on the ancient tradition of The Order of German Knights which existed from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. This order reflected National Socialist concepts in two ways— the determination to conquer and the strict obedience of the knights to the "Master of the Order." They had ex panded German territory to the East by building castles and systematically conquering the Slavs, after which they had encouraged Germans to establish towns and villages in the conquered areas.9 Qlbld.. p. 179. j . P 137 By 1 9 1 ^ . 3 the Nazis had established four "Castles." se were to take the elite of the elite--one out of four graduates from the National Political Institutes— and to give them further leadership training for five years. A graduate of the Adolf Hitler School could apply for ad mission to the Order Castles when he reached his twenty- fifth birthday, providing he was married and a member of the party. Each of the first two years was spent in a different Castle. The first specialized in "race science" and ideology; the second concentrated on athletics and physical training (including war sports). The third Castle kept the student for a year and a half, and the study area was political education, mountain sports and mountain warfare. The last Castle, Marienburg, anu old Order Castle of the German Knights, also retained the student for a year and a half, and again stressed the political aspects with special reference to the Eastern Question. The dramatic element was very strong in this training; it was undoubtedly intended to give the student a highly imaginative concept of his role in the destiny of Germany and National Socialism. George P. Kneller, The Educational Philosophy of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 19i|-l), p. 65. 138 Tentative plans bad been made during the war to expand these schools at the conclusion of hostilities (in Germany’s favor) and to further extend the training to produce "leaders of leaders" or Junkers This arrangement fitted the Nazi ideology and philoso phy remarkably well. The Order of German Knights had ex pressed the same idea of the master race that Hitler extolled. It had praised such Nazi attitudes as obedience, loyalty, the heroic mode of life, and the living-space idea. Had this school been given the opportunity to develop as fully planned, the results might well have been profound for Germany and for the entire world. IV. THE HITLER YOUTH Youth movements were a well-known phenomenon in Germany before Adolf Hitler came to power. There was a strong youth movement during the years of the Republic and before. But this movement had been spontaneous, and in no way an appendage of the state. George Kneller views the Hitler Youth as a revival of previous German youth move ments with a substitution of Nazi ideas for the former liberal democratic ones and the Nazi control for the ^^Loc. cit. 139 previous spontaneity.1^ The aim of the Hitler Youth, ac cording to the Leader, was to return youth to the community ! it did so under military orders. The Hitler Youth was begun in 1925 under the leader ship of an old party man, Kurt Gruber. It was often in difficulty with the Republican government and was banned on several occasions.1^ It was legalized when Hitler came to power in 1933» and in 1937 it became a requirement for all German youth* It was not, however, accepted unanimous]yi by parents. Three groups for boys were formed within the organiza tion: the Pimpf3, the JungvoIk, and the Hitler Youth proper.l5 The groups were divided on a basis of age, the Pimpf3 being boys from six to ten, the JungvoIk from ten to eighteen, and the Hitler Youth from eighteen to twenty. All members wore the prescribed uniform at meetings and on the occasion of any national or party celebration.l^ The organization was military, with the leaders being chosen from within the groups. 12 Ibid., p. 162. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. I8I 4 . . Ebenstein gives the year as 1926. ^Engelmann, op. cit., p. 97# ^^Cf. Kneller, op. cit.. p. l57# ^^Engelmann, op. cit., p. 98. 1 1 4 . 0 Each child had a service record in which all his activities were recorded by his superiors. Elaborate ceremonies, involving the presentation of daggers, marked his movement from a lower group to a higher one. The amount of the young person’ a time occupied by the youth organization is startling. It took up two afternoons and evenings per week, two or three week-ends per month, several weeks of summer camp and military activity, and many extra hours often taken from school time. But Hitler said: The present State that has no interest in healthy people has neglected this duty in a criminal manner. It lets the present young generation degenerate in the streets and in brothels, instead of taking them by the leash and training them. . . .^7 The official importance of the organization was well illustrated by the fact that it was far easier for a group leader to have a child excused from school than for his parents to do so.^® In reality the Hitler Youth was simply a continuation of much of the activity of the school with a very heavy emphasis on hiking, military training, and ^7_^dolph Hitler, Mein Kampf (New York; Reyhal and Hitch cock, 1939)» P* 820. ^^Engelmann, loc. eit. lit-l sports• The girls’ organization stressed training in nursing and the auxiliary services to the military. The girls were perpetually reminded of their primary duties to the Reich as future wives and mothers. Gregor Ziemer described his meeting at the old castle of Wartburg in Thuringia with a Hitler Youth gathering in these words: I learned that the boys had marched from different parts of Germany. Nights they spent in H.J. [Hitler Jugend3 hostels. They had come to Wartburg to meet other Hitler Youth boys, listen to inspiring talks, and gain a new feel ing of unity. Every evening they were going to sing Hitler Youth songs from the pinnacle of the old castle. No, the cross would not be used. Hitler’s boys were not interested in old-fashioned rites 1ike that•19 The spirit of the training is well illustrated in this quotation. If one recalls that a study program of military science, foreign languages, chemistry, mathematics, and party doctrines was included, the picture is quite com plete Professor Ebenstein voices the opinion that the main Gregor 4. Ziemer, Education for Death (London: Oxford University Press, 19I 4.I), pp. H|-7-l48* 20 Ibid., p. 11^-5• l42 function of the Hitler Youth was to he the exclusive source of future members of the Nazi party, which had a limited, privileged membership comparable to that of the present Communist party of the There is no doubt that the most outstanding youths would eventually have been taker, into the party, but the widespread activity of the organi zation seems to indicate that the Leader had other plans for the members that might be considered equally important. Most authors writing on this subject dwell on the determination of the Nazis to take children away from the control of their families. Erika Mann, writing in 1938, said: "The German people are naturally pious, churchgoing, giving great importance to family life. They know today that since Hitler came in, something has gone wrong with their churches and familiesEvery person in Germany had to belong to one or another of the leagues, associa tions, or unions, each of which held frequent meetings. There simply was no time for family life. The frequent military exercises of the Hitler Youth and various other activities which took children out of the ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. 186. ^^Erika Mann, School for Barbarians (New York: Modern Book, 1938),p. 27. : 1 1 ^ . 3 home is another phase of Nazi political activity which substantiates the idea that Hitler desired to make the state the child’s parent. On many occasions he affirmed his faith in youth; he admonished them against the "erroneous" thinking of their elders; and he urged them to be free of everything— except Nazi doctrine. Dr. Ebenstein points to the reluctance with Which parents allowed their children to join the various youth groups, before they became compulsory, as "a silent plebescite" against the complete surrender of their children to the Nazi govern ment . 23 Organizationally the Hitler Youth was one of the most elaborate in the entire Nazi governmental machine. There were forty-five provinces (Gaue) at the peak of Nazi con quest. Each province was divided into twenty-six districts (Barme); each district into four to six branch groups (Sttome)• Each branch had three to five followings (Ge- folgschaften), and each following contained four bands (Scharen). There were four comradeships (Kaméradschaften) in each band, and each comradeship contained about ten children. At the top, all of the provinces were brought together under the Reich Youth Leader. Control was very close.2lj- ^•^Ebenstéin, op. cit.. p. 19I. _D. _________________ liA The Reich Youth Leader was a powerful official. He had almost unlimited funds, carried on a foreign relations program, controlled all printed materials reaching the members, controlled travel outside the Reich, and carried * on a visitors* program for the youth of foreign countries. Obviously this was an organization to which Hitler attached great importance. It is significant that Baldur von Bchirach, Reich Youth Leader until late 19^1-0, was twenty-four years of age when he was appointed in 1931*^^ Considered on an overall basis, the Hitler Youth was one of the most remarkable organizations created by the Nazis. If we take into account the firmness with which youthful convictions are held, the physical strength and endurance of youth, and the need of the young to belong to organizations and groups, the potential strength of this i organization is overwhelming. The following quotation from | I Gregor Ziemer was spoken by a Youth Leader to a group of I fourteen year old boys: | ’You may all have to die for Hitler before you are twenty,’ he shouted. ’But is that not a wonderful privilege? What greater and more glorious mission can a German boy have than to die for the savior of Germany? And now raise your right hands and repeat after me the oath . p . 185. 145 that will indeed make you Hitler’s soldiers, ready to lay down your lives f o r h i m . ’ Such a pronouncement expresses the spirit of the Hitler Youth with little chance for misinterpretation. V. FACULTIES The Nazis were immediately faced with the problem of providing teachers for these new organizations. While it was true that the number of teachers (or leaders) required by the formal schools was not very great, the requirements of the Hitler Youth were very large. It was of paramount importance that these teachers have unquestionable politica: reliability, but it was also necessary that they should be able to teach effectively. In the Adolf Hitler schools the teaching staffs were composed partly of trained teachers and partly of leaders of the Nazi party and the Hitler Youth who had had no previous teaching experience or training. AH of the teachers were considered to be employees of the Nazi party, and belonged to the upper echelons of the Hitler Youth l e a d e r s h i p .^7 plans to establish training schools for teachers in these institutions were made, but were never ^^Ziemer, on. cit., p. l6?. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. l8o. carried out* Professor Ebenstein remarks wryly that no plans were announced for the establishment of schools in which to train the educators of the teachers.28 4s to the Order Castles, the faculty organization followed the same lines as that of the Adolf Hitler Schools, though the Hitler Youth leadership no longer provided teachers. The reason for this was that students entered the school at twenty-five years of age, and they were members of the regular Hazi party organization. The teach ers, both trained and untrained, were party members of considerable rank. The character of the teaching staff in the National Political Institutes is best summed up in a paragraph contained in the**Report of the Geneva ConferenceJuly, 1935. The special feature of these institutions is not to be found in the time-table, but in their training and their staff, which is respon sible for education. They are for the most part not brilliant philologists, who have passed difficult examinations, but men of action, who have proved themselves in some walk of life*29 ^^Loe. cit* * Qfi* bit*, p* 298• l l j . 7 Dr. Rust made it clear that academic success was not to be the primary basis on which this faculty was to be selected, and success in the Nazi party organization was considered superior to most other avenues of achievement* It is difficult to distinguish a faculty for the Hitler Youth because of the complexity of the organization and also because leadership was supposed to come from within the membership. In practice the Hitler Youth, under the direction of the Reich Youth Leader, maintained schools for leadership training in 1$0 cities of Germany; these training staffs might be considered as a basic faculty. These people were not ”youths” but full-time employees of the organization. They were drawn from the Hitler Youth and the party organizations. They had the same qualifications, and were as deficient in academic training, as other faculty groups. Leadership ability, not knowledge, was the basis of selection. The local school faculties should also be included as part of the Hitler Youth faculty, because many of its programs were carried on in the school. In the same ^Report of the Geneva Conference^ which has already been mentioned. Dr. Rust took occasion to inform the delegates that, in all the schools of Germany, each Saturday was to be designated as ^'National Youth Day,” to be entirely Iif8 devoted to the educational work of the Hitler Youth.30 30^ Loo. Git* CHAPTER VI THE UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION I. THE NUMBER OP INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING Germany maintained some 106 institutions of higher learning during the Republic and in the early years of National Socialism.T Twenty-three of these institutions bore the name, university; some of the most famous and oldest institutions in the world were among them. In addition to the universities, there were at least eighty-three specialized schools; these included technical high schools,schools of mining, forestry, agriculture, veterinary medicine, commerce, teacher training, art, music, and theology. Many of them were termed "high schools,” but they were actually on the university level and can rightly be called schools of higher learning. In Chapter IV of this thesis we noted that the Nazi plan was to consolidate and unify the secondary schools of Germany. The same objective applied to the schools of higher learning, and, as a consequence, reasons were found severely to curtail or to close down many of them. After ^Education in Germany, by Alina M. Lindegren, U.S. Office of Education, no. (Washington: 1938)» P» 38. 1$0 the outbreak of World War II in 1939 $ seventeen of the twenty-three universities were closed* Some new institu tions were organized by the National Socialists, however* 4 new German university was opened at Poznan, Poland after annexation of that country, and an Institute for the In vestigation of the Jewish Question was opened in Frankfort in 19i).l# The latter was the first branch of a proposed High Academy of the Nazi party, which was intended to direct science according to Nazi philosophy.2 The Ministry of Education showed considerable diplomacy in handling the problem of de-emphasizing higher education. The policy most frequently followed was to restrict admis sions to these institutions, rather than order them closed (with the exception of the closing of the universities at the outbreak of the war). We shall see the effects of this curtailment of admissions in section three of the present The number of institutions of higher learning in Republican Germany was not large, but there were enough of them to produce more professional persons than the economy of the Republic could assimilate. This was due more to the ^William Ebenstein, The Nazi State (New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1943), pp. 170-Yl. 151 types than to the number of Institutions *3 II. INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITIES It is necessary to understand something about the pro-National Socialist internal structure of the universi ties if we are to comprehend fully the scope of their reorganization by the Nazis. Prior to World War I, entrance into the professional ranks of the great universities was severely regulated by the government. Politically unortho dox persons were denied admission, as were non-Christian Jews and most Social Democrats; in addition the government strictly regulated university affairs.4 The universities were financially dependent on the government, which allowed them little autonomy. Following World War I, a general democratization was instituted by the Weimar Republic and was applied to the universities. Under the guidance of Carl Becker, a recognized scholar, the Prussian Ministry of Education, which controlled twelve of the twenty-three German universi ties, achieved a reconciliation between the government and ^Werner Reichter, Re-Educating Germany (Chicago: Univer sity of Chicago Press, 1945)> pT 8l. ^Edward Y. Hartshorne, The German Universities and National Socialism ( Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard T^nlversity Press, 1937), pp. 4o-4l# the faculties of these institutions. Control of the schools was left largely in the hands of the faculties and the students* According to Hartshorne, a firm opposition to the policies of the Republic grew up within the Student Union, which had been given state recognition in 1920. The basic controversy involved strong nationalistic tendencies on the part of the Student Union and the opposition to that atti tude by the Ministry of Education. The result was the withdrawal of Student Union recognition, which led to a complete polarization of attitudes. The Nazi movement found considerable support among the members of the Union, and the professors were caught between Naziism inside and outside the universities.5 The Republican government was continually forced to restrict the internal freedom of university control because of these developments. The original harmony between faculties and government died* The Student Union was of ficially recognized by the Nazis in May, 1933, but it was stripped of all its previous privileges and became engulfed in the vast organizational network of Naziism. The Reich had thus usurped the power of both students and faculty. ^Ibid., pp. 44-45# 153 Administratively, each university had been governed during the pre-Nazi period by a Senate and Council, com posed of the Rector, Deans, and a selected committee of Ordinary Professors which included some elected Extraordi nary Professors. The Deans were elected by their respective faculties, the Rector being chosen by the Senate and Council. Academic and general administrative functions were under the control of these faculty groups, and they exer cised the traditional privileges of authorizing new in structors, deciding upon promotions, and calling men from other institutions to join their faculties. The highest academic rank was Ordinary Professor, next ranking were the Extraordinary Professors, and the lowest was the Privatdozent. Only the upper two received a regulap salary or participated in administering the u n i v e r s i t y .8 j Also, the "benevolent guidance" of the Minister of Educa tion was involved in such matters as promotion and the appointment of men from other universities. The situation just outlined may be contrasted with the arrangement imposed by the Nazis when they gained control of the governmant. Very simply, they imposed the leader ship principle (Fuhrerprinzip) on the universities, as they Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. l60. ^Hartshorne, op. cit.. p. 49# 154 did on all other German organizations. The Rector was no longer elected, and the role of the faculty in administration became advisory. The title, faculty, was dropped, and "teaching-corps” (Dozentenschaft) was substituted# The same principle was applied to the student body, and thus it became "student-corps” (Studentenschaft), also having a leader directly responsible to the Rector# All students of German descent and native tongue were considered to be members of the student-corps, regardless of national ity# The student organization was considered politically equal to the teaching-eorps, although this was the equality of zero to z e r o#8 The traditional divisions of the faculty were retained, and so were the titles of Dean and Senate, but they were stripped of their former prerogatives# The Rector, as Leader of the university, was subordinate and directly responsible to the Reich Minister of Education, and the leader of the teaching-corps and the Deans were appointed on the Rector’s recommendation by the Reich Minister* Correspondingly, the leader of the student-corps was appointed by the Reich Minister on the recommendation of the leader of the National Socialist Student Union# The Dean p. 155 was leader of his faculty and chose his own representatives# These and other lesser provisions were proclaimed by the Hazi government on April 3, 1935 iu the "Guiding Principles for the Simplification of University Administration#"^ The old faculty rights of Habilitation (authorization to teach). Promotion, and Appointment were either directly denied or indirectly taken over by the Minister of Educa tion. The rights of Promotion and Appointment were used by the Reich Minister as means of punishing and rewarding, according to the party judgment of the professors’ work# The faculties were gradually reconstituted of men who accepted the Nazi philosophy; consequently resistance to the "new order" eventually was controlled# Sweeping dismissals of university teachers were made under provisions of the Civil Service Law of April 7* 1933# Any professor appointed after November 9> 1918 and "not suited" to his job was dismissed; professors having at least 1 one Jewish grandparent had to be dismissed, and any profes sor whose political record prior to 1933 indicated possible opposition to the Nazi regime could be dismissed#lG 9Ibid.. pp. ^0-51. Ebenstein, op. cit.. p. l62 156 III. EFFECT OP NAZIISM ON ENROLLMENT IN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES The enrollment in German universities decreased by 31#4 per cent from the academic year 1931-32 to the aca demic year 1934-35• During the same period about twenty per cent of the faculty members were dropped and only partly replaced, and entering classes decreased by 58*1 P^r cent#11 These figures leave little room for doubt as to the trend in German higher education. However, this trend began before the Nazis came to power; hence the entire blame can not be placed on their shoulders. Dr. Hartshorne*s analysis of this situation attributes the pre-Nazi decline to a lower birth rate during World War I and to the severe economic depression of 1929-34#^^ But the decreases became more substantial in the years following the establishment of National Socialism, and this requires a further accounting. The National Socialists took the position that the universities were overcrowded; in relation to the available facilities, they probably were. The population of Germany almost doubled between l840 and 1931» but the university population increased ten times during the same period.13 ^^Hartshorne, op. cit.. pp. 72-73- p. 74. . p. 77. 157 Only four of the twenty-three German universities had been founded after I840, and expansion of existing institutions was not commensurate with the population increase.^4 There was, therefore, a real problem of overcrowding, and, in addition, there was the serious problem of unemploy ment of professionally trained persons outside the univer sities. Under these conditions it is not strange that Hitler found ready acceptance of his fundamental thesis on the subject of higher education. No practical solution had been found by the Weimar government, and the German people were in a desperate frame of mind. The National Socialists attacked this situation with their usual directness and self-confidenee. The first important act was to restrict by law the number of admis sions to schools of higher learning. This was done by a decree effective in 1934> which limited enrollment to a national total of 15,000 students. The number of women were restricted to ten per cent of this total by the same act.15 The effect of this law was marked and immediate. The number of admissions during the academic year following the restriction was actually less than the law allowed— 11,774. ^^Lindegren, op. cit., pp. 38-39. ^hartshorne, op. cit., p. 74# 158 The second method, adopted by the Nazis was that of applying selective tests designed to disqualify a considér able percentage of the applicants# These tests were applie(^ at all levels of the educational system* They included "race" and "political" qualifications as well as the previous scholastic qualifications*. Students in the secondary schools were to be dissuaded from continuing their education unless their school records, other intellectual gifts, inclinations, and achievements satisfied an examining committee that they were qualified. Continuation without this recommendation was made quite difficult. The third method of attacking the overcrowding problem was the general playing-down of educational and intellectual achievements. This was done by means of propaganda, speeches of the leaders of the state, the emphasis on manual work, and the constant praise and rewarding of "men of action." The whole of Nazi literature was filled with in ferences or literal expressions of derision for academic Another measure which aided in holding down university enrollment, .although it was not directly intended to do so, was the compulsory labor service, which the Nazis demanded of all persons under twenty-five years of age. The law specified six months* service; it became a requirement for 159 university entrance on January I9, 1935*^^ Along with labor service, there was the military service obligation, which was extended from one to two years in August, 1936. This also.had an effect on enrollment. The effectiveness of these restrictive devices is shown by the enrollment figures in some of the major institutions♦ The University of Berlin had a winter semester enrollment in 1930-31 of 14,687, but the figure had dropped to 6,600 by the summer semester of 1936.^^ At Leipzig University the enrollment dropped from 6,938 to 3,200 during the same period.I8 The Universities of Munich and Cologne followed a similar pattern. The conclusion is inevitable that the Nazi plans to prevent overcrowding, plus economic conditions, worked remarkably well. IV. CURRICULUM It is in the area of curriculum that the character of the Nazi aims for the universities shows up most clearly. The following statement of Dr. Hartshorne summarizes the rbid^ p. 24. p. 85. ^®Loc. cit. l6o National Socialist philosophy regarding the curriculum of the German universities: * It is the task of the German universities,* declares an unpublished Ministerial decree of November 24, 1934* *to put scientific research into the closest possible relationship with the national needs of our people.* To this end the administration was reorganized, the faculty re constituted and retrained, the student body newly disciplined, and to this end the academic curric ulum was remodelled.19 The tendency of the National Socialists was to stress the practical sciences, which had an immediate application. The speculative studies, which had less practical importance, were used for dissemination of Nazi theories and propaganda; any of the non-practical studies which were not suitable for propaganda purposes were neglected. In most cases it was the refusal of professors to accept the government decrees in the study areas most vulnerable to propaganda which caused "political dismissals." In the opinion of Dr. Hartshorne, the degree of change in the subject-matter of the natural sciences was not very great under Nazi g u i d a n c e .2D There appears to be a ^^Ibid., p• 106. Z O l b l d . , p. 1 1 2 . l6i difference of opinion here between Professors Hartshorne and Ebenstein. The latter says that "... even the natural sciences have been turned into propaganda vehicles of r a c i s m ."21 Both men appear to be in agreement that the natural sciences were used less for propaganda purposes. The social sciences had the greatest potential utility for the Hazi leaders, and they took full advantage of this characteristic. Their attitude toward these studies was that they were useful as myths to achieve preconceived ends or effects* Some of the proposed topics and sub-topics for a meeting of the German Psychological Association in the spring of 1934 were: "Race, the Realm of the Soul and Community," "Training of Historical Sense," "National Consciousness, and "Will and Character Formation." The value to the Nazi cause of such direction of professional activities is obvious. The other social sciences underwent similar revisions to bring them into line with Nazi ideology. The non-technological social sciences lost headway rapidly after 1933, since they were difficult to relate to the Nazi movement* They were maintained only where some propaganda value could be derived from them. 21 Ebenstein, op. cit.,. p. I69. 162 The actual fields of study which were offered in the universities and colleges were left, so far as form, is concerned, much as the Nazis found them* The Nazis again showed a delicate sensitivity in judging how far the traditional curriculum could he altered* Some new subjects were added, to be sure* In the law curriculum, for instance, the following courses were injected during the Nazi regime: "People and State," "Family," "German economic life," "Treaty and injustice," and " S o i l . "22 The same courses were often found interjected into the study plans of other subject fields, such as economics and even medicine* Race science was taught in separate courses, or it was integrated into the traditional subjects. Lectures and courses in "race and tribe," "anthopology," and "pre history" were included in the plans of study for most of the major fields.23 As the war crisis drew nearer, new "war" courses were added to the university and college curriculum. These included such titles as: "defense physics," "defense medicine," "military rewards and Lindegren, op. cit.. pp. 49-50. ^^Hartshorne, op. cit., p. 120. 163 punishments," and "defense chemistry."^ These were emergency concessions to the coming war effort. There was another aspect of the changes in currlcnlum which had a profound effect on German higher education. This aspect is well expressed by Hartshorne as follows : The change involved concerns the general tone of treatment, the steady current of innuendo and indoctrination which accompanies the exposi tion in all subjects where this is possible. In its new emphasis on the practical, and above all on the national, the curriculum reflects the general tendencies of the Ideological Reform.25 V. GOVERNMENT POLICY TOWARD INSTITUTIONS OP HIGHER EDUCATION In discussing the subjects of university organization and curriculum, a good deal has been said about government policy toward the institutions of higher learning. This section will draw these aspects of policy together. Under the Republican government the universities had a high degree of self-direction. Such control as existed was exercised by the ministers of education of the various states. Prussia, because of its large area and population. ^George F. Kneller, The Educational Philosophy of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale University Press, , p. 229. ^^Hartshorne, 00. cit.. p. 110. had the largest number of universities and became the un official policy leader for the nation. The degree of governing power held by the universities under the Weimar regime was an innovation compared to the amount of centralized control which had existed in the E m p i r e .26 However, the freedoms permitted were misunderstood by the student organizations, were abused, and finally led to a greater degree of control by the State. The Hitler government took control on January 30, 1933# The Nazis immediately consolidated their position under conditions which might be termed martial law. The party and the State were unified on December 1, 1933, and a series of laws concerning civil service employees were en acted. These laws pertained to political loyalty, and they accounted for the loss of fifteen to twenty per cent of the university faculties.27 The final step was to take control of citizenship and the rights of citizens in the new Reich. An immediate five-point reform program was undertaken for the entire Reich, and the universities were required to fit into the new program. Control was immediately centralized under the Administrative Reform; as a part of Ibid., pp. 4g-4t# Ibid.. p. 16. 165 the Economie Reform admissions were drastically cut; under the provisions of the Military Reform a new spirit of militarism was brought into the universities, and students were channeled into the millteu?y services. The universities became the highest training grounds for a new "race" and th^ new class of "leaders" as a part of the Eugenics Reform; as a part of the Ideological Reform the institutions of higher learning were required to give intellectual support to the new religion of N a z i i s m .28 Their alignment was thorough and complete; individuals who stood in the way were quickly removed, but most took the easier course of showing outward conformity. An article published in an American periodical, dated April, 1934* was entitled, "Twilight of the German University"— a truly prophetic title.29 Summarized, these policies amount to a complete re molding of higher education in Germany. The great prestige of these institutions did not protect them from Nazi align ment in the struggle for world mastery. Individuals could leave Germany (during the early years), conform, or die, but the universities could choose only between the latter two. Some idea of the penetration of government policy P« 36. ^9s. stone, "Twilight of the German University," Current History^ 40 (April, 1934)* 39-43* l66 into the universities is illustrated hy the following excerpt from Gregor Ziemer: Classes 77-175 [at the University of Berlin] are part of the political science curriculum devoted to law. Fifty of these explain the new laws of Nazi Germany. Twelve courses discuss laws of foreign countries, one of them the law of New York City. How earnestly the Nazi regime builds toward a super-race becomes evident from the fact that courses 274-658 are devoted to every possible phase of medicine, hygiene, eugenics, laws of heredity, and racial c u l t u r e.30 If the features of the internal reorganization of the universities are recalled, the policy of centralizing control of all institutions under the Reich Minister of Education is clearly d i s c e r n i b l e . 8 F The organizational plan left little doubt that the true control of everything in the universities and colleges was to be in the hands of the Minister, who, in turn, was only responsible to the Leader of the Reich. The leadership principle was the highest law pertaining to the universities; its result was the total subjugation of higher learning. 3Garegor Ziemer, Education for Death (London: Oxford University Press, I941), p. 17^. 8^Supra, p. 149• 167 VI. OBJECTIVITY, FREEDOM OF RESEARCH, AND IMPARTIALITY This phase of higher learning was the suhjeot of great and wordy controversy within the Third Reich* The prin ciple speakers on the subject were Dr. Ernst Krieck, the chief educational philosopher of Naziism and Rector of Heidelberg, and Dr. Bernhard Rust, Reich Minister of Educa tion. The thesis both men followed was that National Socialism had not destroyed objectivity and academic freedom, but that it had put it on a new and better basis. This point of view is, of course, open to serious question. Dr. Krieck granted the right of objectivity provided it was a sincere and realistic approach on the part of the scientist. However, when objectivity pretends to an existence apart from living organizations, he said, it must be rejected as superhuman a r r o g a n c e .82 Eternal truths, he I I averred, can be revealed only through sincerity and in I accordance with present needs, a somewhat mystical view. Dr. Rust presented much the same kind of an argument. He said that the basis of science had to be a philosophy of life, a Weltanschauung. This philosophy (or faith) was National Socialism, born out of the living need of a people 32 Kneller, op. cit.. p. 222. l68 for unity, and science had to be drawn into the stream of this new outlook. He argued that the old idea of objectiv ity was a contradiction because man could not be the subject and the master of his own intellectual processes at the same time.33 Rust contended that science was not compelled to surrender objectivity to politics, but he insisted that the scientist could not divorce his inquiry from his res ponsibility to the Volk and its general welfare.34 Summed up, he was saying to the scientists that objectivity existed provided the results conformed to National Socialist ideology. Rust saw no conflict between scientific research and Naziism because he said that Naziism was founded on the laws of nature and history. The contradiction in this reasoning seems to be the question of how one can base a doctrine on natural laws when no eternal truths can be discovered. There were other arguments designed to show that im partial, objective science could exist within the frame work of National Socialism. All of them concluded with the same theme--this objectivity must exist upon the p. 223. 34 Loc. cit. 169 intellectual platform provided by National Socialism, and if objectivity or free inquiry should depart from this foundation, then objective inquiry was forbidden because it injured the needs and welfare of the Volk. That this philosophy was not shared by non-National Socialist countries is attested by the following report: On June 27, 1938 the University of Gottingen celebrated its two hundredth anniversary. Invi tations to attend were declined by the Universi ties of Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton, Am sterdam, Leyden, Utrecht, and Groningen. Harvard University accepted with conditions that amounted to a refusal.35 VII. RACE SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY Race science, as already noted, often became part of university courses in biology. The tendency was, however, to integrate this study into many courses, so that all students would be well grounded in its principles. In the University of Berlin’s curriculum for medicine we find two courses listed which covered Nazi ideas on the subject. One is "Racial hygiene," which was to be taken in the first year of study, and the other was the "Science of human heredity," to be taken in the last semester. The remaining 3^"German Education," 1938 Britannica Book of the Year (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1938), p. 697• 170 subjects of the medical course of study were standard.36 In the law curriculum at the same institution a first semester course in "Genealogical research" was listed, but most of the other subjects were the usual legal topics. A course in "People and race" was listed in the agriculture curriculum at all institutions of higher education offering such a curriculum.37 Gregor Ziemer tells us that courses numbered 274-658 at the University of Berlin concerned medicine, hygiene, eugenics, laws of heredity, and racial culture.38 Many of these courses were not directly concerned with racial science and biology. The question arises concerning the fundamental concepts of race that were being taught in these courses. First, evidence was advanced in an attempt to show that racial purity was a natural instinct. It was necessary to keep the race pure because crossing a "higher" race with a "lower" one would lower the cultural development of the higher. "Races" were rated according to their degree of cul ture— as judged by the Nazis. The Aryans were, to be sure. ^^Lindegren, op. cit.. pp. 54-55* 37ibi<a.. p. 84. 3°Zlem@r, loe. cit. 171 the highest or ”culture-creating5” other groups were rated as ”culture-preserving,^* and still others, notably the Jews, Negroes, and French, were rated as **culture-destroy ing.** This was a natural alignment, it was argued, and was not a matter for personal judgment. Mendelian law was used (or misused) to demonstrate the correctness of these concepts. Difficult administrative questions arose in the application of this racial theory, such as the number of Jewish ancestors necesseury to be classified as Jewish. Wickham Steed, the English scholar who opposed Naziism bitterly and logically, suggested the question of the racial status of the Japanese and Italians after their entry into World War 11.^9 VIII. THE FACULTIES Three-fourth of the total number of persons teaching in institutions of higher education, exclusive of assist ants, at the time of Hitler’s accession to power were members of university facuities.We shall give this ^^Wiekham Steed, Hitler. Whence and Whither? (London Nisbet and Co. L t d 19375» P* HI* " I l - O Hartshorne, op. cit., p. 88. 172 group the most attention because of their numerical strength and importance to the educational system. A great deal was said in the early and middle 1930’s about the political dismissals from German universities* The impression was often left that the purges** were total, but this was not the ease. Dr. Hartshorne indicates that dismissals (or losses), exclusive of assistants, ranged from fifty per cent at Düsseldorf (Medical Academy) to l . I | . per cent at Tubingen; in the case of Düsseldorf, the actual number of persons involved was ten. Berlin Universi-; ty lost 32. per cent--the second highest; Heidelberg lost 2 i | . . 3 per cent, and Munich 8.3 per cent.^1 These institu tions are mentioned because they show representative per centages of dismissals in the larger schools. The best estimate of overall loss is from fourteen to sixteen per cent, and the loss of Ordinary Professors (highest rank) still lower, 10.9 per cent. These percentage losses cover the period February, 1933 to April, 1935*^^ The incidence of dismissals in the Hochschulen (colleges) was approximately the same as that of the p. ^Ibld.. p. 95. 173 universities, the average being li^-.S per cent up to April, 1936 (the end of the winter semester, 1935-36).^3 This figure gives a somewhat more valid idea of dismissals because it covers a longer period of time. The largest number of dismissals occurred in the fields of medicine, the physical sciences, the social sciences, and law.Wl- In general, the dismissals were largest in those fields having the largest student enrollment. For example, medicine shows the largest total enrollment for the years 1931 to 1935» and it also had the greatest number of dis missals, although there was very little difference in percentage of dismissals from the average.^5 Law was an interesting exception to this^neralization; this subject had the second highest student enrollment, but not the second largest number of faculty dismissals. In addition, the proportion of Jewish faculty members was greatest in this field, and those automatically dismissed as * * non- Aryan** amounted to 78*5 per cent of the total*^6 g^e might conclude that the law professors were more willing to live with Naziism than those in some of the other fields. 43 Loc. cit. ix P* 99• pp. 99, 107 ^^Ibld.. p. 100. 174 I The training and appointment of university faculty ' members was radically changed by the Nazis after December 13» 1934* Until that date, the authorization of individuals' to teach in the universities had been largely a function of the faculties themselves; it was a faculty right to decide on the candidates* qualifications, confer the right to teach (venia legendl) and the title of Privatdozent. The whole procedure was called habilitation. After December 13» 1934 & whole new set of require ments was added by the National Socialists. Habilitation became a prerequisite to applying for a license to teach (Dozentur). The habilitation rights were conferred, provided the State Office of Education authorized it, by the submission of a thesis and the presentation of a lecture before a faculty committee, requiring the approval of the committee and the r e c t o r.47 The applicant could then apply to the Reich Minister for the license to teach; he was assigned to a faculty for a public examination in teaching. The examination consisted of three one-hour lectures in the candidate’s field of study given during one week. Success in this examination entitled the fledgling professor to apply for a four-week 47 Lindegren, op. cit., p. Ij.2. 175 training course for instructors. This training course consisted of living in a Community Camp and attending a Teachers’ Academy. The camp was similar to the labor camps and was intended to produce a common spirit of community life by means of physical labor, uniforms, simple food, and military order. The Teachers’ Academy was for the express purpose of indicating to the prospective instructors the relationship between their study and teaching and National Socialism. On completion of these requirements the license to teach was issued by the State education office with the approval of the Reich Minister. It was valid in all German institutions of higher learning, but transfers required approval by the Reich Minister, who could revoke or limit the license.46 This process of licensing required from three to five years of examination and waiting after the candidate had earned the doctorate. Supervision of the faculties within the universities by the Reich Ministry, which was in complete control, was always aimed at the prevention of resistance to Nazi aims. One of the most effective weapons was the transfer power. Wherever any group resistance appeared, the group was 48 Loc. cit. 1?6 broken up. Men were moved from institution to institution as a means of reward or punishment. Uncertainty of positions created strain, apprehension, and great losses to education, but the universities were fully controlled by the Nazis. The following lines from Dr. Hartshorne are highly descriptive of the professors* plight: . . . lecturing before rows of brown-shirts, flanked in his seminars and informal discussion groups by zealous young Nazi teachers ; . . . har- rassed by the thought of his banished and often expatriated colleagues and masters ; disgusted at the habit of compromise and self-deception practised by others and even forced upon him self; fearful or cynical with regard to the future, the university teacher lives a truly unenviable existence.49 The question of what happened to the men who were dis missed or who could not tolerate the life Dr. Hartshorne described is an intriguing one. There are, of course, some unaccounted for; some died in prison or concentration camps, but most of them found their way out of Germany. The number who chose voluntary exile was proportionately larger than in other professions.50 Some effected a reconcili ation with National Socialism. Hartshorne, op. cit.. p. 102. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. 17$. 177 Most of the exiles went to France and Great Britain. Great Britain and the United States finally got the majority of them, although they were strewn across Europe from Switzerland to Palestine (Israel).^1 4 "University in Exile" was set up by the Hew School of Social Research in New York, which took some of them. The Institute of Ad vanced Study was organized at Princeton and received men like Einstein and Weyl.52 Today some of these men are to be found on the faculties of eminent universities throughout the United States and Great Britain. IX. WAR PROGRAMS In nearly all of the German universities a new category of subjects grew up between 1933 and 1939* This category was given the title "military considerations."53 It included such subjects as "defense (or war) physics," "defense medicine," and "defense psychology." Ebenstein tells us that it also included "war philosophy."54 5^Hartshorne, on. cit., p. 96. 5^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. 176. ^^Kneller, op. cit., p. 229. ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. 172. 178 A martial spirit had invaded the universities; many of the faculty and students were in some sort of uniform. The technical colleges were organized for the teaching of wartime economies, aircraft design and construction, and weapons production and engineering. Courses in economic planning and self-sufficiency were established in these institutions.55 Special war academies were instituted to study air warfare, war medicine, and war veterinary medicine. These schools were not established immediately before the war but had been in existence for five or six years when the war broke out.56 The educational organization was on a perma nent war basis because National Socialism was on such a basis. The Germans had followed the advice of Professor Banse, who held the first chair of Military Science in a German university, to organize every branch of human know ledge for war ,57 Another aspect of the war program was the calling by Hitler of frequent parades and military exercises, such as the "Day of National Glory." These activities were ^^Kneller, loc. cit. Ebenstein, loc. cit. ^^Kneller, op. cit., p. 176. 179 intended to maintain the psychological attitude of students in readiness for the conflict that was sure to come. Students who were party members and participated in these activities were given special consideration in their academic work. In October, 1939 & War Propaganda Unit was set up in all operating universities. Students from each field of study were enlisted to do research in the work of their respective fields, which was the product of enemy or potential-enemy nations* Thus, law students sought in stances of British violation of international law; philosophy students researched the work of British philos ophers for concepts that might provide anti-British propaganda. Students of the history of art collected the cartoons of all nations which were derisive of John Bull, an apt application of artI The results of these studies were organized and made available to newspapers, the Nazi party, and official speakers.58 The universities were organized for the common effort of the Volk# Since, in the opinion of the Leader, the ultimate welfare of the Volk demanded war, the universities ^^Ebenstein, op. cit., p. 173 were organized for this purpose. No matter what study German young men undertook in the university, they were studying to he warriors under National Socialism, CHAPTER VII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS I, SUMMARY The goals of education in the Nazi state centered on the creation of a totally united, uniform German Volk or "race." By achieving this, education would preserve "racial elements" which, in turn, would supply culture and enable the German Volk to reach a new and higher plane of beauty and dignity. Much of the idealism and mysticism of the nationalistic German philosophers is embodied in this objective. The sound body became the primary objective of educa tion because it was necessary for the full expression of the "folk-8oui" and the preservation of German culture from| its enemies. As a consequence, Germany became a land devoted to physical education, and much of the time former ly spent in intellectual pursuits was given over to physical development. Next in importance to the sound body was the strong ; character : a powerful will, loyalty, devotion to duty, willingness, and, above all, silent obedience. The apparent contradiction between strong will and obedience was ration alized by making will the will of the Volk, rather than of 1 8 2 the individual, and obedience to this was the highest virtue. Last in the list of objectives of education was the imparting of knowledge, not of an "intellectual," abstract type » but that which could be applied to the purposes of the Volk or state. There was no such thing as knowledge for its own sake for the National Socialist. The Leader had frequently spoken about the cluttering of young minds with information they did not need and would surely forget. Knowledge of "race-sense" and the importance of the "purity of the Blood" were of infinitely greater importance than an understanding of French, Greek, or Latin. The concept of objectivity was rejected by Nazi educators because they denied reason:* as the sole means of gaining ultimate truth. The young were closer to the truth (in the Nazi view) than were the scholars pouring over musty tomes ; they were thus favored because their knowledge was that of spirit, will, and instinct--innate, personal, and vibrant with life. It was, so to speak, knowledge with a place to go. Knowledge was true, however, only if it did not conflict with the interests of the German Volk. The ultimate goal of this training was an unsurpassed physical specimen, totally disciplined, and fully imbued with the sanctity of the Volk and the Volk-will. He was 183 to feel rather than reason, and he was to he eager to subjugate himself completely for the welfare of the Volk— even to the point of death. The word sacrifice played an infinitely larger part in the Nazi educational philosophy than the phrase self-realization. Professor Kandel says, "The essence of totalitarianism [Naziism] is the subjection of the ipdividual to the state.It was also characteris tic of Naziism to subjugate social institutions to the will of the state ; education was no exception to this rule. This mystical unification of all people and all things for a community purpose did not come upon Germany fully developed. It was the result of many ideas expressed by German thinkers in the past— particularly during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Many of the writers on National Socialism doubt that Hitler had a profound know ledge of the ideas of Fichte, Hegel, Treitschke, or Cham berlain; the ideas of nationalism, unity, power, and know ledge that these men expounded had found their way into the German mind. There are some strong similarities between Nazi philosophy and the ideas expressed by the German nationalistic philosophers. We cannot, therefore, say that the doctrines of ^Isaac L. Kandel, The Making of Nazis (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University,1935)» p. 132. 18 4 National Socialism were entirely unique. We even find some similarities between the ideas of Hitler and those of Plato, albeit for entirely different ends. But Naziism was more than philosophical ideas; it was an application of these ideas in the practical matter of conducting the affairs of a great nation. Furthermore, the philosophical bases on which it rested were woven together in a manner which was unique in twentieth-century Europe. Traditionally the soldier has been divorced from politics in the United States and Great Britain. Hitler combined these two concepts to create the idea of the "political soldier.** It became the aim of education to make every German boy (and girl) fit this pattern. It was this idea which led American and British observers of the Nazi educational system to say that its sole purpose was militarism and preparation for war. However, it was more than this; it was an effort to restore German self-respect and confidence, which had sagged badly after World War I. Dr. Theodor Wilhelm, a leading Nazi educational philosopher and professor at the Oldenburg Teachers* College, expressed this point well in a speech delivered at the English University of Nottingham on November $, 1938 : Soldatisch [soldierly] is for us a matter of manliness, and has nothing to do with cannons and blood. The psychological moment when the German assumes a soldierly attitude corresponds perhaps to the moment when the Englishman 18$ decides to take his feet off the mantlepiece and sit fairly upright in the armchair.^ The "heroic-soldierly way of life" was a means of giving importance and purpose to the German life. It was a means of creating in the young a willingness to sacrifice self for the welfare of the whole. It was an application of the sado-masochistic quality of Naziism about which Dr. Fromm has spoken so eloquently.3 Faith in the Leader was the cornerstone of education. The contemporary Nazi educational philosophers repeatedly referred to Hitler as their "infallible guiding star." The Leader was a "father-image" in education no less than in other phases of German life. If Hitler hated, then the schools of Germany did so too, and the entire fabric of Naziism was woven of the two powerful motivators of love and hate. In primary education these attitudes took tangible form. The organizational structure was retained in its ' more or less traditional form, but control was quickly brought under the leadership principle. Curriculums, P Theodor Wilhelm, "Scholars or Soldiers," Internationale Zeitschrift fur Erziehung. 8 (1939)» p. 99. ^Supra, p. 23. 186 textbooks, and faculties were rapidly revised or reorganized to conform to the Nazi philosophy, and education was trans formed into indoctrination in the Nazi ideology* Attendance was compulsory from the sixth to the fourteenth year. The trend of Naziism was to put primary education on a mass basis. The number of schools and teachers decreased accompanied by a slight decrease in the total number of pupils; the result was a considerable increase in density per classroom* However, the National Socialist view of education was of such a nature that class size was not of great importance. Nazi educational authorities stressed "patriotic education," and the school was conceived of as only one agency for this purpose. The total environment of the child— at school, at home, in the Hitler Youth— was planned to carry on this all-important activity of education* Even in the teaching of the basic primary subjects, "the three R*s," patriotic and military motives predominated. The enchanting fairy tales that were so much a part of German child-life were replaced with stories of heroes on the battlefield, and the boy calculating his change at the candy store gave way to one computing the distance covered by bombers during an attack. The vocational school program was allowed to atrophy because the National Socialist philosophy did not desire 187 to produce the strong individualism which is characteristic of the highly skilled craftsman. They substituted com pulsory labor service for this phase of education and placed the emphasis on physical strength rather than on the de velopment of technical skills. Vocational education was given the objective of helping the German Volk instead of the individual. Nazi educational leaders stressed the use of modern teaching methods in the primary schools. The use of audio visual education became standard procedure in National Socialist schools. The radio was especially used to unify school activities with those of the home. The teacher was directed to act as the child*s guide and mentor, but learning was to be the result of activity and ©xperience-- a reaffirmation of Nazi confidence in the "instinctive" knowledge of youth. The secondary school system of Germany underwent a major revision at the hands of the National Socialists. The large variety of secondary schools which existed in the Weimar Republic were reduced to three basic types, the âufbauschule. the Oberschule. arid the Gymnasium. The function of these schools— to prepare students for entrance into the universities and colleges--remained the same, but the curriculums were radically changed to fit the new educational objectives of the state; physical and 1 8 8 character development took the dominant position* Tests for admission were revised in the standard Nazi fashion. The old tests were relegated to a secondary position, and tests of "race," physical fitness, character, and "national fitness" were superimposed on them* No Jew could be admitted if an Aryan was eligible to fill his place. All Jewish admissions were limited by a numerus clausus imposed early in the period of Nazi control. Fees for those meeting the requirements were nominal and were covered by scholarships for those found worthy under the tests applied. The Gymnasium lost its favored position under Naziism, as did the old classical German education. These schools were reduced in number under the reform plan to the point of extinction. The fundamental ( though unannounced) object was to divert the mass of secondary pupils into the Qber- schulen, which were more in conformance with the Nazi educational philosophy and easier to control. The Gym nasium stood too much for individualism and carried too great a weight of tradition for Nazi purposes. The same fat© befell German private schools. Over half the private schools in Germany closed their doors between May, 1935 and May, 1939# They were permitted only for those students who had health or family problems, and these were subject to the same rigid political control as 189 the public schools* Their demise was dictated by the necessity of the Nazi government to bring all training ; institutions under the most direct and total control by the government. The same de-emphasis on intellectual achievment was applied to the entire secondary curriculum. Various regulations were enacted with the purpose of directing secondary pupils into occupations, the labor programs, or the army at the conclusion of their schooling, rather than into the universities and colleges. The firm conviction that Republican Germany had produced an oversupply of "intellectuals" continually evidenced itself in the Nazi administration of the secondary schools and the universi ties. The new curriculums of the secondary schools showed a heavy emphasis on "German subjects" (German language, history, geography, art, and music), and all of these were given the highly nationalistic interpretations at which the Nazi educators were so adept. The remaining subjects, physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and foreign languages were continued but were pointed toward current problems--most of them having to do with war. Physical education occupied a dominant position in the curriculums of all the secondary institutions. The German girl was permitted education through the 190 1 secondary level, but she was not permitted to enter the Gymnasium. The curriculums of the girls* schools offered majors in languages or home economics only, and it was made quite clear to these young women that their duty lay in the area of homemaking and motherhood. University education was made almost unattainable for them. Secondary faculties were trained in teachers * colleges and the universities, but the total training time was shortened under the Nazi regime. Two examinations were required, one of which might be considered academic. The second examination was administered by the Reich Ministry of Education, and the candidate was required to show an adequate knowledge of secondary subjects in the spirit of National Socialist principles. Successful passage of the second examination resulted in a license to teach issued by the Reich Ministry. The ideal secondary teacher was no longer looked upon as basically a scholar. He was to be physically fit and of great will and determination. He was, to use the words of two of National Socialism* s educational philosophers, to be a man "likely to prove a steadfast and enthusiastic leader of the children entrusted to him."4 4Theodor Wilhelm and Gerhard Graf e, German Educ at ion Today (Berlin: Terramare Office, 1936)i p. 36. ^ 191 Textbooks were based on the Nazi concepts of national ism, physical courage, and will. Pre-history was the subject of texts designed to show the German secondary student that the pre-historic civilizations had been Nordic in origin. Texts for all subjects placed political in doctrination ahead of any other consideration. The prin ciple of keeping "objectivity" on a sound basis of National Socialist philosophy was scrupulously followed. Texts for mathematical and scientific subjects were pointed toward solving the problems Germany faced in the destruction of her enemies at home and abroad. The special schools created by the Nazis were indicative of the determination to produce a class of leaders who were fanatically devoted to the principles of National Socialism. The National Political Training Institutes (NPEA.) were designed to train young men who had shown high interest in youth activities as leaders for the special armed forma tions of the party (S.A. and S.S. troops), the labor service, and the police force. Thirty-one such schools were established before the war ended. The essential difference between these schools and the regular secondary schools was the greater emphasis on Nazi ideology, physical fitness and training, and the development of discipline, obedience, and willingness to accept responsibility. They were operated on a military basis and were commanded by 192 high ranking S.S* (Schutz-Staffel) officers. There were three schools for girls to train women leaders for the labor service. The basis of the selection of students (both male and female) was physical fitness and character, as determined by service to the party and the Volk. Very little emphasis was placed on academic achievement. The Adolf Hitler Schools were even more selective than the National Political Training Institutes. They were concerned exclusively with developing party leaders, and they were operated by the party instead of the Ministry of Education. Students were drawn from the Hitler Youth, and tests for admission were administered by this group. The most fundamental requirement was outstanding leadership ability. Scholastic achievement was no more important in these schools than in the N.P.E.A., perhaps less so. Three to four hundred boys were admitted each year while the schools were In existence. The curriculum of the Adolf Hitler Schools was basically political, centering around a core of biology (or race) and Volk. Progressive and modern methods were used in teaching, and the study of the Italian language was required for all students. The Order Castles were established to train the very best of the Adolf Hitler Schools and the National Political Training Institutes as "leaders of leaders." They were 193 based on the traditions of the medieval Order of German Knights. The principles of this order were strict obedience to the "Master of the Order" and the determination to conquer and Germanize Slavic lands to the East. These principles fitted the Nazi purposes admirably and were adopted for this school for elite leaders. The program of studies was undertaken in four different "castles," the last one being Marienburg, an old Order Castle of the German Knights. The subject content consisted, of Nazi ideology, "race science," physical training, war sports, political education, and the Eastern Question. The type of training reveals the purposes that the National Socialists had for these "leaders of leaders." The con centration on the Eastern Question indicates the high degree of concern the Nazis had for "the threat from the East." The Hitler Youth was not a school, as such. Its purpose was to turn the old German youth movement into National Socialist channels, and it existed throughout Germany for boys of all ages. There was a similar organi zation for girls. The nearest comparable organization in democratic countries is the Boy Scouts, but the Hitler Youth was a political and fully military organization. It was under the direction of a Reich Youth Leader appointed by the Leader. 194 The general program followed by the Hitler Youth was one of outdoor living, hiking, and group companionship on a military basis, à study program of military science, languages, chemistry, mathematics, and party doctrines--all taught with the Nazi We It ans chauung— was included. The program occupied a large part of the child*s time outside of school, and a considerable part of school time was devoted to it, also* The objectives of the Hitler Youth were four. First, it was intended to intensify the training in Nazi ideology; secondly, it was to provide normal recreational outlets for children within the framework of the traditional German youth movement; thirdly, the most active leaders of this organization were to become the future members of the Nazi party; and lastly, it was a major effort of the Nazis to break down the influenece of parents and the family over the child* Faculties of these special schools were composed partl^ of trained teachers and partly of leaders of the S.A*, S*S.| the Nazi party, and the Hitler Youth. Generally, the non professional teachers had had little or no prior teacher training or experience. Trained teachers were normally assigned to instruction in the academic parts of the curriculum, but political, ideological, physical, and military instruction were left to the party and state representatives* The fact that plans were being made near the end of the war to establish special training schools for teachers in these institutions indicates that the quality of instruction was not entirely satisfactory* The Hitler Youth did not have a faculty by that name, but youth leaders appointed by the Reich Youth Leader con ducted leadership schools in 150 of Germany^s cities. They were all employees of the Hitler Youth Organization and were directly responsible to the government. Political reliability and party service were requirements of employ ment. There is considerable evidence which indicates a i high degree of effectiveness on the part of the Hitler Youth leader.5 The German universities suffered most at the hands of the National Socialists* By the end of 1939 only seven of the twenty-three German universities were operating. This was another part of the Nazi policy of de-emphasizing intellectuality. A further indication of this policy was the restriction on the number of persons who could be admitted to the universities each year. The internal organization and control of the universi ties had been largely in the hands of the faculties and ^Gregor Ziemer, Education for Death (London: Oxford University Press, l%l), p. 167* 196 students during the period of the Weimar Republic, but this arrangement was quickly altered under National Socialism* The Leadership Principle was immediately established* All the previous rights of faculties in regard to authorization of new professors (habilitation), promotions, and appoint ments of men from other faculties were restricted* The general form of faculty administrative organization was left as it was, but all actions of the faculty and the Rector were subject to the approval of the Reich Ministry of Education. The body of internal administration remained, but it was emasculated by superimposed government control on each activity or right* The same pattern was followed in the matter of the student organizations, which became known as "student-corps*" All important officers of both the "teaching-corps" and the "student-corps" were either appointed by the Reich Minister or required his approval* Enrollment in the universities declined by approximate ly one-third between 1931 and 1935» Entering classes de creased by 59.1 per cent during the same period.^ Part of this decrease was probably due to factors not directly due to the control of the Nazi government* The combination of Edward Y. Hartshorne, The German Universities and Nation al Socialism (Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1937)$ pp. 72-73. 197 enrollment limitations plus the imposition of new "race," physical, and political tests for admittance created the decrease in enrollment. The constant attacks on education and scholarly achievement undoubtedly helped to discourage many young Germans from applying for admission to universi ties. Some secondary factors in lowering enrollment were the labor service requirement, the military requirement, and the policy in the secondary schools of steering as many students as possible into occupational areas. The curriculums of the universities maintained most of the traditional courses. Science turned toward practical applications for the welfare of the Volk, however. The speculative studies were altered to become instruments for the dissemination of Nazi propaganda, and those which had little propaganda value were neglected to the point of dis appearanc e• The social sciences had the greatest propaganda value for the Nazi cause, and these were fully exploited. Certain courses which had political significance were added within the disciplines: "race science" in biology, "treaty and injustice" in law, "pre-history" in most of the major fields. The general manner of treatment of most subjects was slanted to conform with Nazi principles and ambitions. Official government policy toward the universities 198 was to require their conforming to a five-point reform program instituted shortly after Hitler came to power. The reform was economic, military, political, eugenic, and Ideological. It was applied to the universities in the same manner and degree as to all other institutions in the Reich, but it was adapted to the functions of education at the university level in the specific ways that have been mentioned previously. The penetration of government policy was deep and lasting; the result was complete surrender of higher education to the government policy. Objectivity and freedom of research found a new basis. It was no longer possible to follow the dictates of reason or experimentation, if these activities led to conclusions or knowledge contradictory to the established and infalli ble truths of National Socialism. Certain areas in the exact sciences carried on research largely as they had previously, but this was permitted only because of the virtual impossibility of clashes with political doctrines. Those disciplines which might come into conflict with official policy were severely handicapped; the plight of the researcher in psychology or political science was hopeless. "Race science" and biology were interspersed through all curriculums to some extent. In general, they taught the superiority of the "Aryan race" because it was 199 "culture-creating;" other "racial groups" were "culture- preserving," and some were "culture—destroying." The latter group included the Jews, who were considered Germany^s great misfortune. These alignments were natural and not subject to alteration by man. Mendelian law was advanced as a means of substantiating these claims. University faculty dismissals were not as large as was generally supposed outside Germany at the time. The best estimates for university and college dismissals were between fourteen and sixteen per cent of the totals. The largest number of dismissals normally occurred in the fields with the largest enrollments and, therefore, the largest faculties. Law training was an exception to this rule indicating a higher degree of willingness to conform in this study area than in some others. The degree of professorial unwillingness to accept Nazi regulation was not great, but it was considerably higher than in other professional areas. The training and appointment of university faculty members were radically changed and brought under total government control in 193l|. After all the traditional requirements had been met, the professorial candidate was required to apply for a license to teach (Dozentur) from the Reich Minister of Education. Additional examinations were administered by the Reich Minister, and attendance 200 at a Comnranlty Camp and a Teachers^ Academy for four weeks was required. Here the candidate was taught camp life and the implications of National Socialism for teaching. Success in these efforts resulted in a license to teach, but it was revokable by the Reich Minister; transfer from one faculty to another required his consent. The entire licensing process required not less than three years after receiving the doctorate. Life within the universities was insecure and uncertain. Government—ordered transfers were frequent, and no professor was free to teach anything which conflicted with National Socialist theory or practice. Most of those who were dismissed either remained in Germany in other employment, were imprisoned, or became voluntary exiles. Most of those who left eventually found their way to Great Britain or the United States, but they were to be found in many other countries. Some of these exiles were among the world's greatest scholars. A new category of subjects was instituted in German universities between 1933 and 1939* These fell under the general heading of "military consideration;" "defense medicine" and "defense psychology" are examples of these. The universities and colleges were drafted into the military service in the fullest sense. All technical colleges were organized for the teaching of subjects necessary for war. Special war academies were established for teaching other 201 branches of knowledge that had direct application to war, and war propaganda research units were set up in all universities then operating. (1939)* II. CONCLUSIONS The original problem posed by this thesis was: "What were the effects of National Socialism on German Education?" We are now in a position to attempt to answer this question. Some of the effects, however, can only be estimated, since the results lie in the deeper recesses of the minds and hearts of those who were the objects of this education. Further, the full effect of Nazi education may not yet have been felt. Ideas are the forerunners of actions, and we may still see actions traceable to this period of in doctrination. Possibly the most fundamental result of National Socialism on German education was the rejection of the principle that reason and intellect are the basic sources of truth. Throughout National Socialist literature we find intellectual achievement being decried and condemned as only one part of a greater whole. Theodor Wilhelm stated this attitude clearly in the following paragraph: You do not grasp after truth with cold blooded reason, but with the passion of a glowing heart, in which reason ranges side by 202 side with will, courage, imagination, and en thusiasm. 7 The great deeds of mankind were not conceived by National Socialist educators as being the result of reason alone, but of a combination of feeling, will, and thought. Therefore, the schools of Nazi Germany placed emphasis on the development of the irrational aspects of human character. Education became the process of creating emotion and faith in Germany and things German. No longer were there questions of why or how things should be done. Action became the keystone of education, and one of the greatest educational activity programs the world has ever seen was constructed as a result of this idea. The second important characteristic of National j Socialist education was the setting up of a single standard | I t of value for all educational activity. This standard was the welfare of the German Volk. That which perpetuated or strengthened the Volk was good; that which was weakening was false and rejected. Truth did not cross racial or national boundaries. There was only German truth and German good. Nothing else had a rightful place in the Nazi mind or heart. ^Theodor Wilhelm, op. cit.. p. 87. 203 The Infallible source of truth was the Leader, and German educators accepted his pronouncements without question or denial. Objectivity in learning existed only so far as it did not conflict with the National Socialist philosophy. When a conflict arose the decision had to be in favor of the Leader and the Volk. The schools of Germany reflected this philosophy by adopting Leadership Principle and by revising education to indoctrinate the young on a basis of faith in the principles of Naziism. The great Nazi ideal# permeated education as they did everything else in Germany, Gleichschaltung, or coordination in thought and conduct, and Verschwiegenheit, or silent uncritical acceptance, were the two major virtues for German citizens, because these produced national unity and solidarity.^ Contemplation, critical thought, or individ ualism became crimes against the Volk, punishable by im prisonment or, in extreme cases, by death. The Propaganda Minister of the Third Reich said on many occasions that anyone might complain about the government if he was not afraid to go to a concentration camp.9 There is no ^Isaac L. Kandel, Conflicting Theories of Education (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1938), p. l59* ^Isaac L. Kandel, Comparative Education (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1933)• P* IbO. zok clearer statement of the fundamental opposition of Nazi education to that of the liberal-democratic world. Perhaps the greatest loss in Nazi education was the total submersion of all individuals in the Volk welfare. An ideal mold of a German citizen was cast by National Socialism, and each child was made to conform to it by the constant ministrations of the schools and the government. Furthermore, the fundamental character of this mold was the same at every educational level--from the lowest to the highest. The individual rights of freedom of thought, conscience, and speech were lost in the fanatical desire for unity and conformity. Traditional German religious training underwent a process of de-emphasis under National Socialism. In accordance with its principle of unity, the government endeavored to substitute the Nazi ideology for religion. In place of the Bible, the Cross, and traditional Christi- | anity, the "new order" tried to set up Mein Kampf. the | swastika (or "hooked cross," as Wickham Steed so aptly termed it), and a German religion. Church schools were closed, and the hours devoted to religion were reduced and made voluntary. Wherever religious education came into conflict with state policy, it found serious opposition. It was in this area that National Socialism found its most determined adversary. An irreconcilable conflict 205 developed particularly between Roman Catholicism and Naziism, and though, the Church yielded a point from time to time it never fully surrendered* Religious education in the schools continued, in most cases more in the traditional pattern than on the basis of the new state religion ex pounded by Hitler's philosophers. It is possible that National Socialist education bore within it the seed of its own destruction. The National Socialists considered their WeIt ans chauung to be an "activist" program of "vitalism" and "heroic realism." But it subjugated to the demands of the state the individual from whom such activism must come. How to maintain activity and creativeness without permitting a high degree of in dividual freedom is a question which history did not give Naziism time to answer. Intellectual regimentation has proved to be as deleterious to the mind as physical in- breeding has to the body. How long could the dynamism of Nazi education have continued to exist? Another aspect which deserves some consideration here is the adaption of education to expediency and the purposes of the moment. Since the Volk's welfare or preservation was the only ultimate good, everything else could be sacrificed for this purpose, and education suffered this fate. The use of Mendelian law to support the Nazi racial theories, which were taught at all levels, is an indication 206 of this attitude. The turning of science to the solution of the Reich's immediate problems is a further indication. The rewriting of history and the teaching of pre-history are other examples of the use of "the big lie" technique for serving the Volk welfare. Just how long a society can exist on such a basis, or whether leaders committed to but one moral aim. can maintain their loyalty to that one pur pose indefinitely, is a question to which we do not have the answer yet. Not all of the Nazi innovations were losses to German education. The National Socialist educational system provided equal consideration for all its citizens. Compared with the inequality of educational opportunity in many non-totalitarian states, the Nazis did a commendable job in this regard. Planning postschool life under the Nazis was advanced to a point seldom reached by other nations, and the regulation of admissions to the various fields of learning prevented unemployment in vocations which required long training periods.^^ George P. Kneller, The Educatiional Philosophy of National Socialism (New Haven: Yale University PressT 19^4-1)» p. 2531 ^^Loc. cit. 207 The National Socialists brought order out of chaos in the organization and administration of education in the secondary and higher divisions of the educative machinery which they inherited from Republican Germany. The disorder and student-rioting of the pre-Nazi period in the universi ties was ended, and there was ''quiet and superficial security, even if some of it was the quiet and security of a vice."^^ The great conglomeration of secondary schools was reduced to three, each having a distinct function. The academic Bummel (loafer) was largely removed from the university scene, and there was a new enthusiasm for the work of the student # Neither can the athletic programs which were installed in schools of all grades be considered an absolute evil# Most modern educational systems stress the importance of physical fitness to some extent* The idea of physical fit ness for military preparedness is not unique in National Socialism; furthermore, there had been an "apathetic, dilettantish, over-intellectual attitude" in the universi ties under the Republic, according to Hartshorne.^8 ^^Hartshorne, op. cit.. p. l68. ^^Loc. cit. 208 The Nazi educational plans also brought hope of a psychological regeneration and reinvigoration to the German people--something they badly needed in 1933* It gave them a purpose in place of uncertainty, irrespective of the worth of that purpose. The ultimate price of this regener ation was, to be sure, exceedingly high, but the Nazi plans for education fulfilled an immediate need, nevertheless. The greatest contributions of Naziism to the educational scene can be summarized in terms of standardization, federalization, and equalization. These were achieved at the cost of suppression of the individual, but they were achieved where chaotic individualism had been the rule. Nazi education was an extreme answer to the ancient problem of how much individuality is consistent with rational order* National Socialist education was a manifestation of the larger philosophy of Naziism. It was based more on "the appeal to instinct" than on rational considerations, j and, for this reason, it was true to the principles which Hitler established for the German Volk. The psychological need of Germany for political and spiritual unity was overwhelming in the early 1930's. We have shown that this new education was not without its positive side, whether judged by Nazi or Western democratic criteria. The German educators showed great 209 organizational ability in their educational plans. Some of the most pressing educational problems were solved by the standardization, centralization, and equalization which became integral parts of Nazi education. We cannot conclude, however, that the final product of Nazi education is desirable in a democratic society. While education gained some things in Nazi Germany, it lost others. In terms of sheer numbers it is possible that the advances were as great or nearly as great as the losses that were suffered, but when these are weighted against the philosophic values of liberal-democratic societies, the scales inevitably tip toward the losses rather than the gains. The destruction of academic freedom and objectivity in research, the vast increases in extra-curricular activity for both teacher and pupil, the required acceptance of the Nazi philosophy, the loss of freedom of discussion, the total politicizing [sic] of education, and the absolute uniformity required of all educational institutions are features which are intolerable from the viewpoint of democratic-liberalism. The Nazis informed the world on many occasions that Naziism was not for export, but its intrinsic character denied this. If the Germans comprised a "master-race,” there had to be the concomitant "slave-races." The 210 destruction of liberty, equality, and fraternity was a clearly understood objective of National Socialism* Hitler found the school a highly effective tool for the achievement of his purposes, and he used it expertly toward that end* One of the world^s great achievements of national organization was accomplished largely by the use of educational institutions and techniques. The impact of Nazi education is still being felt in the world, and it will probably continue to be. The strength of education (in its broadest sense) as a weapon was well demonstrated by National Socialism; the need for a sound moral philoso phy of education was shown with even greater clarity. BIBLIOORPAHÏ A. BOOKS Alexander, Thomas. The Training of Elementary Teachers Iti Germany. New York: Columbia University tress, I929. 3Çopp7” , and Beryl Parker• The New Education In the German Republic. New York: The John Day Co#, 1929. 38? pp# Armstrong, Hamilton Pish. Hitler's Reich, The First Phase. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933• 73 PP* Barker, Ernest. Nietzsche and Treitschke. London: Oxford University Press, 19Ü4-* 28 pp. Bartlett, Vernon. Nazi Germany Explained. London: Gollancz, 1933. 288 pp. Becker, Howard. German Youth: Bond or Free. New York; Oxford University Press, 194-8. 2b6 pp. Brennecke, Fritz. The Nazi Primer. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1938. 2o8 pp. Bryant, William M. Hegel's Educational Ideas. Chicago: Werner School Book Co., I896. Éll|I pp. Catten, George. The Story of the Political Philosophers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1939* 8Ô2 pp. Chandler, Albert R. Rosenberg's Nazi Myth. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, Î9RF. Îlf6 pp. Coker, Francis W. Recent Political Thought. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 19314-* Duggan, Stephen. The German Problem: Education in Postwar Germany. New York: Institute of International Education, 1944« 159 pp. Ebenstein, William. Great Political Thinkers. New York ; Rinehart and Company, ïnc., 19^1. 903 PP. The Nazi State. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1943. 355 pp. ------------------------ 213 Elliot, William Y., and Neil McDonald. Western Political Heritage. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc•, 19^9• 1001 pp. Engelmann, Susanne Charlotte. German Education and Re- Education. New .York: International University Press, 1945« 147 pp. Fletcher, Arthur William. Education in Germany. Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 1934« PP# Plorinsky, Michael T. Fascism and National Socialism. New York: The Macmillan Company, 193b. 292 pp. Fromm, Erich. Escape from Freedom. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, I94I. 305 pp. Harley, John Eugene. World-Wide Influences of the Cinema. Los Angeles: The University of Southern California Press, 1940. 320 pp. Hartshorne, Edward Y. The German Universities and National Socialism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1937. 184 pp. German Youth and the Nazi Dream of Victory. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., 1941. 32 pp. Henriy E. Hitler over Europe. New York: Simon and Schuster, . 1934. 29ITpp: Hitler, Adolph. Mein Kampf. New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1939. 994 pp. Hoover, Calvin B. Germany Enters the Third Reich. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1933 • %3 pp• Kandel, Isaac Leon. Comparative Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1933. 922 pp. Conflicting Theories of Education. New York: The Mac- millan Company, 1938.177 pp. The Making of Nazis. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1935. l43 pp. The Reorganization of Education in Prussia. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 19È7. 647 pp. 214 KeHermann, Fritz. The Effect of the World War on European Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1928. b t p p : — Kneller, George P. The Educational Philosophy of National Socialism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1%1. 299 pp. Kolnai, Aurel. The War Against the West. New York: Viking Press, 1938. 685 pp. Krieck, Ernest. Nationalpolitische Erziehung♦ 21st ed. Leipzig: Armanen Verlag, 1938. l8b pp. LexisWilhelm H. R. A. A General View of the History and Organization of Public Education in the German Empire. Berlin: A. Asher and Company, I9OI4.. l82 pp. Mann, Erika. School for Barbarians. New York: Modern Age Book, 1938* 159 jPP. Morstein, Max Fritz. Propaganda and Dictatorship. Prince ton: Princeton University Press, 1936.l53 pp. Mowrer, Edgar A. Germany Puts the Clock Back. New York: W. Morrow and Company, 1933. 3^5 pp. Paulsen, Friedrich. German Education Past and Present. [translated by T. borenzj. New York: Scribner, 1908. 310 pp. Payne, Joseph. Lectures on the History of Education; with a Visit to German Schools. Xondon and New York; Long- mans. Green and Company, I892. I90 pp. Plato. The Republic, [translated by Francis Cornford]. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1945. 366 pp. ---- ---- [translated by B. Jowett]. New York: The Modern Library,>1941. 397 pp. Richter, Werner. Re-Educating Germany, [translated by Paul Lehmann]. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945. 227 pp. Roll, Erich. Spotlight on Germany. London: Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1933. 302 pp. ______________________________ “ 215 Samuel, Richard, and R. Hinton Thomas. Education and Society in Modern Germany. London: Rout ledge and K. Paul, 1949 • 191 pp. Shuster, G. Strong Man Rules. New York: Appleton-Century, 1934# 291 pp. Steed, Wickham. Hitler, Whence and Whither? London: Nisbet and Company, Ltd., 1937. ^21 pp. f The Meaning of Hitlerism. London: Nisbet and Company, Ltd., 1934. 205 pp. Taylor, Edmond. The Strategy of Terror. Revised. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company7 1942* 279 PP. Taylor, Horace. Re-Directing Education. Edited by Tugwell and Keyserling. New York: Columbia University Press, 1935. Vol. II. 50 pp. Taylor, John W. Youth Welfare in Germany. Nashville: The Baird-Ward Company, 193b. 259 PP* Tenenbaum, Joseph. Race and Reich. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1956. 554 PP. Turnbull, George H. The Educational Theory of J. G. Fichte. Liverpool: University ot Liverpool Press, 192b. 2o3 pp. Wilhelm, Theodor, and Gerhard Grafe. German Education Today! Berlin: Terramare Office, 1936. 33 PP. Ziemer, Gregor Athalwin. Education for Death. London: ^^xford University Press, 1941" 2o8 pp. " B. PERIODICALS Anderson, L. "German Graphic Trades Schools," Industrial Education Magazine, 30 (April, I929), 392-94* Baker, M. "In a Nazi School," Living Age, 352 (July, 1937), 397-98. Becker, C. H. "Our New Ideals," Survey, 6l (Feb., 1929), 584—65. 0 216 "Present Educational Situation in Germany," School and Society, 32 (Nov. 22, 1930), 679-91. Burt,"S. "My Student Days, in Germany," Saturday Review of Literature, 26 (Aug. 28, 1943)» 3^6# "Decree'Concerning Instruction in Heredity and in Ethnol ogy," School and Society, 39 (Jan. 13* 1934)# 53. "Education and Social Policy in Germany," Elementary School Journal, 4^ (Sept., 1939)* 4-9* "Education in Germany," Education for Victory, 2 (Nov. l5* - 1943), 27. "Education Suffering in Germany," Literary Digest, 109 (June 20, 1931), l8. "End of Self-Government for German Universities," Elemen tary School Journal, 34 (Dec., 1933), "Ersatz Education Rules Universities," Science News Letter, 36 (Sept, 16, 1939), 179. "Exclusion of Jewish Children from the Public Schools of Germany," School and Society, 4l (May 2$, 1935), 697. Forster, L. "German Education in 1936," Nineteenth Century and After, 122 (Oct., 1937), 447-61. Franklyn, J. "Nazi Methods in Education," Contemporary Review. l62.(Oct., 1942), 227-30. "German Arithmetic," Review of Reviews, 96 (July, 1937), - 46. "German Schools in Wartime," School and Society, 5l (Jan. 13, 1940)# 46. "Germany's Unique Scheme for Teaching National Unity and Loyalty," Elementary School Journal, 35 (Nov., 1934), 173-74. • Glasgow, G. "Hitler Youth; Problem of Re-Educating the Youth of Germany," Contemporary Review, l64 (July 1, 1943), 54-61. Havighurst, R. J. "Science and Education in Nazi Germany," School and Society, 39 (May 12, 1934), 616-I8. 217 "Higher Education in Germany," School and Society, l \ . l (Jan. 26, 1935), 114-15. Jordan, E. L. "Academic Freedom in Germany," School and Society, 58 (Sept. 11, 1943), l8?. Kandel, I. L. "New German Nationalism and Education," School and Society, 39 (May 5, 1934), 553-59* Krause, G. "Educational System of Germany in Wartime," School Review, 49 (Feb., 1941), 84-85. Kruger, P. K. "Spirit of the German Youth Movement and Its Effect on Education in Modern Germany," School and Society, 30 (Oct. 12, 1929), 489-93. Lester, R. A, "Germany of Today: Life among the Students," Current History, 35 (Dec., 1931), 382-87. Mann, G. "My Student Days in Germany," Saturday Review of Literature, 26 (Oct. 9, 1943), l4* Meyer-, W. T. "Reorganization of the Secondary Schools," School Review, 47 (Jan., 1939), 37-43. Nabholz, H. "Educational Reform in Germany," School and Society, 41 (Apr., 1935), 576-78. "News of the German Universities," School and Society, 50 (Sept. 9, 1939), 348-50. Newton, L. C. "Customs and Practices in the German Schools of Today," School and Society, 35 (Feb. 20, 1932), 257-59. "Modern Education in Germany," School and Society, 35 (Feb. 13, 1932), 227-29. Peiser, W. "Educational Failure of the Weimar Republic," School and Society. 58 (Oct. 16, 1943), 289-92. "Plight of German Teachers," School and Society, 36 (July 16, 1932), 89-90. "Promotion of Secondary Pupils," Education for Victory, 2 (Aug. 16, 1943), 7. "Proposed Policies for the German Schools," School and - Society. 37 (May 27, 1933), 676-77. I U 218 Punke, H. "Polk High School and Other Recently Developed Institutions in German Adult Education,' School Review. 39 (Nov., 1931), 696-706. -— - "Recent Developments in German Secondary Education," School Review, 38 (Oct., Nov., 1930), 576-84, 680-93. - "Reforms in German Institutions of Higher Learning," School and Society, 3 9 (Fob. 17, 1 9 3 4 ) , 2 0 3 - 4 * Roucek, J. S. "Reformed Secondary Schools of Germany," School and Society, 49 (June 10, 1939), 738-39* Rust,. Bernhard. "Report of the Geneva Conference," Inter nationale Zeitschrift fur Erziehung, 4 (Jnly, 193371 297-306. "Status of Elementary Education, 1939,” School and Society, 59 (Sept. 14, 1940), 191-92. Stone, S. "Twilight of the German University," Current History, 4 o (April, 1 9 3 4 ) * 3 9 - 4 3 . Taylor, John W. "Education in the New Germany," Inter nationale Zeitschrift fur Erziehung, 2 parts, 5 (1936) 254-73, 3 26 -44 . Westington, M. "Nazi Germany and Ancient Sparta," Education, 65 (Nov., 1944), 152-64. - ■ I "What Italy, Germany Demand of Their Schools," Education for Victory, 1 (Oct. 15, 1942), 6. Wilhelm, T, "Concerning German Educational Ideals," School Review, 45 (Sept., 1937), 491-95# Wilhelm, Theodor. "Scholars or Soldiers," Internationale Zeitschrift fur Erziehung, 8 (1939), 81-102. Zimpel, M. "Public Education in Germany Shows Unusual Characteristics," School Life, l4 (Dec., 1928), 69. C. GENERAL REFERENCE BOOKS "Bernhardl," Encyclopedia Americana, 3 (1956), 572-3. "German Education," 1938 Britannica Book of the Year. (1938). 219 "German Education," 1942 Britannica Book of the Year Omni bus {1943)• ' "Gobineau," Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 (1956), p. 459* Pollock, James K, and others. Source Book on European Governments# New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1937. Section IV, pp. 9-13, "Documents on the Nazi Government." Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. (1949), 1209 pp. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. and G. Merriam Co. D. LEARNED SOCIETIES Morstein, Max Fritz. Symposium on the Totalitarian State. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1946. 102 pp. Smith, Thomas Vernor. The Re-Education of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Claremont, California: Friends of the Col leges at Claremont, 1947. 22 pp. E. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS U.S. Department of the Interior. Education in Germany, by Alina M. Lindegren. U.S, Office of Education. Bulletin 1938, no. 15. Washington: 1939. l45 PP. U.S. Library of Congress# Legislative Reference Service. Fascism in Action. 80th Congress, 1st sess.. House document 4oi • Washington : 1947. 206 pp. P. REPORTS Grace, Slonzo Gaskell. Basic Elements of Educational Reconstruction in Germany. Commission on the Occupied Areas, American Council on Education. Washington: 1949. 14 pp. U.S. Education Mission to Germany. Report of the U.S. Education Mission to Germany. Submitted to the Honorable Robert P. Patterson . I . the Honorable William Benton . . . and Lieutenant General Lucius D. Clay. Washington: 1946. 50 pp. APPENDIX APPENDIX A PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST GERMAN WORKERS 1 PARTY T^e program of the National Socialist German Workers' party is a time program* The leaders decline, after achievement of the purposes laid down in the program, to set up new goals only for the purpose of making possible the continuance of the party through theartificially stimulated dissatisfaction of the masses* 1. We demand the union of all Germans in one Great Germany by the right of self-determination of peoples. 2. We demand the equality of the German nation with all other nations and abrogation of the Treaties of Ver sailles and St. Germain. 3. We demand land and territory (colonies) for the feeding of our people and for the settlement of our surplus population. i j . . Only those who are members of the nation can be citizens. Only those who are of German blood, without regard to religion, can be members of the German nation. No Jew can, therefore, be a member of the nation. 5. He who is not a citizen shall be able to live in Germany only as a guest and must live under laws governing foreigners. 5. The right to decide on the leadership and on the laws of the state may belong only to citizens. Therefore we demand that every public office, of whatever sort, whether of the Reich, of the states, or of the communes, shall be filled only by citizens. We fight against the corrupting parliamentary system of filling offices with people chosen because of their party viewpoint without regard to character and ability. 7. We demand that the state be obliged, in the first instance, to provide the possibility of work and life for the citizens. If it is not possible to feed the entire population of the state, the subjects of foreign states I non-citizens) must be expelled from the Reich. 8* All further immigration of non-Germans is to be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who have immigrated to Germany since the second of August, 19I4 shall, be compelled to leave the Reich immediately. 9. All citizens must possess the same rights and duties♦ 10. The first duty of every citizen is to work 222 productively with mind or body, ^he activities of individ uals must not transgress the interests of the community but must be for the common good. Therefore We Demand: 11. The elimination of income which is acquired with out labor or effort. Breaking of the Interest Slavery 12. Out of regard to the frightful sacrifice in goods and blood which every war demands from the nation, personal ; enrichment through war must be designated as a crime against the nation. We demand, therefore summary confis cation of all war profits. 13. We demand the nationalization of all trusts. ll ) . . We demand profit-sharing in large concerns. 15. We demand a large scale extension of the old-age pension system. 16. We demand the creation of a sound middle class and its.maintenance, immediate communalization of large department stores and their rental at low cost to small merchants, the strictest control of all small merchants in their dealings with the national government, the states or the communes. 17. We demand land reform adapted to our national needs, the enactment of a law for the uncompensated ex propriation of land for public purposes, the elimination of land interest and the prevention of land speculation. 18. We demand the most ruthless campaign against everyone who injures the public interest by his actions. Those who commit crimes against the people, usurers, profiteers and so forth, must be punished by death, with out respect to religion or race. 19. We demand that the Roman Law, which serves the materialistic world order, shall be replaced by a legal system for all Germany. 20. In order to make possible the attainment of higher education for every capable and industrious German and thereby the entrance into a leading position, the state has the responsibility of providing for a fundamental extension of our entire educational system. The teaching plans of all educational institutions must be adapted to the demands of practical life. An understanding of 223 national consciousness must be taught to the children at the earliest possible age. We demand the education at state expense of especially gifted children of poor parents with out regard to profession or position. 21. The state must care for the improvement of the people’s health through the protection of mother and child, through the forbidding of child-labor, through development of physical capability by means of legislativeprovisIon of a gymnastic and sports duty and through the greatest sup port of all associations engaged in physical education of youth. 22. We demand the abolition of the mercenary army and the formation of a people's army. 23. We demand legislative action against conscious political lies and their propagation through the press. In order to make possible the creation of a German press, we demand that : (a) All editors and contributors of newspapers which appear in German, must be citizen. (b) Non-German newspapers must have the special per mission of the state in order to be published. They shall not be allowed to be published in the German language. (c) Every financial participation in German news papers or the influencing by non-Germans is to be forbidden and we demand as punishment for violation the closing of such newspaper plant, as well as the immediate expulsion from the Reich of the participating non-German. Newspapers which work against the public welfare are to be forbidden. We demand legislative action against an artistic and literary tendency which exerts a destructive influence over our national life and the closing of in stitutions which conflict with theâe demands. 2 1 4 .. We demand the freedom of all religions in the state in so far as they do not endanger its welfare or offend against the morals and sense of decency of the German race. The party as such represents the standpoint of a positive Christianity without binding itself to a particular belief. It fights the Jewish materialistic spirit within and without and is convinced that a permanent convalescence of our nation can only succeed from within on the foundation of: Public Interest before Private Interest 25. For the carrying out of all these we demand: The creation of a strong central power in the Reich; 22k absolute authority of the political central parliament over the entire Reich and all its organizations. The formation of professional and trade chambers for the carrying out of the general laws of the Reich in the individual federal states. The leaders of the party promise to work ruthlessly for the carrying out of the points above set forth even to the extent of risking their lives for the program. Munich, February 2I 4 ., 1920 Signed, Adolph Hitler.^ ^James K. Pollock, "Documents on the Nazi Government of Germany," Source Book on European Governments (New York: D, Van Nostrand Company, Inc•, 1937)» Pï^ IV^9"13* APPENDIX B TABLE I Accredited Secondary Schools with Curricula Leading to the Certificate of Maturity (May 15, 1935) Gymnasium Type Number of Schools Gymnasia (Gymnasien)......... * ^1® Reform gymnasia ( Reformgymnasien)................ 25 Gymnasia for girls ( Madchengymnasien)............ 7 Reform gymnasia for girls (Madchen-Reformgymnasien). 3 Gymnasial secondary schools for girls (Gymnasiale Studienanstalten ...................... * 13 Total............. I 4.66 Real Gymnasium Type Real gymnasia ( Realgymnasien) .................... 1Ô2 Reform real gymnasia ( Reformrealgymnasien)........ 370 Real gymnasia for girls ( Madchen-Realgymnasien). . . 15 Reform real gymnasia for girls (Madchen-Reformreal- gymnasien)........................... * 1° Real gymnasial secondary schools for girls (Realgym- nasiale Studienanstalten) • .................... ?2 Six-class secondary schools for girls (Sechsstufige Studienanstalten). . . . .................... # 4 Reform real gymnasial upper lycea (Reformrealgym- nasiale Oberlyzeen)......... 25 T o t a l .................................... 686 2 26 Number of Upper Real School Type schools Upper real schools (Oberrealschulen) *••••••«• 365 Upper real schools for girls (Madohen-Ûberrealschulen) 16 Three-class secondary schools for girls (Dreistufige Studienanstalten) .............................. 1Ç Upper lycea ( Oberlyzeen)..............................216 Total German Upper School Type Aufbau School Type Aufbau schools (Aufbauschulen) of which 30 were for girls ........................................ 607 German upper schools (Deutsche Oberscbulen) of which 25 were for girls 71 159 Grand Total •1,9^9 APPENDIX G SCHOOLS FOR BOYS AFTER 1936 REORGANIZATION 6 7 8 09 1 10 11 11 12 13 slij. 15 16 2 3 if 5 , 6 ; 7 School Year Pupil’s Age Class..... 1 6 1 2 3 I f 7 8 ? 2 3 F s 0 c U H N 0 - D A 0 L T I 0 N T- 10 1 12 y GYMNASIUM UPPER SCHOOL Science- Mat h. Line* Language Line Class Elementary School 1 I 2 AUFBAU SCHOOL c M E A R T T U I R F 0 I I F T c Y A T E 8 BEFORE 1938 REORGANIZATION School Yean PupiliàcAge Class 1 6 1 2 3 7 8 2 3 F s 0 G U H N 0 D 0 A L T I n u N F I g 6 7j 8 9 ' 10 11 12 10i 11 12 13 lif ig 16 17 VI V IV uni OUI un on Uli 13 18 01 GYMNASIUM REFORMGYMNASIÜM realgymnasium REFORMREALGYMNAS lUM UPPER REALSCHOOL GERMAN UPPER SCHOOL Elementary School Upper Division Class 2 3 GERMAN UPPER SCHOOL IN AUFBAU FORM 8 UPPER REALSCHOOL IN AUFBAUFORM Source: Education in Germany* by Alina M. Lindegren U.S. Office of Education, Washington, 1938 no. IB. ______________ ' ______________! ____ o M E H G O <t{ N « M H is; ciJ < £ * o K O o g *0 CO O <A O CT' W rH o tn « E H fe < * 5 C\J C^GO I —I fH iHvû r- r4 rH 0\AvO I —i I —I (AGO (A C M C^CM i HnO rH s M rH O O O GO I C Q • - 03 rH 0 3 •H O j ÀrH O fi 228 0 3 O • r H 6 o c : < D o t J O o c d M & ® © © a Ü B a c d iH O v H tm kj § 0 CO 1 PH t> § O CO S m € 0 vO o ■ § o CO ^ o ÎXÎ o O i-q f e O D î s i p o ï E H M O l s ; EH i s ; I lA - j - (A C M 0 3 0) (d rH O T) < D B •H ü o o GO fi O § GO O § O GO § M ËH g M I g m GO (A H I I CAGO H rH I — I O C\J n rH i3 rHxO EH rH rH M O M i4 O o m o <o oif\ rH rH M 30 fA rH ^-CM rH sO rH rH M^O ^ <AGO (A CM t^CM rH v O rH <D < o a I—I •H A ed S<*ÎEHÎ3ffiMËH>4 O Ph OpqfE;EHM(x<MO<a3EH|xî I s fH O Ph î s ; 3 i l P P H O C O O < P î x | S O o S o G O S > 4 w P o c c I S M P G O M > —> G O < < p f H w S g M < 4 f H o f i « g P a Î O > H S g C Î 3 « p H P O M H < P h f H f f î P H > H M M P h M P H t t 3 « « C Î 3 P >4 P P £h >4 GO P P P EH CO P M P O CO O P M ^ HH <tf Eh S Eh M ÎTJ S P GO £h tH EH 1 —1 O M g Eh P EH S 60 < GO >H P W p P M 05 M iH O ^>ïLA IZ3 O W O O (J1 _________ { xhOÎDÎSîP<IÎEh I H O & O üiéiVèrsity of ëouthùfh ÜaWWf##

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Creator Brotherton, Philip E. (author)

Core Title German education under the Nazi regime

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Master of Arts

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education,OAI-PMH Harvest,Social Sciences

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Language English

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c39-23263

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Identifier EP63786.pdf (filename),usctheses-c39-23263 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP63786.pdf

Dmrecord 23263

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Rights Brotherton, Philip E.

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Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses