Half of German schoolchildren do not know Third Reich was a dictatorship - or that East Germany was Communist

Half of German schoolchildren do not know Third Reich was a dictatorship - or that East Germany was Communist

Rick Dewsbury
Dailymail.co.uk
29 June 2012

Half of German schoolchildren do not know that the Third Reich was a dictatorship, a survey has found.

More than 50 per cent of the teenagers polled were also unaware that the East German state was also a tyrannical regime run by communists.

Despite being obliged to visit a concentration camp at least once in their schooldays and learning about Hitler's seizure of power, German students showed a lack of knowledge about their roots.

The widespread ignorance is detailed in a study called, 'Late Victory of the Dictatorships?' after a recent survey conducted by researchers at the Free University in Berlin.

'This is shocking,' said study author Klaus Schroeder.

More than 7,500 school pupils aged around 15 were asked how they viewed the various governments that have ruled Germany.

Only around half were definite that the Nazi government was a dictatorship - despite the country at the time being ruled ruthlessly by one party from 1933 to 1945.

Just over a third were certain that the former East German government - established by the Russians and controlled between 1949 and 1990- was also a communist dictatorship.

Only about half said the former West German government was a democracy.

Astonishingly, only around 60 per cent were certain that the current united German government was democratic.

'The low estimation of historical knowledge is clearly having an effect,' Mr Schroeder added.

'These students have almost no political knowledge at all. They have no idea about words like "Meinungsfreiheit" [freedom of speech] nor of concepts like human rights,'

'The schools really should take action.'

The students most able to tell the difference between dictatorship and democracy were in the former eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony Anhalt, while those with the least idea were from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia - Germany's most populated, and the most damaged by bombing aside from Berlin in WW2.

The Third Reich is the name that was given to Germany while Hitler ruled the country from 1933.

Immediately after coming to power, Hitler destroyed all political opposition was eliminated - a hallmark of a totalitarian regime.

The Gestapo - secret state police - and the SS obliterated liberals, socialists and communists.

This was followed by the holocaust, in which Jews were slaughtered.

And here all this time I thought ignorant kids were only in Kentucky.

Perhaps Bubbles would like to address this issue. It would seem that government schools worldwide share a common objective of political indoctrination.

http://www.stern.de/panorama/geschichtskenntnisse-mangelhaft-der-ns-staat-war-vielleicht-eine-diktatur-1846673.html

I'm not surprised. With questions like "what happened on March 5th 1952?", what is the "deutscher herbst?", etc.
I find it strange that they draw those kinds of conclusions from a study that includes 3 multiple choice questions and only asks 7500 students.

Nice dodge.

Well I'm not doubting that some kids really dont know, I just think if you want to draw these conclusions you have to ask the right questions.
That's like asking American students what happened on the date that slavery was abolished, and when people don't know what happened on that date draw the conlcusion that American students didnt know that there was slavery in the US...

BubbleBliss wrote:http://www.stern.de/panorama/geschichtskenntnisse-mangelhaft-der-ns-staat-war-vielleicht-eine-diktatur-1846673.html

I'm not surprised. With questions like "what happened on March 5th 1952?", what is the "deutscher herbst?", etc.
I find it strange that they draw those kinds of conclusions from a study that includes 3 multiple choice questions and only asks 7500 students.

Would you happen to have an English language translation of the article you linked to here?

No, sorry. That newspaper only has articles in German...

There is obviously something wrong daunting: "The Third Reich is the students already out of the ears," is a common sight and record when it comes to history lessons at German schools. And then this: According to a recent study of the Free University of Berlin (FU) know about 40 percent of young people not know the difference between dictatorship and democracy. Almost half of respondents believe the rule of law and human rights are under National Socialism in the GDR and the Federal Republic about the same pace. The study contributes to the aptly titled "Late winner of dictatorships".

About 7,500 ninth-and tenth-grade students from several states have answered in the past three years, multiple-choice questionnaire: "What happened on June 17, 1953?" 37 percent responded with "popular uprising in the GDR", but also 21 percent as "International recognition of the GDR," 19 percent "German-Soviet treaty termination" and 16 percent with "currency reform in the GDR." The question "What does the term 'German Autumn'?" 46 percent responded with "The last few weeks before the Wall fell in 1989," 25 percent "The final phase of National Socialism", eight percent said "The impact of the oil crisis of 1973". Only 13 percent knew the answer: "The actions of the state against terrorism in the FRG the late 70s."

Only about half of the respondents associated the Nazi state unequivocally as a dictatorship, the GDR, only a third of the students. At the same time estimated only about 60 percent of the reunited Germany as a democracy, on Wednesday announced the results of the study.

Schools required
"Terrifying" Klaus Schroeder called the Association of Research of the SED state drive. "The contempt of historical knowledge by proposing here fully. But without any knowledge of skills." And even though four out of five students disclosures to be interested in history. Schroeder sees the failure especially in the schools: The attack on the interest does not, and shortening the school reinforces the problem.

The results of this study should "shake up all the leaders in Germany," Culture Minister Bernd Neumann outraged and called on countries to strengthen their contribution to the schools significantly. He pointed out that the federal government have increased in recent years the funds for the refurbishment of the two German dictatorships by 50 percent. "In order to obtain authentic locations of Nazi terror and domination of the SED dictatorship and build a memorial out of school learning." This would lead to "Memorial hopping" is little, Schroeder pointed out. It had "no learning effect, but remains just an event." Which had pre-and especially the follow-up of these visits, crucial for the acquisition of knowledge.

Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt front
The best among the poor students hailed from Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. Which followed from Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. Laggards were young people from North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Brandenburg.

Four years ago a similar study had caused a stir. Then asked the University of Berlin 5200 students between 15 and 17 years in Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. More than half of young people in East Germany and West Germany in about a third did not see any dictatorship in the GDR.

What we learn from this? Those who learn nothing from history, it must be repeated. Well, who said it?

That is extremely tough to read.. the translation is pretty bad.

I agree Bubbles. Those translate sites are no good for articles.

I disagree. Whereas before I had a wall of incömprehensibleschergöbbledÿgööcken, I now see sentences I can readily understand despite the grammatical errors. Anything I'm missing is just nuance.