Figure 1.--Here we see two German children at school in 1933. We are not sure what type of school they attended, but might guess a Volksschule. Our German readers may have a better idea. |
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Wewill mainly cover the time up to about 1950. There was not much change in the educational structure during the NAZI era. (The Nazis had other intentions, such as changing the curriculum and personnel issues such as discharging Jewish teachers and teachers not sympathetic to the Nazi program.) After the war the occupation forces (US, UK, France, and Soviet; and to a lesser account Canada and other neighbour states) implemented modifications basrd on educational models in their countries. Schools faced enormous problems after the War. There was ashortage of qualified teachers, buildings were destroyed or damaged, school books books were in short supply. I recall just beginning Gymnasium. I started to learn English in Stuttgart (American occupation zone). We got American books in use for GIs' continuing education. After 1950 there were a lot of modifications by the German governments in the Western occupation zones. The Western occupation authorities allowed German officials to persue educational policies with little interference. State governments were still responsible for education and thus there were differences in various parts of the country. Northern states tended to persur "social" progrms to provide "equal opportunities". Southern states (Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg) tended to be more traditional. The situation was different in the Sovietoccupation zone. I know less about this and thus will not cover it. Educational reform has continued today. Parents who do not like the reform ideasare now sending the kids to private, often clerical schools--if they can pay the fee. Other parents choose the more traditionsal "Gymnasien" which introduces Latin in the first secondary grade. I shall use old German terms. The distinction into "primary/secondary level" is rather new. You know that we now use a lot of American/English terms, the socalled "Denglish". It is a somewhat subjective presentation; you know, I am rather conservative, although as a retired university professor still interested in how we got our young students from the German school system. There are a lot of variations which are impossible to cover all. I hope that I didn't miss anything of high importance.
In Southwest Germany (and Austria) since the 19th century and from 1920 till 1945 in Germany in general the obligatory public school (no fee, no choice of school by the parents). Grades 1 to 4 for children (about 6-9 years of age), continued in grades 5 to 8, 10 to 14 years (now 16 years) of age for the children who did not transfer to the secondary level (see below). "Knabenschule" for boys and
"Madchenschule" for girls, in villages often in co-education, just "Volksschule".
Before 1920 different forms, especially for children of affluent parents, e.g.,
in form of a "Stift" in towns, or a clerical school , e.g., "Evangelische Volksschule",
"Katholische Volksschule", "Klosterschule" in villages; parents had to pay a fee,
with fee reduction or fee stipendium for poor parents (especially in the clerical schools).
Up to 1920 private personal education by "Privatlehrer" was allowed (e.g., in noble
families or - in the north - for priest, doctor's families living in rural areas far away
from towns with other non-public schools).
The teachers (for grades 1 to 4) give the full curriculum (only a priest for
religious hours and may be sport); grades are (in earlier times) in small villages
combined in one class covering grades 1 and 2, grades 3 and 4 or even grades 1 to
4 all together - I suppose such schools were also common in rural areas in America,
isn't it -. Teachers were educated in a "Lehrerseminar", later "Pdagogische Hochschule",
in earlier times even without "Abitur" (see below), or were monks/nuns in the
"Klosterschulen", no education in specific fields, "Volksschullehrer".
Sorry, I don't know much from the former school system in Northern Germany.
For curiosity, one of the Prussian kings introduced also about the 19th century
a kind of "Volksschule" with teachers which were old soldiers no more needed
when the war with one of the neighbour countries was over. (With such teachers you can imgine
what was going on in the school. Well, the children probably learned to read and
write and to make simple calculations!)
The term "Volksschule" is no longer used. It is now just "Schule" or "Grundschule".
The "Schulen" are usually co-educational (although there is some political pressure
to separate again, at least in some age groups - boys outnumber girls in computer
usage, a well known problem, just as an example of an argument).
At age 14 years, the children (especially boys) started a "Lehre" for craftsmansship. This was a kind of appreticeship. Village girls very often went to a town as a house maid in an affluent
family to learn housekeeping. (I don't know when this started, but you don't find it anymore.)
These children now have to attend school for another 3 three years a "Berufsschule" ("professional school"), "Handelsschule" ("trade school"), "Hausarbeitsschule" (for householding) etc. for one day or so per week. This is the socalled "Dual System" of Germany to combine practical work in the "Lehre" with continuing school. The teachers are "Gewerbelehrer" / "Berufsschullehrer" with
academic studies combining their resp. field with pedagogic basis (now in "berufspaedagogischen Studiengaengen" at universities).
There are several different levels of secondary edication in Germany and many different types of schools. Until after World War II, it was mostly middle- and upper-class children that attended secondary schools. The number of working-class children was fairly limited. The working class choldren remained in peimary schools until about age 13-14 years old. After World War II, two different school systems developed in Germany. We don not yet know much avout the East German school system.
For children in grades 5 to 8 (now 10) not having changed to the intermediate or academic level.
[Hans: Are these classesses conducted in the same Grundschule buildings for the younger childre or are there separate school buildings for the older children.] Located in bigger villages and towns, obligatory, no fee, no choice. Now one foreign language is required, in most cases English. And now, I suppose, always co-educational. These schools now are not allowed to exclude children, even children not willing to learn or who disturb the lessons.
Grades 5 to 10, concluding with the socalled "mittlere Reife", one foreign language. Teachers always with "Abitur" and educated in specific fields, "Mittelschullehrer" / "Realschullehrer". At the moment much discussion to combine "Hauptschulen" with "Realschulen".
Here there are many types of schools, including Oberealschule" (old term) / "Oberschule" / "naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium" / "neusprachliches Gymnasium" / "humanistisches Gymnasium" / "altsprachliches Gymnasium". All these secondary schools of the full academic level are allowed to reject pupils who are not academically capable of the work involved. There are, of course, dfferent opinions on how to measure a student's ability. In earlier days there was an entrance examination for moving from from the (obligatory) "Volksschule" / "Grundschule" to the "higher" schools. Another approach is a recommendation of the teacher of the "Volks-
schule" / "Grundschule". See the the "Entlassungs-Zeugnis" of the Morsum school. The most "liberal" approach is to let the parents
decide, may be only for a trial.
Unfortunately many images we have acquired do not identify the school. Thus we often are not sure just what kind of school we are deling with. We are usually able to date the images and tell tge agevof the children, but figuring out the type of school is a little more complicated because children of the same age were in different kinds of schools. Here before World War II, social class was a major factor. We have decided to post some of these images in the hope that our German readers will be able to provide some insights to help identify some of these images..
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