Titleł:
Reportaż o fanatycznej edukacji
Author: Gregor Ziemer
łransl. Anna Dorota Kamińska
Publishing house: Znak Literanova
2021
Germany turn fourteen, they are classified as Jungmädel, young girls. During this time, they receive the basics of education the Party deems important. Most importantly, however, they are made aware of their mission in the Third Reich - to be the parents of healthy children. Therefore, the topic of sexuality is introduced early and realistically [...] The state is primarily interested in their physical health. The Jungmädel are supposed to have a healthy body, a balanced mind and an unshakable conviction that the saviour of Germany is Adolf Hitler" (p. 113). It is worth adding that Ziemer did not elaborate on what happened to children who were unwilling to fulfil the strict roles assigned to them by the party. Shockingly, his observations showed that the familiarisation of German girls with their future role of motherhood occurred before they were physically or mentally capable of performing it: "[...] Jungmädel, received education sufficient for them to know how to read, write, and do a little bit of calculation. Most of their education concerned housekeeping and preparation for childbearing [...] Is this not their mission? [...] Is there anything more important for girls than getting married and having children? [...]' (p. 114). Young girls had a severely limited curriculum, which focused solely on learning skills valuable to a future mother and housewife: "The bulk of the day was devoted to housekeeping, eugenics and physical education. [...] These lessons provided solid knowledge of every stage of housework, cooking and caring for children and the sick. Their programme also included detailed lectures on gender issues. Rassenkunde, racial science, revealed the defects of non-Aryan races [...]. Weekends are devoted to semi-military walking tours, which often begin at noon on Saturday and continue until Sunday evening" (p. 115). It was evident that care was taken to constantly stimulate young minds with the only right and acceptable vision of their future, in complete isolation from the family environment.
One can conclude that every aspect of children's lives was strictly regulated and programmed by the Party, including the choice of literature: "German schools did not have the kind of libraries we know. Girls, in particular, are not permitted to buy random books. Any literature that mentions politics in any way can only be bought at Brauner Laden, the brown shop" (p. 124).
At the age of fourteen, girls joined the Association of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel), where they consolidated the knowledge required to fulfil their only legitimate roles as mothers and wives. At the association, they continued to take lectures on housekeeping and eugenics. Ziemer reported that each year, about 500,000 Jungmädel were admitted to BDM schools (p. 179). "Every girl [...] had to learn the duties of a mother before she reached the age of sixteen so that she could bear children. Why should girls bother themselves with higher mathematics, art, drama or literature? They can bear children without such knowledge" (p. 170). Characteristically, Ziemer also cited statistics: in Mein Kampf, there are 30 pages devoted to boys' education and seven lines (!) dedicated to girls' education.
It is worth noting the fact that it creates a certain alternative reality that does not recognise current pedagogical, psychological or medical knowledge. Ziemer's interviews reveal the megalomaniacal confidence with which the Nazi teachers promoted what they considered to be modern methods of working with children: "[...] foreigners are finally coming to grips with the fact that we have positioned ourselves at the forefront of world education and have something to offer that the world should begin to emulate if it recognises what is good for it". (p. 142).
Fortunately, the world moved in a different direction, but Ziemer's book is undeniably a timeless warning to those responsible for children and young people's education and mental health. It is a loud warning against politically controlled, ideologically profiled education, against the liquidation of free and unrestricted culture and science, against the attempt to build a society – a homogenous and xenophobic monolith - which considers otherness to be evil and a threat. It is a clash of two forms of approach to a young person: respect, acceptance and tolerance of diversity as opposed to xenophobia, an attempt to unify gender and social roles, education in hatred to everything that is different.
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