Indoctrination in Nazi Schools

Enforcing a Nazi curriculum on schools depended on the teachers delivering it. All teachers had to be inspected by local Nazi officials; any teacher considered disloyal was sacked. Teachers who didn’t approve of the new educational requirements were sent to month long training courses and instructed on how and why to teach the new curriculum. All Jewish teachers were forced out of their jobs and female teachers were encouraged to return home and take up their domestic duties and become a wife and mother because this was the part of the Nazi ideology.

The Nazis didn’t dramatically change the schooling system, but the control of education was taken from the regional states and put under control of the Reich, this ensured the party could control schools nation wide. The Nazis changed the curriculum to show a very one-sided view of Nazi racial and cultural superiority, a big importance was placed on physical education, it was given 15 per cent of school time and those who failed fitness tests could even be expelled from their schools. Religious studies were dropped because Christian beliefs conflicted with Nazi ideals and a big focus was placed on German, history and biology.Biology became a way to teach Nazi racial theory; racial genetics, ethnic classification and population policy to young Germans, students began learning biology at as young as six. History was used to highlight the glories of German nationalism, so that young Germans would be patriotic and nationalistic. German language and literature were taught to create an awareness of being German and to create a nationalistic spirit in the German youth.

Maths and Science couldn’t really be altered to teach Nazi ideology, but they still managed to give science a military slant, by studying the principles of shooting, military aviation science, bridge building and the impact of poisonous gasses. Girls had a different curriculum in some areas; they studied domestic science and eugenics – both of which were to prepare young girls to be the prefect mother and wife. In Eugenics, girls were taught about the characteristics to look out for in a perfect husband and father.

There isn’t much information to suggest that the Nazis didn’t use schools to indoctrinate young people. The only conflicting evidence is that they used other methods to indoctrinate young people, such as the Hitler Youth and propaganda. The Nazis had a series of youth groups to “educate” young people outside of the schools, they taught boys to be warriors and girls were taught to be wives and mothers. For children for ages 10 -14 there was the German Young People (boys) and League Of Young Girls (girls) set up and for children aged 14 – 18 there was the Hitler Youth (boys) and the League of German Girls (girls).