Life in Nazi Germany Essay Example
School children
Teachers
Teachers who were known to be critical of the Nazi Party were dismissed and the rest were sent away to be trained for a month in National Socialist principles. As a further precaution schools could only use textbooks that have been approved by the party. By 1936 32 per cent of all teachers were members of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). This was twice as many as in most other professions.
Curriculum
Bernard Rust introduced a new curriculum, a Nazi curriculum. Considerable emphasis was made on Physical education/training and history. New courses included racial sciences and origins on the Nazi Party. Religious studies were reduced and ceased to be an exam subject and attendance at prayers were made optional. Prayers written by Baldur von Schirach, the head of the Hitler Youth, that praised Adolf Hitler, were introduced and had to be said before eating school meals. One of the most important changes made by Rust was the establishment of elite schools called Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten (Napolas). To enter you had to have racial origin, physical fitness and you had to be a member of Hitler youth. These schools were run by the SS and there main objective was to create the next generation of Nazis, preferably high ranking Nazis.
After leaving school at the age of eighteen students joined the German Labour Service where they worked for the government for six months. Some young people then went on to university. Bernhard Rust claimed that the new education system would benefit the children of the working-class that made up 45 per cent of Germany's population. This promise was never fulfilled and after six years in office, only 3 per cent of university students came from working-class backgrounds. This was the same percentage as it was before Adolf Hitler came to power.The Nazi government was more successful in reducing the percentage of women in German universities. In the year before the Nazis came to power
Teachers
Teachers who were known to be critical of the Nazi Party were dismissed and the rest were sent away to be trained for a month in National Socialist principles. As a further precaution schools could only use textbooks that have been approved by the party. By 1936 32 per cent of all teachers were members of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). This was twice as many as in most other professions.
Curriculum
Bernard Rust introduced a new curriculum, a Nazi curriculum. Considerable emphasis was made on Physical education/training and history. New courses included racial sciences and origins on the Nazi Party. Religious studies were reduced and ceased to be an exam subject and attendance at prayers were made optional. Prayers written by Baldur von Schirach, the head of the Hitler Youth, that praised Adolf Hitler, were introduced and had to be said before eating school meals. One of the most important changes made by Rust was the establishment of elite schools called Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten (Napolas). To enter you had to have racial origin, physical fitness and you had to be a member of Hitler youth. These schools were run by the SS and there main objective was to create the next generation of Nazis, preferably high ranking Nazis.
After leaving school at the age of eighteen students joined the German Labour Service where they worked for the government for six months. Some young people then went on to university. Bernhard Rust claimed that the new education system would benefit the children of the working-class that made up 45 per cent of Germany's population. This promise was never fulfilled and after six years in office, only 3 per cent of university students came from working-class backgrounds. This was the same percentage as it was before Adolf Hitler came to power.The Nazi government was more successful in reducing the percentage of women in German universities. In the year before the Nazis came to power