War Pedagogy in the German Primary School Classroom During the First World War.

WORLD War I; EDUCATION; TEACHING; PRIMARY schools; CITIZENSHIP; STUDY & teaching of war; CLASSROOM environment; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY; HISTORY of education

This article considers how German children were shaped by war pedagogy during the first few years of the First World War, such that they came to passionately embrace the nation and the war cause. Before the war, teachers and educational administrators did not promote the instruction of militant nationalism, but focused upon cultivating the hard-working and dutiful citizen; furthermore, the methods of teaching were traditional and thus emphasized rote learning and the authority of the instructor. Once the war began, how- ever, this practice changed -- particularly in the cities. Educational methods were brought into line with the demands of reformers who urged child- centred learning, and the subjects of study now included the war itself. Boys and girls studied war maps, went on excursions, discussed newspaper accounts of battles, celebrated heroes like Hindenburg, and participated in volunteer activities to help the war. Even the physical environment of the classroom changed, from an empty drabness to rooms festooned with maps, photographs of airplanes, zeppelins, submarines, and drawings of battle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]