How Do German Schools Teach About WWII (Scottish Reaction)

How Do German Schools Teach About WWII (Scottish Reaction)

This is my reaction to How Do German Schools Teach About WWII

Schools in Germany have some very interesting ways of teaching German children about WW2. I think they do it very well.

#germany #history #reaction

Press JOIN to become a channel member

[KeesBoons]

The USA's Pledge of Allegiance leaves a very dirty taste in our mouths as well. When I first heard about it, I couldn't believe this was happening. Over the years I've learned that it's not the only crazy thing about nationalism in the USA.

[peterrabbitn]

When I (German) was 16 my class trip (it was 1 week long) had one day where we went to a concentration camp. 2 students had to do a presentation and that was mandatory for us. It was one experience I'll never forget. Especially being there with my classmates.
Before going we wondered how people in particular the "clowns" would behave. But once we arrived everyone was silence and no-one was talking. We listened to the presentation and then we could decide to go into the gas chambers and look around ourselves. I think we were there for at least 3 hours and everyone was silent and most shed some tears. Some talked silently about their family history.
The rest of the day we went to a museum that used to be a prison and at the end we watched a movie about the Geschwister Scholl (Scholl siblings).

My great grandparents fought on both sides. My British great grandfather died in war (his plane was shot) and I always felt bad being German or talking German infront of my great Grandmother. At her funeral most older people did not want to talk to me and called me N... .
My other great grandfather and his son also died. My grandfather never talked about the war as he was a kid loosing his father. My mom told me that an uncle came home with PTSD (which noone knew back then) and that he never talked to anyone after that.
My German grandmothers side lived on a farm and they had war prisoners working at the farm. Not sure how they treated them but their family still sometimes visit the farm.

The grandfather of my boyfriend was my best source. He had Alzheimer's so the only thing he could remember was the war time. He did not go to war as he was too young but he was in the boy camps. He loved talking about it as this was the best time in his life. Having only boys all together and learning how to fish etc. So it was kind of uncomfortable hearing about it and making the (illegal) Hitler greeting. But now I understand that they got the kids with those fun activities

[assellator]

Some film you asked for: Das Boot, Stalingrad, Die Blechtrommel, Schindlers List, Die Brücke, Der Untergang, Stauffenberg, Im Westen nichts neues and a lot older ones like Des Teufels General

[michaausleipzig]

Feli from Germany made a great video about that topic! Well worth checking out.
The only family story I have heard about that time was how towards the end of the war the advancing americans used the hill right next to my grandmother's house to position their artillery to fire into a small town in the area that refused to surrender. They were literally firing over their heads so of course she was scared. But the soldiers themselves were very kind, offering the kids chocolate and chewing gum (something they hadn't seen before) however her mother told my grandma to stay away from the soldiers and not accept any gifts.

[ovuvuevuevueenyetuenwuevu]

I am 38. We visited KZ Dachau at my peek puberty. We wanted to have a fun day's out with the class, and we were ready to make fun of it. It's humanly impossible to do that, though. Even we learned that the hard way. It's tough. Not like in a harmful way though, I am thankful. I went to Auschwitz concentration camp as an adult. Just in a phase of my life where I needed some reality checks. These places teach you how pretty and valuable life is

[kaddy]

Yes, my grandmother was about 12 when the war was going on. She told me once that they saw 1-2 years before the war that a jewish man was put a rope around him (idk if foot or neck) and being pulled by a horse cart on the floor to death through the city. She, her mother and all people around were frozen of fear and shock. Anyone who said something against it would be on the trial or would have the same fate. I think the instinct to live and the fear was too extreme to say a word. After war started, my grandfather went to war because he had to (or you get killed for treason instead) and captured by russian soldiers (after war too). We never ever heard of him again, we think they killed him. And no, i don't think kids in the younger grades would be inspired in any way by this. Most of them are either sad and shocked or too little interested in history class in that age.

[miztazed]

My Movie suggestions are "Die Brücke" (1959), "Stalingrad" (1993) and "Schindlers Liste" (1993).

[skylinwinter]

We went to a concentration camp in 9th grade and I was really worried that the class clowns would joke around or something but when we were there EVERYONE was silent and respectful. We went to Strasbourg after that because it was near and we were given time to go shopping and stuff. No one was in the mood for shopping that day

[lollorosso]

I went to visit Auschwitz concentration camp as a 16 year old. This experience is haunting me still 30 years later.

[arnodobler]

I was in Dachau 30 years ago, in the Holocaust Memorial concentration camp. A day I will never forget.😢

[AntsanParcher]

His comment about shared responsibility, at least to me, reflects a common misunderstanding: We are not responsible for what happened back then. We are responsible for it not happening again. And so are you, and basically everyone else on this earth.

[AndreipatrU]

for movie recommendations, I would actually recommend a miniseries: Our Mothers, Our Fathers

[annak.-g.]

My grandfather was forced to go to war and was captured by Soviet soldiers. But they didn't want this war either so they decided to sit it out together, shared their meals with the German captives, taught each other the languages etc. My grandfather always spoke well of the Soviets and was really happy when I decided to learn Russian as my third foreign language at school ❤

[denisdrumm]

Most of the statements made in this video are pretty much confirmed by the survey on this subject that Feli From Germany conducted on her channel

[PropperNaughtyGeezer]

My grandmother often talked about the bombing raids. The holocaust they already noticed that people they didn't like were being picked up and disappearing more and more often, that things weren't going well for them and that some didn't survive, they could imagine, but they didn't realize the full extent of these crimes.
On the other hand, if you have to regularly salvage burned bodies from rubble, you're toughened up a bit too, so rumors of a few more murders aren't such a highlight.
I didn't get to know my grandfathers anymore. One was a welder on the home front, a trade unionist and a social democrat. He was scared enough of the Nazis himself.
The other was in Russia. But he said almost nothing. All we know is that he fought in some swamps with a light horse-drawn ATgun. His family was resettled from Basarabia to Poland and later had to flee from there on foot, which some of the family did not survive. I know nothing about his politic opinion. I met several people from the Wehrmacht and a few people from the Waffen SS. At that time there were also many old men with missing limbs walking around here. This was not an unfamiliar sight in that time.

[Schwitzmaul]

When i was i Auschwitz i heard a story of a survier u had to through bucjet over bucket of ash in the winter so the Soilders and officers do not slip over the ice. Later he watched the burning of Eichmann and Rekognized that one person only leaves a hand of ash when burned in crematorium. And so he realized what he did every winter morning...

[eisikater]

I'm 54 and we visited KZ Mauthausen (in Austria) when we were all 14 or 15. A bus full of young children, you can imagine the noise. On our way back, all was silent. So silent that at some point, the bus driver turned the radio on. Hearing our contemporary songs, we slowly returned to the 1980s.
My grandpa came back from Russia with only one leg and splinters in his back and spine that slowly killed him. He died when I was only five, and he must have suffered incredible pain. My grandma later told me that during his final weeks, he basically lived on morphine and beer.
At least I have it official that he wasn't a Nazi. Typed in English by the American authorities, ironically on the back of some Nazi form they cut in half. Must have been some problem with their paper supply.

[JM]

I remember visiting Buchenwald well. These trips are not undertaken before higher education (eg. once the students are 15-18 years old), so the trip was taken seriously from our students. Anything else would have probably incurred a hefty penalty from the teacher anyhow. Germans ought to respect these sites, no matter how young they are. It is usually people from abroad that don't do so, and that's a terrible shame.

From my personal point of view, the history is actually not taught well enough - in Bavaria anyhow. You do learn alot, but there is so much left out in my opinion. A point to not leave out too: It challenges the national pride. Many, especially older Germans, have little to no pride in being German. The rather recent resurrection of national pride and beliefs in younger Germans is something I have been observing myself. Not a bad thing by default anyway.

[BirgitBroich-Jansen]

In school we discussed WW2 in history but also in German language to find out the rhetorical figures e.g. Göbbels used. I found that very helpful to identify totalitarian language later on.

[andreastietz]

A federal schoolsystem makes no sense at all. It´s just a big pain in the arse...🥴