are the kids in germany taught about WW II?

Answer 1

OF COURSE THEY ARE!!!
I am from Germany, so I can talk from expierience.
Some of the above answers are totally wrong.

So here are the facts:
German kids are tought A LOT about WW2. They probably know more about it than kids in many other countries. It literally surrounds us, since Germany began the war and the Nazi regime killed 6 Million jews! And what we learn is absolutely not biased, but very fact-based. It is emphasized ALL THE TIME that this history must not repeat itself and that the Nazi ideology of antisemitism and a "superior race" who is supposed to rule the world was (and of course still is) absolutely WRONG!

German children literally suck up this part of German history with their mothers milk. We grow up surrounded by the remaints of the war and this historical "guilt". It begins in our families - there is NO German family which was not affected by the war:
* All of our grandparents expierienced the war or died in it. The ones who survived sometimes tell stories from that time. And everybody who has been in a war tells the same thing: War is hell!
* Our parents rebuilt Germany because after the war most large German cities were almost completely destroyed. They often tell us how they played in the ruins as kids and what their parents told them about the war.
* In school children begin to learn about WW2 in elementary school, sometimes even in kindergarten. I remember that when I was in kindergarten I made a drawing of some battleships with swastikas on them (I didn't know their meaning, I just thought they were "war symbols"). My teacher was very angry with me, told my mom about it, and she yelled at me and told me the meaning and about the war. This was my first contact with WW2 I remember at the age of 3 or 4...
* This goes on in secondary education, where we learn about WW2 in history (of course) but also in other lessons like German literature, where we read books written during or about that time, in catholic religion lessons, politics, ethics...
* There are often documentary TV shows about the war
* during construction works they frequently they find bombs from allied bombing runs which didn't explode...

As I said, a lot of emphasis is put on the "guilt" which lies on Germany. This is why many Germans even today have a distorted patriotism. They are almost ashamed to be proud of Germany or wave a German flag - because of this guilt. And there was a big discussion about "being German" during the time of the soccer world cup 2006. But the view of Germany is changing with the new generation, because we (this includes me) do not want to be held responsible for and be forced to feel guilty of the past which we had no influence on - it is only our duty to make sure that something like this can never again happen ANYWHERE ON THE WORLD!

P.S.: I spent one year in the US (Minneapolis, MN) as an exchange student in 12th grade of high school, and I was really SHOCKED about how little knowledge most of my co-students had about WW2 compared to German kids. No offense - just personal expierience... But still I loved that year :)

Answer 2

I'm sure they are, the German education system is very advanced. They probably get a much better view of it than we do here due to the fact almost everyone in Germany now would still be touched by the war. My grandparents lived in Germany during WWII and I have heard stories that make anything school would be allowed to teach seam kindergarten level. I know my cousins know a lot about it and they have grown up in Germany>The country was made very poor after WWII and had to pay retribution payments for a long time after so yes, I'm sure the people are taught it would crazy not to no one wants history to repeat itself.

Answer 3

I would think so. World War II and Hitler are pretty much common knowledge for everyone, and I would expect that German schools are trying to teach their students about their ancestor's mistakes. I am sure that this is an extremely difficult subject for the German people, and I know that it is probably very difficult for German's to handle the shame of the Holocaust, just as it is difficult for the American people to deal with the shame of slavery. I should hope that the German public is doing whatever they can to avoid reigniting the hate brought on by their forefathers. I have been fortunate enough to have teachers who have been able to steer our minds away from the hate, that was caused by slavery before the American Civil War, and to work on not making the mistakes of our ancestors. Unfortunately their is still civil unrest in parts of our country, and I am sure their are in Germany as well. The human race has been dealing with hate, since before recorded history. I am proud to be an American, but I am ashamed of the hate that my ancestors brought on, and I am sure that their are Germans that feel the same way. We all should learn to be proud of our countries and our heritage, but not willing to repeat our country's mistakes.

Answer 4

Yes
I lived there for a year when I was in high school.
The emphasis is more on the Asian theater of operations than european, I think there's still some guilt there. However, the students are certainly taught about all that went on.

Answer 5

Wrong,
yes they teach about WorldWarII in germany in school and no there is no cover-up or sugar coating of any kind about what happened. They get the truth as it is. And the kids of these generations have nothing to do with that war and the choices their grandparents made and they are not influenced by them.

Answer 6

I'm sure they know about it.
But a lot of them still have a distorted view of the world because the hate of certain people that their parents and grandparents had were so deeply instilled in them that they were transferred on to later generations, so they probably don't really see it the way Americans do.
Of course, this is an American's opinion.

Answer 7

Hi there, one answer from a french guy, living close german border,

of course, they are taught about WW2, they know everything about what happened, and 60 years later they still feel guilty about what happened,

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Yes.

Answer 10

Yes, but not the complete version........at least in the 50s. Don't know how it is now.