Is it true Germany doesn't teach about Hitler in history class?

Question

Does Germany really skip over the part in their history about Hitler when teaching children in Germany? If so, why? I know he was bad, but why would Germany censor such a large part of their history?

Answer 1

I don't know where you heard that but your information is wrong. German schools teach about Hitler, WWII and the Holocaust. At least I had it in school. And I just checked the official guidelines for history courses of one federal state (Hesse).

The course covers the following:

(1) the age of dictatorship: the ideology of national socialism
(2) seizure of power by Hitler and the development to a totalitarian dictatorship1933-39
(3) national socialistic foreign policy and the release of WWII
(4) war of extermination and genocide
(5) resistance against the national socialism
(6) anti-Hitler-coalition and the abolition of the NS-dictatorship
(7) results of WWII

World War II was the single deadliest conflict the world has ever seen, causing many tens of millions of deaths. And these events are irreversible. The responsibility today is to teach everyone what happend during WWII and what was causing the events.

For most Germans it is difficult to talk about those events because somehow the message that is transported subliminal is '(collective) guilt'. So you have to be very careful when talking and teaching those events. The difficult message to transport is that everyone is responsible as a human being to do everything that those things do not happen ever again. This is done carefully by the teachers in all schools in Germany.

In fact, in my opinion, we address this topic as it is needed and I hope (wish) other countries (would) do so too.

Answer 2

Unlike other nations which firmly deny the genocides they committed decades ago, the Germans have taken full responsibility of the WWII crimes - and unlike other powerful nations they do not pretend that concentration camps and the rest did not exist.
The relevant history IS indeed taught in schools and there are endless documentaries on the subject on TV - a really excellent approach, so that such things will not be repeated.
Maybe it is at last now, that those who are 20, do not feel guilty about these atrocities - and yes, they should get over it, not even their grandparents were old enough to participate in these events.

Answer 3

History is taught up to the present day, so WW II naturally forms a big part of the curriculum in Germany. It is certainly not skipped.

Having said that, there are not very many "scars in the landscape" to see, kids do not routinely "find the bones of dead soldiers", and most bunkers are long gone. In bigger cities there are a few re-purposed concrete air defense towers, it's true, but that's about it. If some bones are dug up, which happens from time to time, it's usually a makeshift burial ground from Napoleon times.

Answer 4

The Nazi history was quite a big issue when I went to school, which took place in the eighties...


Alwin: I don't think your a Neo-Nazi but do you really wonder why everyone's giving you thumbs down? The Hitler stuff got on your nerves, huh? What you must think of, is that people tend to forget about the past, pretending it's never happened or that it wasn't so bad after all. We all need to learn as much as possible about that part of our history to make sure it won't happen again. Sorry about sounding like a teacher or a parent but since Germanys Neo-Nazi scene is growing faster we mustn't stop talking about these kind of things...

Answer 5

I worked for a long time here in Germany at the schoolbooks publishing company and made the layout from the Schoolbooks. This is not true. They have long long subjects in the books about that and also they are talking often in the classrooms from Hitler. The young generation need to know that and also we don't want to have same problem again.

Answer 6

Hitler is a part of German history that they want to forget and
any senior citizen(65 or older) there will tell you that,he brought nothing but death and destruction to that country and it was divided there country into four sectors after world war two for almost 60 years .and you can kind of see why they want to bury the past .

Answer 7

Not true. Actually that part of history takes
up quite some space in history classes.

Answer 8

I´m German and I can tell you we are studying about Hitler at school. In the lesson history we are learning about Hitler and what he did. We are also writing class tests about this subject. So we son´t skip over this part in our history.

Answer 9

They do not skip it. It is impossible to avoid it. They still see the scars on the landscape.
It is difficult for Americans to understand history because they have no real markers, no ancient castles or modern ruins to remind them of it. In Europe the land itself is a monument to the history. Kids playing in fields find the bones of dead soldiers. The bunkers and the buildings are still there.
Many times the statement is made about how Germany is not teaching Hitler's history. This is often coming from people who do not care about history being taught, who simply want to keep teaching themselves that Germany is evil. It comes often from those who use the Holocaust to justify the atrocities against the Palestinians.

So tell me what your point in asking the question is.

Answer 10

I really wish it was true, but no, you're absolutely wrong. Hitler and how it came to WWII is a topic in every history class, and it's repeated time and time again, until you're so fed up with all that Hitler stuff that you really don't want to hear any more of it.

What you may probably mean is this:

YES, it is true that there is a German federal law against showing the Nazi flag, perform the "Hitler salute" in public, and deny the holocaust or concentration camps. Even as a tourist, don't try it! You will be jailed within the blink of an eye, and thrown out of the country, with absolutely NO right to enter German territory ever again.

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Why 4 thumbs down for a correct legal information? I don't understand. I'm not a Neo-Nazi; this is just my point of view, as I grew up in Germany, and all that Hitler stuff really can get on one's nerves. Try and live here, and you'll get to know.