Overview

In March 1933, Nazi storm troopers seized control of the Odenwaldschule, a small German boarding school near Heidelberg. Founded in 1910 by educational reformer Paul Geheeb, the Odenwaldschule was a crown jewel of the progressive education movement, renowned for its emancipatory pedagogical innovations and sweeping curricular reforms. In the tumultuous year that followed that fateful spring, Geheeb moved from an initial effort to accommodate Nazi reforms to an active opposition to the Third Reich's transformation of the school. Convinced at last that humanistic education was all but impossible under the new regime, he emigrated to Switzerland in March 1934. There he opened a new school, the Ecole d'Humanité, which became a haven for children escaping the horrors of World War II. In this intimate chronicle of the collision between a progressive educator and fascist ideology during Hitler's rise to power, Dennis Shirley explores how Nazi school reforms catalyzed Geheeb's alienation from the regime and galvanized his determination to close the school and leave Germany. Drawing on a wealth of unpublished documents, such as Geheeb's exhaustive correspondence with government officials and transcripts of combative faculty meetings, Shirley is able to reconstruct in detail the entire drama as it unfolded. Others have examined the intellectual antecedents of Nazism and the regime's success at developing themes from popular culture for its political purposes; Shirley goes further by analyzing the many ways in which German educators could and did respond to Nazi reforms. In the process he identifies the myriad forces that led individuals to accept or resist the regime's transformation of education. The Politics of Progressive Education offers a richly rewarding examination of how education in general, and progressive education in particular, fared in the turbulent political currents of Nazi Germany. It brings to light a remarkable story, hitherto untold, of one individual's successful attempt to uphold humanistic values in the darkest of circumstances.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dennis Shirley
Publisher:   Harvard University Press
Imprint:   Harvard University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.590kg
ISBN:  

9780674687592

ISBN 10:   0674687590
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   01 March 1992
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Origins 1 Paul Geheeb's Youth and Educational Apprenticeships, 1870-1909 2 The Odenwaldschule, 1910-1930 3 Outer Dangers and Inner Reforms, 1930-1932 Part II: The Transformation of the Odenwaldschule 4 A Storm Trooper's Revenge: January-March, 1933 5 Accommodating the Regime: April June, 1933 6 Emigration or Internal Migration? July-August, 1933 7 The New Faculty's Reforms: September-October, 1933 8 Confrontation in the Conference: November-December, 1933 9 The Splintering of the School: January-March, 1934 Part III: Consequences 10 The Ecole d'Humanite, 1934-1945 11 The Gemeirtschaft dci- Odlenwalclschule, 1934-1945 12 Postwar Developments and Geheeb's Legacy Conclusion Selected Bibliography Notes Index

Reviews

Shirley's is a very interesting book of high originality. Located in the interface between history of education, political science, educational theory, and comparative education, it is a fascinating account of the confrontations, compromises, and final breakdown of educational liberalism under the attack from both an authoritarian ideology and the build up of totalitarian state power. For the expert it affords fascinating reading; in the context of comparative education it breaks new ground. As an educational contribution to political science it is certain to be an innovation not easily superseded. Last but not least, from the vantage point of educational history, Shirley has an exciting story to tell.--Wolfgang Edeisfein, Max Planck Institute, Berlin This is an intriguing case study of the clash of progressive education with National Socialism. The documentation is rich, involving many interviews and personal records of the key figures. A welcome addition to the literature on German education as well as on Nazi society.--Konrad H. Jarausch, The University of North Carolina

This is an intriguing case study of the clash of progressive education with National Socialism. The documentation is rich, involving many interviews and personal records of the key figures. A welcome addition to the literature on German education as well as on Nazi society.--Konrad H. Jarausch, The University Of North Carolina

This is an intriguing case study of the clash of progressive education with National Socialism. The documentation is rich, involving many interviews and personal records of the key figures. A welcome addition to the literature on German education as well as on Nazi society.--Konrad H. Jarausch, The University of North Carolina

Author Information

Dennis Shirley was a teacher at the Ecole d'Humanité and is currently Assistant Professor of Education at Rice University.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions