The Task of Teaching History

How do young people from immigrant families living in Germany relate to the history that they are taught in school? An interview with educationalist and sociologist Viola Georgi

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60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp (photo: AP)
"It would be fatally wrong to replace history lessons with geography. Young people from immigrant families would especially be at a disadvantage, as it can't be expected that the Third Reich would be discussed at home," Georgi says

​​Ms. Georgi, your book "Borrowed Memory" (Entliehene Erinnerung) is concerned with the historical viewpoints of young immigrants in Germany and categorizes the various viewpoints on the basis of surveys conducted over many years. What have you managed to determine?

Viola Georgi: I have identified four types of historical viewpoints. The first type I describe as an analogous viewpoint. Here, young people relate their own experiences of discrimination in Germany to that of victims of the Third Reich. A young Muslim woman, for instance, considers whether she should apply for German citizenship, asking herself if she might someday face the danger of being persecuted as a German of another faith.

Another type involves adopting the perspective of German society and identifying oneself with it as far as possible. This could express itself, for instance, in speculating on how one would have acted as a German Wehrmacht soldier. Unfortunately, this position can also embrace myths relating to National Socialism. A young man of Iranian descent told me that the worst crime of the Second World War was the bombing of Dresden. He completely ignored the existence of the Holocaust. Here we see the motivation to legitimize belonging to German society without identifying oneself with victims.

There is a third type of viewpoint, in which individuals focused almost exclusively on their own ethnic community and its fate. Their own refugee history plays a more dominant role than German history. This viewpoint is prevalent among young people whose families have experienced persecution. They have the feeling that they must describe their own story against the background of the Holocaust in order to be taken seriously in Germany.

The fourth type I refer to as a "post-national perspective." For these young people, origin doesn't play the slightest role at all. They view themselves not as successors to victims or perpetrators, but rather see that specific individuals committed the crimes of the past.

So a variety of "memory perspectives" are possible for young immigrants. Are these viewpoints discussed or supported within the framework of traditional history courses?

This depends on the history lesson. Traditional courses, which have been conceived as an instrument to convey national identity, will not achieve their aim. They will not create a common community of memory.

I think that we have to ask ourselves, especially after the adoption of the immigration law and the recognition of Germany as a country open to immigrants, how we should go about the task of conveying German history.

The teaching of history, much more so now than in the past, is challenged and called upon to provide a variety of perspectives and offer concepts on promoting human rights and integration within the context of an intercultural education. There is still too little emphasis being given to these issues in Germany.

Then young people of diverse heritage are not given the opportunity to constructively discuss history as it is taught in their lessons?

Georgi: This is unfortunately the case. And not only for these young people, but also for German pupils who might be susceptible to far-right views. While conducting my study, I noticed that issues related to far-right extremism, National Socialism, and the Holocaust were often not discussed in the secondary modern schools, in particular in the eighth and ninth grades. One shouldn't conclude, however, that a lack of information automatically wards off far-right tendencies.

It would be fatally wrong to replace history lessons with geography, as some federal states are considering. Young people from immigrant families would especially be at a disadvantage, as it can't be expected that the Third Reich would be discussed at home.

Is there anything being done to change the situation?

Georgi: There are many institutions actively involved in this area. For instance, some schools are participating in projects such as "live and learn democracy." The German Human Rights Institute in Berlin is working on concepts and programs, as well as memorial sites. Yet, there is still no fully developed concept ready to be implemented. This issue is still at the experimental stage. There are worthwhile, yet isolated, initiatives, but they are hardly systematized, because organizations and institutions rarely communicate with each other.

What contribution have you and your book made?

Georgi: The fact is that my book is the first qualitative study that includes lengthy interviews with young people dealing with their immigration histories. The book presents the different historical viewpoints, the issues that they raise, and why German history might be of significance in the formation of identity, for instance, for young people who have become German citizens or those considering such a move. These remain relevant themes, as there are no other comparable studies, only statistical surveys.

Interview: Petra Tabeling

Translated from the German by John Bergeron

© Qantara.de 2006

Viola Georgi (photo: &copy The International Network 'Education for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance')

​​ Viola Georgi works as a consultant for the "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" Foundation in Berlin. She is co-author of a current study on the topic "historical and political education in an immigration society," which was discussed on November 3 and 4, 2005 during a conference in Berlin. The study was commissioned by the Remembrance and Future Fund and provides practical recommendations for the successful integration and participation of young immigrants.

Literature:
Viola B. Georgi: "Entliehene Erinnerung. Geschichtsbilder junger Migranten in Deutschland". (Borrowed Memory. Historical Constructions of Young Immigrants in Germany), Hamburger Edition, 2003.

Qantara.de

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