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National School Textbooks on WWII National School Textbooks on WWII Contents National School Textbooks on WWII National School Textbooks on WWII Contents 4 Introduction to the exhibition “Different Wars: National School Textbooks on WWII” 9 Czech Republic 17 Germany 23 Italy 29 Lithuania 35 Poland 43 Russia 51 The German-Soviet Treaty 57 The Holocaust 63 Special Emphasis on Victims of War 69 Forced Migration and Deportations 75 Consequences 81 Remembrance 87 School Textbooks Reviewed 88 Bibliography 88 Authors 91 Imprints 5 School textbooks and civil society activists, history teachers and enthusi- Introduction to the exhibition history education asts from the six participating countries who form the working group “Historical Memory and Edu- “Different Wars: National The first images of the past, which are formed by cation” within the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. school education and history textbooks, are They studied the presentation of WWII and how its School Textbooks on WWII” among the strongest. Textbooks bear the knowl- aftermath is dealt with in the school textbooks of edge that a respective society wishes to pass on their respective countries. With the exhibition, they to the next generation. States use them both as hope to promote an open and unbiased dialogue instruments for civic education, and for construct- on some challenging aspects of WWII that are still A comparison between the Czech Republic, ing narratives that foster identities, strengthen being discussed in a controversial way. Germany, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Russia societal cohesion, or even legitimise the ruling powers. Textbooks, especially history textbooks, pursue the great questions of human history, such Differing situations as ‘who are we?’, ‘where did we come from?’ and and perceptions Kristina Smolijaninovaitė ‘where are we going to?’. For a large number of students in Western societies, working with their Even the question of the starting date of WWII is history textbook in school will be the most inten- answered differently throughout Europe: for the sive and lasting encounter with history that they Czech Republic it is 1938 when the Munich Treaty experience in their lifetime. was signed. For the Baltic countries the unofficial start of WWII is the signing of the German-Soviet As they are state-controlled, textbooks hold the Treaty in August 1939. In the German and Polish reputation of being objective and reliable. How- notion, Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland on ever, if we pick up a textbook from the past or from 1 September 1939 is seen as the first day of the another country, we soon realise that this is a delu- war, whereas in Russia the beginning of the Great sion. Textbooks communicate the spirit of their time Patriotic War against Nazi Germany lies in 1941. and express the culture they are written in. Despite being an Axis power, Italy only entered the war in June 1940 with the invasion of Southern France and the declaration of war on Great Britain. The project “Different Wars” The perspectives also differ depending on the role the respective country played during WWII, and The exhibition “Different Wars” reveals the which side of the Iron Curtain the country found differences in the narration and perception of itself after the end of the war. Germany – as the the history of the Second World War (WWII) in warmonger – hesitantly accepted its guilt and modern secondary school textbooks of the Czech took responsibility. The German school textbooks Republic, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and reflect this process by dealing in detail with the Russia. war, its victims and its aftermath. Italy, the former German Axis partner, however, is less open to The choice of the subject was motivated by the accepting guilt, and therefore stressing the period fact that WWII remains one of the most painful after Mussolini’s downfall. In Russia, the Soviet and conflicting episodes of the European nations’ Union’s role – meandering between unscrupulous memories. In Russia, the victory in the Great conquest, forced defense and liberation – is Patriotic War is one of the most important pages always seen from its end: the glorious victory of national history. The exhibition – now also at of the coalition against the German dictator. hand in this catalogue – shows, compares and And in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland, contrasts these varying historical narratives of the experience of a ‘double occupation’ - and WWII found in recent and most commonly used especially the postwar period under the Soviets - school textbooks. By presenting national and influences the view of WWII. thematic panels, it aims to uncover significant as- pects of remembrance. Visitors and readers have a chance to ‘go through’ the pages of textbooks Exhibition topics: How are and learn about history education in the different different themes presented countries. The catalogue does not only reproduce in the school textbooks? the exhibition, but gives additional information on the countries’ internal discussions and key Differences between the countries’ perception aspects regarding WWII, on the curricula and the of WWII, and how each of them has subsequently teaching methods. dealt with the conflict, can be seen when regarding topics such as the Holocaust, the German-Soviet The idea for the exhibition was born in October Treaty or the remembrance of the war. They are 2013, with the project itself starting in October displayed in the exhibition – and document quite 2014. The exhibition was produced in Berlin in De- distinctly that the school textbooks actually cember 2015 and is on tour in Russia and the Eu- present “different wars”. ropean Union. It has not been a purely acade-mic exercise, but rather a collective work of historians, 6 7 The Holocaust Russian students, however, are mostly taught this In comparison to Germany, Russia presents its Against (new) nationalisms – pact to be a “forced move” due to Stalin’s fear heroic past as an impersonal cult. Human fates Even a well-researched and widely discussed topic of being politically isolated. Only two out of the get lost in the big picture of the “Great Patriotic an appeal for openness such as the Holocaust can still be assessed and seven studied Russian textbooks mention the fact War”. There is a strong tendency to impede therefore treated quite differently. that the ‘secret protocols’ were classified until the attempts to introduce differentiated contents The past influences the present – and this applies late 1980s, and only one suggests to the students and narratives into school textbooks, and instead especially to the impact WWII continues to have In German school textbooks, the Holocaust and that they should discuss the concealment. simplify and regulate the information given out on societies and politics worldwide. The political its victims are a central topic. “How could this to the students. situation in Europe and the world is still shaped by happen?” is the main question. The texts and do- For Lithuania and Poland, the German-Soviet WWII. A ‘historic equipment’ consisting of knowl- cuments clearly show the German guilt, in order treaty and its ‘secret protocols’ determined the In Italy, however, the resistance fighters receive edge of the main facts and perceptions can thus to awaken in the students a sense of responsibili- fate of these two countries, and thus the text- much more attention than ‘mere’ victims. School help to understand current political structures, ty for the future. books focus elaborately on the consequences of textbooks do not mention remembrance days or decisions and developments. the pact. The treaty is presented as the point that memorials dedicated to the victims of war. As the Italian military mostly refused to hand over led to two oppressive and dictatorial regimes. A current trend in Russia and some EU countries Jews to German authorities, and the deportations is the instrumentalisation of history. There is a to death camps only began after the Italian capit- Avoided aspects tendency towards a more national and nationalis- ulation in 1943, the Italian tendency is to disso- The remembrance of WWII tic view of the past, instead of a broader, multi- ciate itself from the actions. The victim’s role is Differences in the presentation of the war can faceted one. presented much more prominently than the Italian Every country presented in the exhibition has a not only be deduced by the aspects that are men- part as an Axis ally, who promulgated racial laws in characteristic culture of remembrance, which is tioned in the textbooks, but also by those which The ‘Uniform History and Cultural Standard’ in 1938 and interned Jewish refugees living in Italy reflected in the school textbooks. are underrepresented or avoided. Russian history education aims at a regulation in concentration camps from 1940 onwards. of the information given out to students in order Above all, Poland remembers the courageous Italian school textbooks are rather focused on to strengthen their ‘patriotism’. WWII history is Czech textbooks describe the Holocaust as Polish soldiers and their tireless fight against the events inside Italy than outside its borders. used as its most powerful vehicle – and not just something that happened ‘somewhere else’, pre- the enemy. The existence of their sophisticated For example, to support the German ally, Italian in history books, but also in the whole political dominantly in Poland, and was an ‘add-on’ to the ‘Underground State’ is looked back upon with soldiers were sent to the Soviet Union, and expe- discourse of the last decade. persecution and suffering of the Czech people. pride and amends the memories of a devastated rienced great losses – over 80 000 people died. country. Aspects such as Polish collaboration Some textbooks completely omit the fact, whilst Similarly, representatives of the new Polish In Russian textbooks the Holocaust victims are or Anti-Semitism stay in the background. At the others devote just a few lines to this episode of government elected in 2015 have been trying to mostly described as part of the Soviet people and same time, the feeling of having been let down by the war.
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