Representations of 20Th Century Europe in History Textbooks
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THE EUROPEAN HOME: REPRESENTATIONS OF 20TH CENTURY EUROPE IN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS by Falk Pingel The Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Braunschweig (Germany) in conjunction with Michail Boitsev, Irina Khromova, Vera Kaplan, Achilles G. Kapsalis, David Poltorak, Michael Kohrs, Jan Prucha, Rafael Valls, Svein Lorentzen, Agnes Fischer-Dárdai, Elena Zhevzhikova, Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, Leo Pekkala, Klaus Fenselau, Heike Karge, Rolf Westheider, Annegret Pohl, Mark Engel and Luigi Cajani Project “Learning and teaching about the history of Europe in the 20th century” Council for Cultural Co-operation Council of Europe Publishing French edition: La maison européenne: représentations de l’Europe du 20e siècle dans les manuels d’histoire ISBN 92-871-4346-3 We wish to thank the many publishers who have kindly given us permission to print illustrated pages from their textbooks. All efforts were made to find individual copyright holders of photographs; we apologise for any omissions. The opinions expressed in this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. Cover Design: Graphic Design Workshop, Council of Europe Council of Europe Publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex ISBN 92-871-4347-1 © Council of Europe, September 2000 Printed in Germany The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 to achieve greater unity between European parliamentary democracies. It is the oldest of the European political institutions and has forty-one member states,1 including the fifteen members of the European Union. It is the widest intergovernmen- tal and interparliamentary organisation in Europe, and has its headquarters in Strasbourg. With only questions relating to national defence excluded from the Council of Europe’s work, the Organisation has activities in the following areas: democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms; media and communication; social and economic affairs; education, culture, heritage and sport; youth; health; environ- ment and regional planning; local democracy; and legal co-operation. The European Cultural Convention was opened for signature in 1954. This international treaty is also open to European countries that are not members of the Council of Europe, and enables them to take part in the Council’s pro- grammes on education, culture, sport and youth. So far, forty-seven states have acceded to the European Cultural Convention: the Council of Europe’s full member states plus Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Holy See and Monaco. The Council for Cultural Co-operation (CDCC) is responsible for the Council of Europe’s work on education and culture. Four specialised committees – the Education Committee, the Higher Education and Research Committee, the Culture Committee and the Cultural Heritage Committee help the CDCC to carry out its tasks under the European Cultural Convention. There is also a close working relationship between the CDCC and the standing conferences of specialised European ministers responsible for education, culture and the cultural heritage. The CDCC’s programmes are an integral part of the Council of Europe’s work and, like the programmes in other sectors, they contribute to the Organisation’s three main policy objectives: – the protection, reinforcement and promotion of human rights and funda- mental freedoms and pluralist democracy; – the promotion of an awareness of European identity; __________ 1. Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom. 3 The European home – the search for common responses to the great challenges facing European society. The CDCC’s education programme covers school and higher education. At present, there are projects on education for democratic citizenship, history, modern languages, school links and exchanges, educational policies, training for educational staff, the reform of legislation on higher education in central and eastern Europe, the recognition of qualifications, lifelong learning for equity and social cohesion, European studies for democratic citizenship, and the social sciences and the challenge of transition. 4 ABOUT THE BOOK The European home: representations of 20th century Europe in history text- books is a study carried out by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in the context of the Council of Europe’s project “Learning and teaching about the history of Europe in the 20th century” (see Appendix 3). Using a cross-section of secondary school history textbooks, it informs on the general developments in the presentation of history over the last decades, and provides an overview of how certain aspects of European history are dealt with. Some of the topics discussed are taken from the darker side of Europe’s past, such as occupation policy, the Holocaust, genocide and war. Others deal with textbook market structures, the space allotted to regional, national, European and world history, and the importance of textbook layouts and tasks assigned to pupils – whether they develop key skills of critical investigation or encourage pupils to digest pre-structured knowledge. Relevant to European integration is the issue of what “Europe” and the “European dimension” really mean to the young. What are key concepts in the circles of pan-European decision makers are sometimes undefined, underlying assumptions in history textbooks. This book calls for a definition(s) and discussion of Europe to be brought to the forefront. If the multi- perspective nature of Europe is to be grasped, then it must encompass more than a sum of European institutions, often perceived as remote bureaucracies. The author has included in his recommendations, partly directed towards textbook authors and curriculum designers, ways and means to help young people perceive “Europe” as having a meaningful and positive role in their daily lives. This concept of Europe goes beyond economic policy and politics and will emerge through a study of European commonalities, mentalities and lifestyles, and tasks which allow pupils to exchange ideas on this topic. The main author, Falk Pingel, is currently Deputy Director of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in Braunschweig, Germany, and a lecturer at the University of Bielefeld. He has lectured widely on contem- porary history and history teaching at international level. His most recent publication is the Unesco guidebook on textbook research and textbook revision (Unesco, Paris, 1999). The author has worked in conjunction with many textbook analysts and researchers across Europe. 5 CONTENTS Page I. Introduction ..................................................................................... 9 A word on terminology.................................................................... 11 Study aims and choice of textbooks................................................. 11 The market for school textbooks...................................................... 14 The curriculum situation .................................................................. 16 II. Summary of the most important results .......................................... 27 Methods of presentation ................................................................. 27 Nation, Europe, world...................................................................... 35 Subjects with reference to Europe.................................................... 42 The term “Europe”.......................................................................... 45 Are there new results? ..................................................................... 48 III. What are pupils offered? ................................................................ 53 Different dimensions of development: social context, politics, economy, culture and technology .................................................... 53 Links between national, European and global history....................... 59 World war and cold war – dictatorship and democracy................... 61 Europe: tradition and future............................................................. 92 Europe as idea and concept ............................................................ 100 IV. Conclusions and recommendations ................................................ 107 Appendix 1 .......................................................................................... 119 Appendix 2 .......................................................................................... 123 Appendix 3 .......................................................................................... 129 7 I. INTRODUCTION What is it like to live in the “European home”? Do all the tenants (or owners?) live in rooms of a comparable standard? Who, in fact, is allowed to move in? Is it large enough or should it be extended? Today’s pupils tend to have opinions on these and many other questions that are thought- provoking. Often they differ from those of their teachers and the older generation. Young people choose their own approach and use their own language, as shown by the two cartoons produced by one class in a German vocational school. Europa –