The Establishment of the Georg Eckert Institute in the Summer of 1975
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Bulletin | A Taste of Our Research 33 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GEORG ECKERT INSTITUTE IN THE SUMMER OF 1975 How Textbook Research Was Given a New Future in Braunschweig Following the Death of Georg Eckert Eckhardt Fuchs and Steffen Sammler PHOTO Georg Eckert receives the Federal Cross of Merit from Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Alfred Kubel in 1972 THE BEGINNINGS with the exceptions of Bavaria and Baden-Würt- Following the sudden death of Georg Eckert in temberg. The Board of Trustees, at the time under January 1974, the state of Lower Saxony resolved the leadership of Alfred Kubel, further secured to ensure that the work of the International Text- the support of the Foreign Office, the Federal book Institute that Eckert had founded would be Ministry of Education and Research, the German continued. On 26 June 1975, the delegates of the UNESCO Commission and of the Lower Saxony Lower Saxony State Parliament (Landtag) thus Teachers Training College. passed the resolution – by unanimous vote – to The founding of the GEI brought in its wake the establish the Georg Eckert Institute for Interna- constitution of a Board of Trustees and an Aca- tional Textbook Research (GEI) as an institution demic Advisory Board, and thus led to a continu- of public law. In doing so, they secured not only ous extension of the research library and of text- the continued work of the International Institute book research itself. Since 1981, the renovation of for Textbook Improvement founded by Eckert in the Villa von Bülow by the State of Lower Saxony the spring of 1951 (known as the International has given the Institute a prestigious home, ena- Textbook Institute as of 1953), but also provided bling its employees to continue the textbook work it with a new and stable foundation in both a initiated by Georg Eckert and to successfully legal and financial sense. Lower Saxony invited respond to new challenges within the fields of all other federal states to participate in rendering textbook revision and research in the decades the GEI the textbook institute of all Federal States that followed. of West Germany. In the period that followed, this invitation was accepted by all West German states 34 Bulletin | A Taste of Our Research PHOTO Willy Brandt und Georg Eckert at the UNESCO General Assembly 1968 THE LEGACY OF GEORG ECKERT UNESCO Guidelines for Curriculum and Textbook This monumental resolution by the state of Lower Development in International Education and the Saxony had been preceded by an intensive discus- establishment of the UNESCO International Text- sion with representatives from the sectors of poli- book Research Network, maintained by the GEI in tics and research initiated by Federal State Minis- close cooperation with UNESCO. terpräsident Alfred Kubel shortly after the death of Georg Eckert. This discussion had confirmed The changes in the year 1975, however, led to from an early stage that the Institute would be an intense discussion on textbook revision and able to rely on a large number of supporters who research. The founding of the Institute took place were willing to see the Institute’s work continued amidst heated debate – both specialist and meth- and reformed, even after the death of Eckert him- odological – which had surrounded the future self. These included sociologist Siegfried Bach- of the subject of history in the light of multiple mann, political scientist Walter Mertineit, histori- perspectives since the 1960s. This debate, which ans Wolfgang Marienfeld and Rudolf von Thadden, had been shaped by – amongst others – Karl-Ernst and geographer Wilhelm Wöhlke, who as members Jeismann (appointed Director of the GEI in 1978) of the academic advisory committee not only con- would define the work of the Institute for decades tinued the bi- and multilateral textbook talks be- to come. gun under Eckert’s leadership with Poland, Roma- nia and the Vatican, but also undertook crucial In the light of these events, textbook revision preparations for the beginning or resumption of could no longer be conceived as merely a “prag- textbook talks under the directorate of Karl-Ernst matic” process of negotiation on a historical Jeismann with the USA (1980), the Soviet Union narrative that was to be collaboratively defined (1983) and Israel (1981). They were also able to as- and liberated from enemy images, stereotypes and sure the international partners within the Council factual errors. Rather, textbook revision itself of Europe and UNESCO of the continued coopera- needed to become the object of a critical analysis tion of the GEI, which had served as a textbook that considered the political climate, methods centre of the Council of Europe since 1965. The and results of textbook projects. international Council of Europe conference on “Co-operation in Europe since 1945”, which was The Institute thus now found itself faced with the organised by the Georg Eckert Institute in Decem- challenge of shaping textbook research into an ber 1979, bore witness to this lasting partnership interdisciplinary field that could develop new and was followed by a series of joint events, such methods and lines of inquiry moving beyond a as methodological discussions of textbook re- descriptive content analysis. This approach to search, depictions of Europe in textbooks, and the theories and methods of textbook research paved new concept for history teaching after the events the way for a more praxis-orientated approach of 1989. A conference together with UNESCO in to teaching and learning in the classroom in 1988 on the portrayal of global issues for human- studies of the following years on the production kind in the classroom formed the basis for the of knowledge in textbooks. Bulletin | A Taste of Our Research 35 THE CHALLENGE OF PUBLICATIONS development of the scholarship programme, to- At this time of intensive scholarly debate and a gether with the generosity of historian Robert- clearly visible medial shift, the Institute also now Hermann Tenbrock, former Mayor of Braun- faced the challenge of swiftly transferring the schweig Otto Benemann, and the Association results of international textbook projects into the of Friends of the GEI (Verein der Freunde und spheres of politics and research. Georg Eckert had Förderer). In 2013 the Institute founded the Georg been able to set up cooperative partnerships with Arnhold Programm on Education for Sustainable publisher Hans Eckensberger, who produced the Peace, rendered possible by its benefactor Henry Institute’s book series and the Internationales H. Arnhold. Jahrbuch für den Geschichtsunterricht (Inter- national Yearbook for History Teaching), edited The establishment of the Georg Eckert Institute of together with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft deutscher International Textbook Research on 26 June 1975 Lehrerverbände (German Teachers Union) in the constituted a historic moment along the path Limbach publishing house. From 1979, textbook from the International Institute for Textbook Im- and academic publishing houses such as Wester- provement (1951) to the Institute’s successful ap- mann, Diesterweg or Hahnsche Buchhandlung plication for membership of the Leibniz Associa- published the new journal of the Institute, Inter- tion in 2011. This moment exemplifies Karl-Ernst nationale Schulbuchforschung (International Jeismann’s conviction that there can be no eter- Textbook Research), and the book series, Studien nally valid truth in textbooks, as each generation zur Internationalen Schulbuchforschung (Studies must reformulate its own questions of history, on International Textbook Research). Today, the geography, politics or religion based on its own GEI edits a book series and Expertise series need for specific knowledge. In order to address on current sociological lines of inquiry, both these questions in our research, we must repeat- published by Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht and, with edly develop and put to the test new research Berghahn Journals New York, the Journal of Edu- methods and new formats with which to secure cational Media, Memory and Society (JEMMS). and disseminate results. As Theodor Heuss, for- mer President of Germany, once put it so succinct- TEAM AND SCHOLARSHIPS ly with regard to the Franco-German textbook The International Textbook Institute owed much talks in the 1950s, our success has depended and of its success since its establishment to the curi- continues to depend on, amongst other things, osity and international competence and perspec- the willingness and ability of “professors, well- tives of its researchers. From 1975 in particular, it established teachers, and journalists” to “learn was these qualities that formed the basis for the once again themselves as teachers”; indeed, on Institute’s work, which in the previous few years the ability and willingness of all of us to continue had become more visible thanks to the increasing learning. international makeup of its staff. With a constant- ly expanding number of employees it became pos- On 7 December 2015 the GEI will celebrate its sible to extend the library collection beyond the 40th anniversary. The Institute not only looks boundaries of Europe and to organise collabora- back on a long tradition and successful path of tive research projects with partners from Asia, the development, but is today a unique interdiscipli- Middle East and Latin America. A key aspect of nary centre of competence in international text- these successful measures and also the excellent book research and textbook projects. With its reputation of the Institute at the international profile that combines cultural studies with histor- level, however, was the rich network of interna- ical scholarship, the GEI brings together research, tional cooperation partners and a generous schol- research infrastructure and knowledge transfer, arship programme. The Institute was awarded the enjoying an excellent reputation within the local UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in the year region, Germany and abroad. 1985, which prize money allowed for the further .