The E-Lert from HSLDA that I posted a couple of days ago
said that it has been reported that homeschooling in Germany has possibly been
illegal since Hitler outlawed it in 1938. I just wanted to clarify the truth of
the situation. Germany was the first country in the world to have free
elementary education available to all people, instigated by Martin Luther in the
1500s. The reason was that he felt that everyone should have the chance to learn
to read, and therefore, be able to read the Bible for themselves.
School attendance first became compulsory while Martin
Luther was still living, so in the 1500s, although I'm not sure of the exact
date. The reason for making school attendance compulsory was so that children of
illiterate people (which was, of course, most of the population) would also have
that chance to learn to read and not be kept home to work. However, children of
educated parents were never forced to attend school, since the REASON for the
laws was of course that children be educated, and everyone, Martin Luther
included, recognized that educated parents educated their own children
sufficiently.
Now, it's worth mentioning here that "Germany" as it now
exists as a country has only existed for 16 years--since reunification on
October 3, 1990. The country of "Germany" before World War 2 did not have the
exact same boundaries as it does now, as it obviously did not during the war nor
during the time of two separate countries of West Germany and East Germany. The
first country called "Germany" was formed in 1871 and received its first
constitution, and before that there were as many as 2000 separate states. The
place where Martin Luther lived and which in history books is called "Germany"
was actually the kingdom of Saxony, now part of Germany.
The constitution stated that compulsory school attendance
was necessary so that all children could be raised in the fear of God. Again,
however, the law was only ever enforced for the sake of children who were
otherwise being kept home by their parents to work and were not learning to
read. Educated parents were always permitted to educate their own children,
whether themselves or by hiring a tutor.
When the Nazi party, with Adolf Hitler at its head, took
power (legally, incidentally) in 1936, they wrote a new consitution which stated
that children had to attend school so that they could be raised "in the ideals
of the National Socialist Party". This was when the government began to fear,
rather than respect, educated parents. Educated parents who did not agree with
National Socialism would be far too likely to teach their children ideas out of
line with Naziism and posed a danger to society as the authorities would have
it.
After World War 2 when the Republic of Germany (West
Germany) was formed in 1949, instead of writing new school laws, they simply
adapted the Nazi school laws. The words about school attendance were changed
again, again stating that children should be raised in the fear of God.
The federal constitution, by the way, does not require
school attendance: it states only that children are to be educated and that the
individual states (there are now 16, there were 11 in former West Germany) are
responsible for regulating and enforcing this. All 16 states have written into
their consitutions that this education is to take place in accredited German
schools, with almost all of them (14 or 15) also adding that exceptions can be
made if their are good reasons. NONE of the state constitutions define these
"reasons", but this is generally interpreted as referring only to children who
are too sick to attend school, or children of traveling performers. Children who
attend International Schools are also granted an exemption from attending German
schools. In 2005 North-Rhine Westphalia (the state in which I live) added that
people who are only living temporarily in Germany, defined as for one year or a
maximum of two, may also be exempted from compulsory school attendance laws.
To return to history, I haven't been able to find any
information about homeschoolers over the next few decades. However, in the 1990s
many state constitutions took out the phrasing refering to God, and replaced it
with the statement that children are required to attend school so that they can
"take their place as citizens."
The reality is that every state in Germany could choose
to allow homeschooling without changing either the state or federal
constitutions. It's a question of interpretation, but what residents of Germany
do not have is the right to challenge the interpretation. Please publicize the
situation in Germany everywhere you can, and please pray for all of us in
Germany. I don't blame a single person who has left the country in order to
homeschool in peace, and we are highly likely to be joining them within the next
year, but every time a family leaves, that means that there's one family less to
challenge the authorities. Those who are unable to leave are the same
people lacking the resources to fight the system, too. If everyone leaves,
nothing will change in this country. Please pray for our country!
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