RUTHLESS CRITICISM

“If we have no business with the construction of the future or with organizing it for all time, there can still be no doubt about the task confronting us at present: the ruthless criticism of the existing order, ruthless in that it will shrink neither from its own discoveries, nor from conflict with the powers that be.” — Karl Marx

Everything handled, nothing understood!

National Socialism in the classroom.
A critique of anti-fascist education.

Fascism was an unjust regime and Hitler was a criminal; democracy, on the other hand, not only has nothing in common with fascism, it is a bulwark against it. This is something that has been taught in German schools for over 70 years. But we are also learning that we still have to “nip it in the bud” and that the democratic mainstream parties must offer right-wing radical voters a political home in good time.This raises questions: Is democracy the bastion of freedom and solely for that reason the anti-fascist system? Or is it just a form of bourgeois rule that repeatedly gives rise to right-wing radical ideas and (neo-)fascist groups? But then there would be nothing to the alleged irreconcilable conflict between democracy and fascism. In this respect, the authors’ conclusion is: “Don’t believe a word in the school books!”

Handling the past pedagogically

“How could it have come to that!”

The subjects taught

The seizure of power – the failure of Weimar

The people – unwilling participants

The Jews – victims of senseless crimes

The resistance – dying for German democracy

Everyday life – making the incomprehensible comprehensible

The Second World War – Failure due to excess