ABSTRACT
In order to understand the system by which German education was controlled and administered, the relationship between the central government and the states must be defined. This changed essentially in the last hundred years. Before 1918 the states were ruled by princes, who before 1871 enjoyed virtually complete freedom of action and whose independence, in many important respects, was not affected by the unification. For example, education remained a sphere in which the states legislated independently, but in certain other fields, like the army and foreign affairs, they were subject to higher policy. This considerable degree of autonomy was reflected in the character of the powerful upper house, which, as was seen in the first chapter, consisted of representatives of the different governments. After 1918 the powers of the states was reduced and that of the central authority increased. This development was mirrored in the greater influence of the Reichstag and in the fact that, whereas the states had previously been called ‘Staaten’, they were henceforth known as ‘Lander’, implying regions of a greater whole. It was brought about by transferring to the Reich powers that hitherto had been possessed by the states, and the Weimar constitution, moreover, ruled that “Reich law breaks state law”. Education, however, was not affected, though the central government could issue directives. This trend towards centralisation was pushed to its conclusion by the Nazis, who in 1934 abolished the parliaments of the different states. Thdugh Ministers of Education continued to exist, they were little more than representatives of Berlin. As a natural consequence of this change, all officials of the individual states ceased to be ‘state officials’ and became ‘Reich officials’. This affected all educational administrators and teachers in state schools. Another result was that the number of Reich Ministries, of which there had been a small number under the Republic, was increased, for example by the addition of a Reich Ministry of Education. The fact, however, that it was the Nazis who finally destroyed the independence of the states must not lead to the false impression that decentralisation in Germany is a necessary adjunct of democracy. From what 90has been said, however, it will be observed that it was most clearly in evidence before 1918 and that under the Republic an opposite tendency was seen. Furthermore, as will be clear from a subsequent section of this chapter, a greater centralised authority in education after 1918 might, given the will, have proved desirable in the interests of systematic progress on democratic lines.
