ABSTRACT
In the Democratic Republic set up in the former Soviet occupation zone, the constitution laid down principles which placed particular emphasis on democratic rights and on the illegality of any attempt to infringe them. In education these rights were regarded as being incorporated in the 1946 Law, the provisions of which were confirmed. The policy of restoration adopted in Federal Republic in the early 1950s was an expression of the belief that the source of regeneration alter National Socialism lay in a reversion to pre-1933 practice. There were two main strands in the educational tradition. The first was the Gymnasium ideal of disinterested scholarship as a preparation for university and the learned professions, the second the minimum rudimentary general education of Volksschule as a preparation for apprenticeship and the exercise of a trade. The Federal Republic was equally concerned to rebuild its economy but in contrast to the DDR its revival was boosted by aid received through the Marshall Plan.
