History of Education in the GDR

The Research Area in Detail

The research focus on the educational history in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) has a longstanding tradition at the BBF. The library and archives house a substantial collection of relevant sources, including comprehensive materials such as curricula and "pedagogical lectures", as well as unique resources like the archive of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences (APW).

Research at the BBF focuses on the state's educational institutions and, more recently, on the development of pedagogy and educational science within the GDR. As part of a research network titled “MythErz – Educational Myths about the GDR", the BBF examined subject-specific teaching in the GDR, utilizing lesson recordings created for teacher training purposes. Among other aspects, researchers explored prevailing ideas and visual representations concerning effective teaching and exemplary teachers—such as notions about the "scientific nature" of teaching and the "leading role of the teacher."

The overarching goal of these research activities is to understand and contextualize the educational history of the GDR as an integral component of German educational history and contemporary German history. Various educational myths, including the myth of "education for all," have deep historical roots dating back to the 19th century and continue to influence present-day perceptions. The GDR reinterpreted such myths through an authoritarian lens, establishing transnational connections not only with other socialist countries but also with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Selected Introductory Articles

Baader, Meike Sophia; Caruso, Marcelo & Reh, Sabine (2023): Einleitung: (Post-)Sozialistische Bildung - Narrative, Bilder, Mythen. In: Reh, Sabine; Baader, Meike Sophia & Caruso, Marcelo (Hrsg.): (Post-)Sozialistische Bildung - Narrative, Bilder, Mythen. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa. (Zeitschrift für Pädagogik. Beiheft; 69), S. 9-20. (Online: DOI: 10.3262/ZPB2301009)

Malotki, Cäcilia von; Herzog, Nele; Eller-Eberstein, Maximilian von & Reh, Sabine (2024): Indoktrinierender Unterricht? - Bilder über Fachunterricht in Filmaufzeichnungen der DDR. (Online: https://bildungsmythen-ddr.de/projekt/bibliothek-fuer-bildungsgeschichtliche-forschung/indoktrinierender-unterricht--bilder-ueber-fachunterricht-in-filmaufzeichnungen-der-ddr, last accessed 06.11.2024)

Malotki, Cäcilia von (2024): »Welches Ziel verfolgen wir mit unserer Diskussion?« – Kontroversen über Fachlichkeit im Deutschunterricht der DDR. In: Wähler, Josefine; Lorenz, Marco; Reh, Sabine & Scholz, Joachim (Hrsg.): Fachunterrichtsgeschichten. Studien zur Geschichte der Praxis des Fachunterrichts. Bad Heilbrunn: Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, S. 296-316. (Online: DOI: 10.25656/01:30145)

Malotki, Cäcilia von; Herzog, Nele; Eller-Ebertzhagen, Maximilian von & Reh, Sabine (2024): Wissenschaftlichkeit des Fachunterrichts. (Online: https://bildungsmythen-ddr.de/mythen/fortschritt-durch-wissenschaft/wissenschaftlichkeit-fachunterricht, last accessed 06.11.2024)

Wähler, Josefine & Hanke, Maria-Annabel (2018): »Erfahrungen der Besten«. Die unikale Sammlung Pädagogischer Lesungen der DDR – ein Werkstattbericht. In: Medienimpulse Online. Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik, 2018, H. 4, S. 1-18. (Online: https://www.medienimpulse.at/articles/view/1316, last accessed 06.11.2024)