Subject or citizen? Professional Identity and Politics in Education in the Weimar Republic - Progress Review, Jon Edwards

On 9th Nov. 1918 a Republic is proclaimed in Germany following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia. The nation, its individuals and associations, are now faced with manifold decisions on whether and where to maintain continuity or adopt change in all spheres of political, socio-economic and cultural life. What might this mean for the Philologen, the academically educated teachers of all disciplines at the country’s exclusive and elite secondary schools whose pupils themselves then go invariably on to university and become a part of the political, socio-economic and cultural establishment themselves?

The progress review presentation, based upon an analysis of articles that appeared in the professional journal of the Philologen, will focus on the political dimensions of their responses to the challenges and opportunities afforded by the new democratic polity.