Educational booklet for German schools that distorts history in order to present the Third Reich as a natural and ...

Educational booklet for German schools that distorts history in order to present the Third Reich as a natural and inevitable stage in national development

Das zweite Reich der Deutschen – “The Second Reich of the Germans.” Ideological German educational booklet from the Third Reich period, part of the series “Die Schule im Dritten Reich” (“The School in the Third Reich”), intended for schools and classroom reading courses. The booklet presents the Third Reich as the natural development of German history over the past 300 years. Berlin, 1933. Rare.

The booklet surveys the Prussian–Imperial period of Germany (primarily Bismarck through Wilhelm II) and outlines for students a “national” historical continuum in which the Prussian Empire is portrayed as a preparatory stage paving the way for the Third Reich. It emphasizes the unification of Germany, militarism, loyalty to the state, and hierarchical order. This is a historical reading text that distorts facts to fit Adolf Hitler’s vision of the Third Reich, consistently shaping an idealized narrative of German history, highlighting a sequence of “correct” events and figures as viewed by the regime. German history from the 17th century is described as a series of repeated attempts to unify Germany. Frederick the Great and his successors are said to have pursued the line that “German unification will bring German freedom”; in 1841, “the people cry out for a united Reich”; and in 1914, “Germany decides to fight the world under the slogan: ‘Germany must live, even if we must die.’” 

The booklet is far from a factual historical account. Its aim is to instill in students a spirit of loyalty to Nazi Germany under the guise of historical education. Throughout the text appear phrases such as “Germany’s glory”, “The German army fights for the last remnants of Germany’s honor, ” “A cry echoes like thunder: Germany with great honor, Germany, Germany above all…”, and “We must take upon ourselves the dignity of the German Empire, which was hounded for over 60 years.” These statements all serve one purpose: to present to the German youth a view of their homeland as a continuum of historical events leading in a single direction, Germany’s unification under the leadership of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich as the culmination of the nation’s trials and historical aspirations. 

Rare. The WorldCat global library catalog lists only a few copies from two other booklets in the series. The present booklet (No. 15) does not appear at all.

16 pages. Very good condition.