A Study on the Relation of Geisteswissenschaftliche Paedagogik to Nazism: Examining its Unpublished Material

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In order to investigate the relation of Geisteswissenschaftliche Paedagogik, an academic school of educational research to Nazism, this study first examined the books and articles of the school published in the 1930's. no apparent relation between them, however, was found. Thus, the study collected and interpreted the unpublished correspondence and protocol of its major scholars such as Spranger, Nohl, Litt, Flitner and Weniger. The remarkable results are as follows: Firstly, plenty of material on Erich Weniger, who had been paid little attention in Japan, was collected at the State Library of Niedersachsen and the Library of the University of Goettingen. The examination of the material made clear the relation of Weniger to (1) Spranger, (2) Nohl, (3) Litt, (4) Flitner. Secondly, plenty of the unpublished material of Nohl was also collected and his relation to Nazism was explained more in detail. Thirdly, the correspondence of Spranger, Nohl and Flitner, showing their opinions on Nazism, were obtained at Spranger Archive of the University of Braunschweig. Conclusions: (1) Litt strongly opposed to Nazism politically and academically; (2) on the contrary Weniger became far closer to Nazism with his theory of history under the political circumstances; (3) although Nohl resisted Nazism at the beginning, he became along with it with situation changed; (4) Spranger, one of the most influential scholars, had an complicated relation to Nazism; while he chose the "inner exile," that is, a sentimental resistance, he avoided his political one. (5) Flitner, as many other scholars did, devoted himself to the classical studies neither with resistance nor with active support, and accordingly he came into line with Nazism.