Teaching Migrant Children in West Germany and Europe, 1949–1992

270 Pages·2019·2.611 MB·English

by  Brittany Lehman

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
THE HISTORY
OF CHILDHOOD
TEACHING MIGRANT CHILDREN
IN WEST GERMANY
AND EUROPE, 1949–1992
BRITTANY LEHMAN
Palgrave Studies in the History of Childhood
Series Editors
George Rousseau
University of Oxford, UK
Laurence Brockliss
University of Oxford, UK
Palgrave Studies in the History of Childhood is the first of its kind to his-
toricise childhood in the English-speaking world; at present no historical
series on children/childhood exists, despite burgeoning areas within Child
Studies. The series aims to act both as a forum for publishing works in the
history of childhood and a mechanism for consolidating the identity and
attraction of the new discipline.
Editorial Board
Matthew Grenby (Newcastle)
Colin Heywood (Nottingham)
Heather Montgomery (Open)
Hugh Morrison (Otago)
Anja Müller (Siegen, Germany)
Sïan Pooley (Magdalen, Oxford)
Patrick Joseph Ryan (King’s University College at Western University,
Canada)
Lucy Underwood (Warwick)
Karen Vallgårda (Copenhagen)
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14586
Brittany Lehman
Teaching Migrant
Children in West
Germany and Europe,
1949–1992
Brittany Lehman
College of Charleston
Charleston, SC, USA
Palgrave Studies in the History of Childhood
ISBN 978-3-319-97727-0 ISBN 978-3-319-97728-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97728-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955399
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.
Cover illustration: © Fox Photos/Getty Images
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
A
cknowledgments
Although individually authored, in the end, a work of scholarship in his-
tory involves an extensive support network. As such, I owe a debt of
thanks to the many individuals and institutions across the United States
and Europe, without whom I would never have reached this moment.
First and foremost, I would like to express my appreciation to my depart-
ment chair at the College of Charleston, Phyllis Jestice, for encouraging
me through the process. I also owe a deep debt of gratitude to my disser-
tation advisors Karen Hagemann and Konrad Jarausch at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for their years of invaluable mentorship,
oversight, and encouragement. Donald Reid and Susan Pennybacker also
provided invaluable guidance, stretching my project in ways initially
unimagined.
Even with their guidance, I would never have been able to complete
the project without generous institutional support. The research behind
this book was only possible with funding from the German Academic
Exchange Service (DAAD), the Berlin Program for Advanced German
and European Studies, the Central European History Society, the College
of Charleston’s Department of History, the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook
Research (GEI). The Berlin Program’s support warrants particular note
due to the phenomenal direction provided by Karin Goihl. These institu-
tions enabled me to visit the many archives and libraries, whose collections
are the backbone of this book and whose archivists and librarians have my
ongoing gratitude.
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have also benefitted tremendously from the many colleagues and
friends who have aided this project’s evolution. Among my colleagues, I
would like to thank my current writing partners Jennifer Cavalli and
Victoria Garrett. In addition, Noah Lehman designed and created my
graphs while Laura Brade, Jennifer Kosmin, Ryan Peeks, Alex Ruble, and
Peter Starke have also each provided influential advice. Librarians Laura
Bang and Yih Wie’s consistent assistance saw this project through to the
end. Finally, my appreciation to Vanessa Robertson and Franzi Paetzold
for their invaluable editing. My ongoing thanks to these many individuals
and institutions for their generous time and support.
c
ontents
1 I ntroduction 1
2 Establishing the Right to Education for Children of
Refugees (1949–1955) 15
Including Refugee Children Within a Universal Right to
Education 18
West Germany and Schooling for Displaced Persons and
Foreigners 24
Conclusion 34
3 Defining the Right to Education for European Citizens
(1955–1966) 49
Legislating International Standards on the Right to Education
for “Foreign Nationals” 51
Relative Foreignness and Mother Language Instruction in West
Germany 55
Equalizing Foreign Children’s Access to Public Schools 61
Conclusion 67
4 Teaching National Identity to “Guest Worker Children”
(1962–1971) 83
Distinguishing Between Minorities and Foreign Non-nationals 86
vii
viii CONTENTS
Preparing for Return: Teaching Greekness and Degree
Equivalency 90
The Politics of Teaching Foreign Identification and Loyalty
During the Cold War 96
Conclusion 103
5 Equal Opportunities for West German Foreign Residents
(1968–1977) 117
Secondary Schooling as Part of the Right to Education 119
Depicting Turkishness as the Quintessential West Germany Other 125
Piloting Successful Integration Through Preschool and Homework
Help 134
Conclusion 139
6 More of a Right to Education for German Citizens
(1976–1985) 159
Questioning Legal Connections Between Ethnicity and
Citizenship 161
Un/Intentionally Segregating the West German Classroom 168
Teaching Foreignness to First-, Second-, and Third- Generation
“Foreigners” 174
Conclusion 179
7 The Right to Education for Asylum Seekers and Ethnic
Germans (1985–1992) 197
The Right to Mother Language Instruction for Kurdish Minority
Groups 200
Redefining the Limits of Germanness Within a Multicultural
Europe 206
Asylum and the Compulsory Nature of the Right to Education 212
Conclusion 219
8 Conclusion 231
Glossary 243
Index 247
l g
ist of rAphs
Chart 2.1 West German compulsory school system in the 1950s 27
Graph 3.1 Schoolchildren with Italian citizenship in West German
general primary and secondary schools, 1965–1992 62
Graph 4.1 Schoolchildren with Greek citizenship in West German
general primary and secondary schools, 1965–1992 95
Graph 5.1 Schoolchildren with Turkish citizenship in West German
general primary and secondary schools, 1965–1992 129
Graph 7.1 Asylum applicants by geographic region of origin,
1980–1992 215
Graph 7.2 Asylum applicants by largest countries of citizenship,
1980–1992 216
ix