A contemporary witness reports: The shattering everyday life in the Napola Potsdam

A contemporary witness reports: The shattering everyday life in the Napola Potsdam

Hans Müncheberg, 95 years old, reflects on his childhood and the formative years that he spent in the "National Political Education Institute" (Napola) in Potsdam. His time there began in 1940, when he entered the institution at the age of only 10, which was known between 1933 and 1945 as a cadre for the National Socialist leadership. On the site of the former Napola is now the official seat of Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and various state ministries. The Napola in Potsdam was one of the first of its kind and offered space for students who had to meet the requirements of the Third Reich. Every year, around 400 boys from all over Brandenburg applied to the few places that were only accessible to “Aryans”, which illustrates their exclusivity and the racist focus of the facility.

In order to find inclusion in the Napola, students had to detect their “Aryan descent” and take extensive tests in academic subjects and in sports. Everyday life within the institution was militarily structured and offered little space for individuality or privacy. Instead, great emphasis was placed on courage, competitions and strict ideological training. Most educators were members of the NSDAP or SS, which gave a clear indication of the ideological requirements and values ​​within the Napola. Many students, including Müncheberg, had difficulty getting used to the new conditions. Müncheberg tried to flee once, but was caught. The pressure to adapt was enormous.

The ideals of National Socialist Education

The main task of national political educational institutions was to raise young people to obedient citizens who were to take management positions within the Wehrmacht, SS, NSDAP or state administration. This is also illuminated in an exhibition on the history of Napola in Potsdam, which deals with the history of education in National Socialism and describes the expectations of the dictatorship of their young people. The Napola was led by political teachers and, like British private schools, was organized after a strict, even brutal concept. Pupils wear uniforms and the training placed particular emphasis on physical fitness and military behavior.

After a four -year stay in Napola, many students, including Müncheberg, volunteered the "Volkssturm". This step was not only a sign of loyalty to National Socialism, but also an example of how strongly the indoctrinating principles of the institution were already internalized. Müncheberg reports that his headmaster, Otto Calliebe, even planned to send him and other students to the front, which led to the death of many classmates. Müncheberg himself suffered serious injuries during this war.

after the war and the review of the past

Reflection on one's own role in National Socialism was difficult for many teachers after the war. While only a few critically thought about their actions, many promptly started a new life in West Germany. Otto Calliebe, Müncheberg's headmaster, continued to work as a high school teacher in Lower Saxony until 1964 and thus shows how insufficient dealing with the Nazi past remained. The exhibition in Potsdam, which deals with the history of Napola, continues to look for memories, documents and pictures of contemporary witnesses to keep the past alive and to learn from it.

For more information on the history of Napola in Potsdam and current exhibitions, the pages of MAZ href = "https://www.politische-bildung-brandenburg.de/ exhibitions/napola-potsdam-im-nationalozialism"> Political Education Brandenburg as well as wikipedia become.