"A progressive people, such as we are"

Title: Greater Britain
English geography textbook adapted for German learners of English.

Ed. Dr. J. Klapperich, Oberlehrer an der Oberrealschule zu Elberfeld (senior tutor at Elberfeld Realschule)
From the series: Französischer und Englischer Prosaschriften (French and English prose)
Publisher: R. Gaertners Verlagsbuchhandlung / Herman Heyfelder, (BERLIN, 1900)

This book brilliantly exemplifies the mixture of misapplied progressive ideas and ingrained, matter-of-fact racism that characterised a lot of late 19th century writing about the British Empire. Perhaps the best example is this phrase from a passage about the abolition of slavery: "it was wrong to treat the most barbarous of our fellow-creatures like beasts". This is nothing unusual for it's time, but I find it important to remember that children in Britain and Germany who read this book at school, would have been in their fifties at the outbreak of the Second World War; experienced and respected members of the community, teachers, civil servants and politicians, and most of them voters.
Anyway, why were German children reading about the British Empire? Here's an extract from the (German) foreword:

In our time, when German and English interests are brushing against one another in all parts of the globe, it should be of particular advantage to gain a more accurate knowledge of the efforts and campaigns of the English beyond the European seas.
The language is easy, clever and completely modern; the original work from which the following chapters have been taken was written in the past few years by a noted author, for the highly recommendable collection of geographical teaching material published by Blackie & Son, Glasgow. In order to make the reading material even easier, I have, wherever possible, removed the more difficult and far-lying names. [...]
On behalf of the publishing company Blackie & Son, Mr Walter W. Blackie of Glasgow has allowed the publication of the following extracts in friendly rememberance of his time spent as pupil of Elberfeld Realschule. For this, I offer him here once again my sincere thanks.

(In unseren Tagen, wo deutsche und englische Interessen sich in allen Erdteile berühren, dürfte eine genauere Kenntnis von den Bestrebungen und Erwerbungen der Engländer jenseits der Europöischen Meeren von besonderem Vorteil sein.
Die Sprache ist leicht, gewandt und durchaus modern; das Originalwerk, welchem die folgenden Kapital entnommen sind, ist für die sehr empfehlenswerte Sammlung geographisher Unterrichtmittel, herausgegeben von Blackie & Son, Glasgow, erst in verflossenen Jahre von einem namhaften Schriftsteller verfaßt und veroffentlicht worden. Um den Lesestoff noch weiter zu erleichtern, habe ich fernliegende und schwierigere Namen nach Möglichkeit gestrichen. [...]
Mr Walter W. Blackie in Glasgow hat in freundlicher Erinnerung an die Zeit, welche er als Zögling der Realschule zu Elberfeld verbrachte, namens der Verlagsfirma Blackie & Son die Herausgabe der folgenden Abschnitte gestattet. Hierfür spreche ich ihm an dieser Stelle nochmals meinen besten Dank aus.)

The core of the book consists of 119 pages of text, divided into 42 short chapters, covering India, Canada, Australia, Africa and the West Indies. There is also a 7-page overview at the back, listing all British possessions along with their area, population and principle exports. A second volume contains a full glossary, although some explanatory notes on the language are provided at the back of the main volume too. There are no illustrations apart from 4 maps and there is a pull-out, coloured map of the world on the inside back cover.
The book describes, in a colourful and interesting way, transport routes to different colonies, the landscape and climate compared to Britain, the flora and fauna, main industries, and several principle cities. Sometimes the author also gives a little information about how Britain acquired the land in question. Of course, in some countries we were just there to lend a guiding hand:

"Britain has large property in this [Suez] canal, and, to keep it safe as the gate between Europe and Asia, British officials are at present directing the government of Egypt, the country having been brought to the brink of ruin by its own unwise and selfish rulers." (p.3)

In other areas, we fought bravely against the odds to save the native population from their self-imposed lack of freedom, and we should be damn proud of ourselves for it:

"India, or Hindostan, has been called the brightest jewel of the British crown. The people of such a tiny island as ours may well be proud to have conquered so great a country. Our other possessions beyond the sea were mostly won from small tribes of ignorant savages, too much occupied in fighting each other to join in defending themselves against the swords and guns, the ships and horses, that made them think Europeans supernatural beings. But India, when we first knew it, was filled with many millions of people, in some ways as learned and civilised as ourselves, among whom we found powerful rulers, large armies, and magnificent cities." (p.1)

"The story of this great conquest by small bands of Englishmen reads more like a fairy tale than plain history. The fact is that the Bengalees, with whom we had first to do, were so slavish and timid that any bold soldier among them would be like a dog driving a flock of sheep. [...]
We had most trouble in subduing the Sikhs, a manly nation of Hindoos inhabiting the Punjaub in the northwest of India. The Goorkhas, also, and other hardy hill tribes, long held out against us in their mountain strongholds. But these brave foemen, once beaten, have usually turned out our heartiest friends among the natives, while those who more readily cringe before us, keep longer a secret hatred of the conquerors whom they durst not opporse openly." (p.12-3)

Apart from this hint at smoldering resentment, absolutely no causes are given for the "Indian Mutiny", just a description of how bravely the colonists held out before reinforcements could arrive. Then, its aftermath and the changes that were imposed:

"When the mutiny had been thoroughly put down, it was felt that India could no longer be governed by a company of merchants, as it had hitherto been. The famour East India Company was dissolved and our Queen was proclaimed sovreign of Hindostan, in place of the Grand Mogul's descendant, who had allowed himself to be made a figure-head for the Mutiny.
In the name of the Queen, who there takes the title of Empress, India is now ruled by a Governor-General at Calcutta, with subordinate governors at the other Presidencies of Madras and Bombay. Under them the country is managed and the laws are administered chiefly by British judges and magistrates, but some of the most trustworty among the natives are also put into high positions. What makes our magistrates respected, above all, is that the native know they will tell the truth and try to do justice. Lying is the weak point of eastern nations, as of all who have not been used to freedom; yet they understand what an advantage it is to have to do with men whose word can be trusted.
The most sensible of the natives must see also the benefits of British rule. Other conquerors have overrun foreign lands merely to plunder and destroy; but we think of the real good of the people. We give them roads, railways, canals, telegraphs, and schools. We keep them from fighting with each other, as in old times, and do not allow their own princes to oppress them." (p.14-5)

The author is just as up-beat about the situation in New Zealand:

"The islands, when we came to them, were inhabited only by a race called the Maoris, who seem to have been originally South Sea Islanders. Though given to cannibalism, which they may have taken to because they found here so little flesh for food, the Maoris were far above most savages - brave, warlike, and with some notions of arts and industry; their better treatment of women also showed them superior to the miserable aborigines of Australia. At first, the settlers got on with them pretty well, but by and by there came quarrels, leading to a series of wars lasting for a quarter of a century. At one time there were 10,000 English soldiers in the field against them, but the Maoris defended their palisaded forts so well that we can hardly be said to have got the nest of it. At last peace was made, and the Maoris are now so far civilised that they vote like other citizens, and some even sit as members of the colonial parliament." (p.93-4)

Elsewhere, the indigenous population was less satisfactory, and had to be "tamed" rather than "civilised". In Africa, for example:

"This is not the place to tell the story of the wars which both we and the Dutch have again and again had with the Kafir tribes. Peaceful missionaries, also, have faced dangers and hardships to carry light among these darkminded barbarians. The religion of the Kafirs is a cruel superstition, only too true to their fierce nature. They believe much in witchcraft and evil spirits. Their priests are cheating conjurers, who pretend to be able to bring rain and work other miracles. If anything goes wrong, such impostors try to throw the blame of it on anyone who may have offended them, and often thus get innocent people put to death on suspicion of being wizards and witches.
When the Kafirs showed themselves so cruel to their own countrymen, it may be supposed what they were to their enemies. But, between our missionaries and our soldiers, the tribes near the colonies have now been tamed so far as to keep from interfering with the settlers, and many of them are learning to live quietly and industriously." (p.108)

And worst of all in Australia:

"In the early days of the Australian colonies, the Blackfellows made dangerous neighbours, being always ready for massacre and treachery, but slow to be won over by kindness, as Captain Cook found. It is to be feared that kindness has been too little tried on them; but at least they have learned to be afraid of our superior strength. Not so much by our weapons as by the diseases we have introduced among them, and by the fatal strong drink which we carry with us to curse all lands, they seem likely to be exterminated before long. There were believed to have been no more than 150,000 of them when we first came; but now the dwindling and degraded tribes cannot number half as many." (p.77)

There is no difference in tone between this passage and the description of the (at that time) near extermination of the buffalo from the plains of Canada; no sense of injustice, only mild regret at the result of a natural process. However, when other European nations were responsible for genocide, the author is far more indignant in his description:

"The first Spanish settlers in these islands [The West Indies] behaved very cruelly to their original inhabitants, and killed almost all of them off in a short time, though they had received the strangers with friendliness. Other white men who sought to make their fortunes here were less cruel, but not less lazy and greedy than the Spaniards. to work for them in the hot sun of this climate, they brought negro slaves from Africa, whose descendants now make up a great part of the population. By and by it began to be felt, first of all in England, that it was wrong to treat the most barbarous of our fellow-creatures like beasts, tearing them from their native soil and families and driving them to toil under the lash for the profit of their masters. the shameful slave-trade was first put down; then slavery was abolished wherever the British flag flies, an example since imitated by all civilised nations. but when the negroes were no longer obliged to work, they showed themselves as much disposed for idleness as their masters; and the West Indian Islands have not flourished in freedom, especially since sugar, one of their chief products, has come to be largely made in Europe." (p.115)

This idea of laziness as the cause of other peoples' misfortune is a common theme in Greater Britian. Cowardice and superstition are also vices that the author abhors and parts of the book read like morality tales on a national scale:

"The Hindoos belong to the same branch of the human family as ourselves, that called the Aryan, whose various languages are so like each other as to be evidently related. But this race are our elder brothers. When the peoples of Europe were still ignorant barbarians, their far-off kinsmen in Hindostan wrote thoughtful books, made wise laws, and could defend themselves manfully as well as obey their rulers, qualities without which there cannot be a great nation.
By and by the Hindoos degenerated, grew cowardly and superstitious, and could no longer keep to themselves the rich country that tempted invaders. Then came swarms of pirates and mountain robbers, who mostly belonged to another stock, and had this in common that they followed the faith of Mohammed, the Arabian prophet, who more than a thousand years ago set up a bitter rivalry to Christianity." (p.10)

"A progressive people, such as we are, is one not too slow to change its habits, thoughts, and actions when good reason has been shown. A superstitious people is the opposite of this: one that, without regard to right or wrong, will go on doing as its ignorant forefathers did, and so falls behind in the world.
In India, the bulk of the population are Hindoos, by religion at least, and the Hindoo religion is a sadly superstitious one. It was once a much nobler way of thinking, but through sloth and slavery of mind it has grown corrupt, as weeds will flourish rather than flowers or fruit when a garden is left to itself. Pious Hindoos honestly believe that they are right in their worship; but it seems worse than wasted upon hideous idols and degrading ceremonies." (p.15-16)

"The lazy fellow who has no other trade, likes to be a servant or an official, with not much to do and plenty of other hands to do it for him. [...] Their chief ambition is to get some place under government, as policeman, doorkeeper, or clerk, which gives them a chance to play the great man in a small way and to take bribes for doing favours. Backshish, which means money given and taken as from master to slave, not earned in fair wages, is the curse of India, as of all eastern lands, where poor men will cringe like dogs, and lie and flatter where they dare not bully. That is what comes of being born out of a free country." (p.36)

"Destructive fires are very common in the American forests, as also on the prairies, where, however, the grass is sooner burned up. We have seen how lazy farmers clear the ground by fire, and the wasteful Indians would think nothing of burning a wood to have a better crop of berries by and by." (p.54-5)

"Some [Kafirs] are still proud barbarians who care for no work but that of killing. Others are found serving the colonists as herds, grooms, and labourers on the land where they were once masters. A Kafir is usually a strong fellow, who will work well while he is at it, but does not keep long in a mind for industry. Often he comes down to the settlements for a spell of work till he has earned enough to buy a gun, a wife, or some cattle, with which, for the rest of his life, ge can set up as an idle gentleman among his own people." (p.108)

However, the author does posit the idea that the English could have turned out just as lazy, under different circumstances:

"The climate of a country is important, not only for the comfort of those who live in it, but as having a great deal to do with their character. We British would not have conquered or colonised so much of the world, but that we belong to a country where the weather stirs us up to be active and hardy. [...] But it would have been very different with us had we been born under the Indian sun. There the climate makes it difficult, often dangerous, to be out-of-doors during a great part of the day. To live in warm, damp air softens both body and mind. So, rich people in India are not ashamed to grow fat and lazy, while the poor, who have to work as well as they can, lose their spirit, and would like to be idle if they could.
In some ways it is not so hard to be poor in India as in Britain. The heat makes a great saving in food, clothes and houses. [...] A servant may be hired for a few shillings a month, out of which he keeps himself. A native soldier's pay is about sixpencea day, to support himself, his horse, and his family. [...] Give the Hindoo one cooked meal of rice a day, a thatched roof to keep off the sun, a grass mat or a frame of wicker work to lie upon, a cotton cloth to wrap about his waist, and he is not disposed to take much more trouble, unless to please the priests and the idols he worships." (p.8-9)

There are some other attempts to draw comparisons between British customs and those of other peoples, but these can't make up for the contemptuous language used in the descriptions of physical characteristics, religions and lifestyles, and in the placing of different peoples on a scale from savage to almost civilised. None of this makes particularly pleasant reading;

"We found this vast country [Australia] inhabited by a peculiar race of savages, who, in many respects, are among the lowest of the human race. The "Blackfellows", as they were nicknamed by the settlers, are rather dark brown, with thick black hair, and a coating of grease and dirt that hides the natural colour of their skin. Herded together in wandering tribes, they have no fields or villages, and only faint idea of religion, government, or comfort. [...]
They are truly savage in their treatment of women. or "gibs", who count as little better than beasts of burden. An Australian savage buys or steals his wife, sometimes knocking her down by way of courtship; and when he is in a bad humour will punish her by a blow on the head from a heavy club, or by running a spear through her limbs. [the author mentions this later, as a common punishment for stealing]. There is a story that an explorer was asked if the bullocks he brought with him were the white man's "gibs", because they carried the baggage!" (p.74-5)

"The bodies of [Aborigine] boys and girls are often horribly gashed with sharp stones to leave raised scars, which are admired as marks of manhood or beauty. The nose is pierced to have a long bone stuck through it, as we have ear-rings. In some parts a boy's two front teeth have to be knocked out when he reaches a certain age. Such disfigurements are common to all savages, and have not wholly died out among ourselves, when one comes to think of it. The tattooing of the sailor, the shaving of the soldier, like a girl's ear-piercing, are remnants of our savage ancestry." (p.76)

"The Hottentots are a stupidly barbarous people, with yellowish-brown faces, black wooly hair, flat noses, and thick lips. The most remarkable point about them is their language, which has some curious clicking sounds hardly pronounceable by Europeans, and not unlike the cackling of geese. [...]
Of the same stock as the Hottentots, apparently, are the Bushmen, who, like the Australian aborigines, count physically among the lowest of savages, though is some ways they seem more intelligent that they look. In height the men are only about four and a half feet, the women even smaller. Their poisoned arrows made them dangerous enemies; but they were hunted away like beasts by the original settlers, and only a few of them are now found hiding in the deserts and caves upon the edge of the colony." (p.106-7)

"Here and there at the stations [on the Canadian railways], or hanging about the villages, we catch sight of a group of Indians, who, dressed in a ludicrous mixture of their own costume and cast-off white men's clothes, stare wonderingly at the "fire-waggons" which are beyond their comprehension. They cannot be expected to like having their old hunting-grounds turned into farms; but they are harmless enough, so long as not allowed to get at whisky, and are kept in order by a few hundreds of mounted police." (p.63-4)

"Now and then the train may give us a peep of an Indian camp, tall pointed tents of smoky skins or canvas, round which feed their troops of active ponies. We have reached the country of the Blackfeet, fiercest of all western Indians, as the Iroquois were in the east; but both of them have long ago learned that the white man must be master." (p.65)

"The Mohammedans, too, have their superstitious customs; and there are smaller bodies with peculiar ones of their own. in Bombay, especially, may often be seen the high black hats and white garments of the Parsees. These are descendents of old Persian fire-worshipers, who many centuries ago went there as exiles from their native land. Though not numerous, they are an intelligent and progressive people, who take kindly to many of our ways, and sometimes even beat us at cricket, which has become their favourite game. Like the Jews, they succeed as money-makers and men of business; and a great part of the trade of India is in their hands." (p.17-8)

"It is often said that a Burman is fit for nothing but steering a boat or driving a cart, but they show themselves able to work hard when their living depends on it. Though they do not take readily to business for themselves, they can be useful as clerks and assistants to the English merchants who are opening up the resources of this country." (p.41)

The pride in Britain's / the English people's achievements is overwhelming, and must have had a strange effect on German pupils. Here are two final extracts for you. The first one is almost funny in its patriotism, the second is the final paragraph of the book:

"New Zealand was originally discovered in 1642 by the Dutch navigator Tasman, who naturally called it after a part of his own country, as Australia was first named New Holland. In the next century it was visited by Captain Cook, after whom came other Englishmen, till towards the middle of this century it began to be settled as a British colony. [...] A much better name for the country would be New England, if that had not already been taken by our great colony in America." (p.91-2)

"But here must end a list of a chief colonies, which might have been spun out to far greater length. They are to be numbered by hundreds in all, if we count every island. Scattered over the face of the earth, they are calculated to cover one fifth of the world, and to be sixty or seventy times the size of Great Britain, whose bravery and enterprise has won such wide dominion, that on the British Empire, it is truly said, the sun never sets." (p.119)

"Little Folks in England"

A mere slip of a book for you today. It's a collection of 'easy' reading material from 1925 which, according to the editors, could be used after just one year of English lessons. All texts are taken from other volumes of reading material and centre around the 'typical' daily life of English children; how they play, what they do at school (especially the sports they play), and the stories they read.
The foreword explains the necessity of teaching with texts that introduce learners to the characteristics and culture of foreign peoples, not only to the language. The second book in the series is (was to be?) "England and the English".
Here are a few scans, a list of texts used, and my favourite text: "A Jolly Cricket Match".

Collection English Life, Part I: Little Folks in England
A. Schwieker & Dr. F. Schwieker
Otto Meissners Verlag, Hamburg

The following text is the only one in the collection which isn't credited. The text after it is from Tom Brown's School Days but I'm reasonably sure that this one isn't.

9. A Jolly Cricket Match

1. "I am sure you must be very stiff, Frank, after your hard work yesterday," said Mrs. Langham, when the family met in the breakfast-room on the Saturday morning following a grand cricket match; "yet I am very pleased indeed to see that you have made the effort to be down in good time for breakfast this morning."
2. "Now, Frank, tell us all about the match yesterday," said Bella, when they were all seated at table.
"There's not much to tell," said Frank. "our side won, as you know, and they played very fairly on the other."
"Our side smashed the other fellows all to bits," exclaimed Jack, "and old Frank scored the greatest number of runs on either side; I heard several say he was the best batsman by far on the field."
"You shut up, old fellow," replied his brother; "That's all stuff; there was plenty of good batting on the other side; it was a jolly match altogether."
3. "I do wish I could play in a real match," said Ben.
"You play!" said Frank, "Why such a bit of a chap as you would be mistaken for one of the wickets and get continually bowled down. how would you like that?"
"Never mind, Ben," said his mother, "go on growing, and some day you will be really the 'Big Ben' you are now called in fun, and then you will play with as much spirit as any boy."

The sources (exactly as they appear under each text):

Longman's British Empire Readers (Game of Leap-frog, Playing at Horses, Little John Going to the War, Jack and Jill)
Mc.Dougall's Suggestive Lessons in English, Book I (An Unlucky Drive, A Children's Party
Mc.Dougall's Suggestive Lessons in English, Book VI (A Letter telling about a Pet Canary)
Collins' Second Story Primer (A Tug of War, Roy and Toby at the Sea-side)
Waddy, The English Echo (On the Heath)
Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays (Football, A Jolly Cricket Match[?], At Rugby School)
Mrs Hawtrey (The Holiday)
A Day on the Sands - Nelson's Picture Readers (The Little Sailors, Oh, What Fun!, Crabs for Tea, Sand Castles)
Little Dots (Willie's Fishing)
Daily Chronicle, July 1924 (The Pierrots appeared, Afloat on the Rolling Deep, Man Overboard)
The Child's Companion (The Schoolboys are snow-balling)
Standard American Series. Third Reader (A Brave Boy)
Baret, The First English Lessons (Santa Claus)
E.M. Towle (School Life)
Oliver and Boyd's Excelsior Readers, Book I (The Flower Castle, A Flower Story: St.Leonard and the Dragon)
Chamber's Stepping-Stones to Literature, Book I: Stories from Near and Far (The Story of Catskin, Lazy Jack, How Maize Came)

Schmidt: Lehrbuch der Englischen Sprache

Here's an English textbook I found on the "Kunstmarkt am 17. Juni" in Berlin. It's from 1905 and has some nice Jugendstil touches:



The first section of the book is a series of "lessons" to be used by teachers. It seems to be following a Berlitz-style approach; target language only, gestures and tone of voice used to convey meaning (so words are associated directly with concepts, not with first language translations), and intensive repetition of new vocabulary in different contexts and grammatical structures. As this explanation of the Berlitz Method puts it, "Teachers would have to constantly encourage students to speak the language being taught, employing a barrage of questions to be answered and a quickly expanding vocabulary. "

One thing I love about this book is the generous detail of the illustrations (although it's a shame more pages aren't illustrated). I find them far more appealing than the rough, cartoonish approach of many modern textbooks.


Further in, the book switches to more typical reading material for self-study. The texts cover the usual range of historical, political and cultural information but there are some surprises. I'm tempted to use this next page on my own classes, for a "guess the gadgets" activity:


Most helpfully of all are the model letters which could be copied and used in a wide variety of situations, from getting out of social engagements without causing offence, to putting tradespeople in their place:

"Pleasant English" for unpleasant times

This book needs no long preamble to make it sound interesting. It’s an English textbook for years 7 and 8 of the German Volksschule and it was published in 1939, shortly before the learners were officially at war with the subject matter.

Its condition suggests that it had a similar life history to most schoolbooks. A certain Fräulein Ingelore Giesecke carefully wrote her name in pencil on the inside cover before it fell victim to inkblots, a cracked spine and the violent loss of page 15. The inside pages aren’t dogeared or faded so Miss Giesecke may not have been the most enthusiastic of pupils.

That’s enough whimsical speculation about the owner, it’s the foreword which deserves our full attention. It’s aimed more at teachers than learners and explains how the various features of this book should be used in class. It explains that the exercises, which are provided after each chapter of reading material, are to be given as homework and so they don’t “release teachers from the duty” of finding other ways to practice in the classroom. It explains that a glossary is provided at the end of the book so that students don’t need to waste time looking through a dictionary, and also that the approach to grammar and speaking is functional rather than theoretical. In fact it says roughly the same as the foreword to every textbook I’ve ever taught from. The interesting part deals with the newly-written reading material:

The reading material serves to widen the sphere of experience from domestic life to life in the wider communities involved in day to day life and to the values which determine the behaviour of the Englishman towards these communities. In essence, these values bear a northern-germanic stamp and have enabled Englishmen to achieve great and awe-inspiring works; of which the formation of the British Empire constitutes the greatest. It is necessary that we Germans recognise and appreciate the real, inherent qualities of the English in order to be able to value them as political allies, or so as not to undervalue them as enemies.
However it is even more important that the young German is brought up to be proud of his own national identity and to have confidence in his position in relation to other peoples, so that he does not – as was previously the case, particularly in Hamburg – fall victim to an unworthy idolisation of all that is English. It is the task of English instruction to instill a worthy, self-assured attitude towards other peoples; with the rewriting of this reading material I hope to have given the teacher a useable basis for the fulfilment of this task.

Der Lesestoff bringt die Erweiterung des Erlebniskreises vom häuslichen Leben zum Leben in den größeren Gemeinschaften des täglichen Lebens und zu den Werten, die die Haltung des englischen Menschen diesen Gemeinschaften gegenüber bestimmen. Diese Werte sind im Wesentlichen nordlich-germanische Prägung und haben den englischen Menschen zu großen, achtungsgebietenden Leistungen befähigt, deren größte die Schaffung des britischen Weltreiches bildet. Es ist für und Deutsche nötig, die echten, artgebundenen Werte der Engländers zu kennen und zu achten, um ihn als politischen Freund schätzen zu können oder als Feind nicht zu unterschätzen. Noch wichtiger ist es allerdings, daß der junge deutsche Mensch zu Stolz auf sein eigenes Volkstum und zum Selbstbewußtsein anderen Völkern gegenüber erzogen wird, um nicht, wie das früher und besonders in Hamburg der Fall war, einer unwürdigen Vergötzung des Engländertums zu verfallen. Zu einer würdigen, selbstbewüßten Haltung gegenüber dem Fremdvolk zu erziehen, ist Aufgabe des englischen Unterrichts; mit der Neugestaltung des Lesestoffes hoffe ich dem Lehrer eine brauchbare Grundlage für diese Erziehungsarbeit gegeben zu haben.

Task 1: Compare and contrast these stated aims with the assertions of schoolteacher Agnes Pernitz.

The book contains eighteen chapters, covering largely the same topics as English Life and Thought but from the point of view of a German family, the Petersens, who have moved to England. The two children, Peter and Katie, have things explained to them by various adults and friends, and come across as fairly stupid as a result. There’s information about life at an English school, sights in London, Christmas traditions (no Santa in Germany), typical suburban homes...

...London landmarks...

...and so on and, like with English Life and Thought, some parts are very much of their time. For example, when Peter tells his friend Morris that he will be joining his school, the exchange runs:

“Here is a piece of news for you. I am coming into your class,” said Peter.
“Cheers,” cried Morris, “We shall have great sport.” (p.49)

Although that’s nowhere near as dated as this incident on a day trip to the zoo:

When they came near the elephants, Katie gave a shriek.
“Negroes,” she cried, pointing at two coloured men who were in charge of the elephants. Peter laughed at her, for they were not Negroes, but Hindoos. (p.19)

The grammar exercise which follows their trip to the zoo is also not really suitable for the modern English class:


Then there are the parts which live up to the aims of the foreword. I’ll start off with a fairly mild one, in which Kate asks her teacher about British coins:

“All lawful coins of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are called Sterling which means “good”. And as a little German you may be interested to hear that this word is a compliment to your forefathers. As a matter of fact, early Saxon traders who came to this country from the East, that is to say from Germany, and who, therefore, were called Easterlings, introduced silver coins which were better than any other silver coins. They were honest tradesmen and the English people trusted their money more than anybody else’s and therefore all good money is called Sterling. You must feel proud of this fact, I am sure.”
Kate was a little confused about all she had heard, but, nevertheless, she did feel proud of her forefathers and grateful to Miss Allen for this explanation. (p.56)

As indeed all small children are when a simple question like “Why do you write d for penny?” is answered with a lecture on ancient history.

The Easterling Theory seems to have been around for a good while (at least according to the Wikipedia entry for Sterling Silver), with 'Easterlings' referring to the 12th century Hanseatic League. More on their importance for German nationalist historians when I finally finish some translations from Raubstaat England.

The next extract is from the chapter “Modern Youth”.

Peter explained to Morris that some of his comrades had been sent to Nuremberg during the Party Rally. They were to take part in the displays of the Hitler Youth Movement.
[...]
The envelope contained a number of snapshots which one of Peter’s comrades had taken on their march to Nuremberg.
“This is my patrol-leader,” said Peter. “Lucky fellow to be sent there. He is a decent chap, though.”
“They must have had a hard time to walk all that way from Hamburg to Nuremberg,” replied Morris.
“I should not have minded walking,” continued Peter. “Most of us are good walkers, and I like walking very much. By the way, we are trained to exert ourselves, and this march to Nuremberg is a glorious test of what we can do.”
Morris was interested in the uniform and at last asked Peter if he had his uniform with him. Then Peter took Morris to his room, put on his uniform and told Morris about camping, sports, and other activities and entertainments.
[...]
“Well,” said Morris at last. “I am going to be a Scout. Mr.Henderson, our gym-master, is a Scoutmaster. He has asked me to join the Scouts. But first I have to be a Tenderfoot. Then I shall have to pass an examination, and after that I’ll become a second-class Scout. It will be great fun, I am sure.”
[...]
“I wanted to be a Wolf Cub long ago,” he continued. “Dad said he did not mind. But my mother would not let me. She is always afraid that I may catch a cold. But Mr.Henderson persuaded her to give her permission.” (67-8)

And now for the world domination bit. Morris and Peter’s teacher is demonstrating the range of the British Empire using a globe (mentioning a few German colonies in passing, all of which are explained in footnotes. France doesn’t get a mention, naturally). How does our Average German Kid react to this geography lesson?

Peter was deeply impressed. But at the same time he was thinking of what the Fuehrer had said about the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ and saying to himself: “Well, one day we’ll have colonies of our own again, after all.” But he did not say anything about what he was thinking, not even to Morris. He had already learnt to keep his tongue and leave things to those responsible for his country’s welfare.(p.76-7)

This section is followed by a list of “countries and their inhabitants”, including “The Sudetenland”, which is inhabited by “The Sudeten Germans” (and no-one else, apparently).

None of the things I've mentioned so far provoked any emotions in me other than mild amusement at an obsolete view of the world and relief that we've put so much distance between then and now. With the benefit of hindsight however, the last chapter is more than a little poignant. The title of the chapter is “Hero-worship” and the two boys are visiting the Cenotaph in London. It struck me as quite ironic that such an idealised view of integration and multi-culturalism can be combined with references to trench warfare and the Hitler Salute:

Every man who passed on foot, in bus or car, raised his hat, and ladies bowed their heads as they passed the Cenotaph.
Peter was reminded of a similar scene which he had witnessed in Munich when he passed the Feldherrnhalle with his parents and every passer-by raised his arm to greet the Dead of the 9th of November.
77. the boys had stepped on in silence. After a while Morris broke the silence:
“One day I’ll take you to Westminster Abbey where the ‘Unknown Soldier’ is buried.”
Peter did not answer. He was thinking of his uncle who had been killed by an English shell in Flanders and whose body had never been found.
Morris felt that something had risen between them. At last Morris said: “I know, Peter, what you are thinking. You are German, and I am English. We both love our country and worship our heroes. That is no reason why we should not be friends.
[...] We are taught that England expects every man to do his duty, and I suppose you have similar sayings. But I do know that I could not be friends with a boy who is not willing to live up to what the Great Men of his country died for. I hope we shall always remain friends.”
Peter made no reply at first. He just caught Morris’s hand, and said: “Yes, William.” When they parted that night, they felt as they shook hands, that their friendship had strengthened. But they also felt that they were not mere individuals, but members of two great nations.

It's poignant because here we have two boys - fictional but with many real-life counterparts - admirably pledging to remain friends against the odds. The German boy has made every effort to integrate and the English have placed no unreasonable demands upon him. He can be German as well as a member of English society. The boys haven't forgotten the past, nor do they allow themselves to be unfairly constrained by it. They represent healthy skin covering the scars of the First World War, about to be ripped open again by the Second. Whether they survive or not, their friendship almost certainly won't.

The core material of the textbook is followed by a very strange assortment of supplementary texts: songs, poems, Christmas stories and a Punch and Judy script. There's a 25-page glossary at the back, organised according to chapter. There's also 25 pages of grammar notes, including the best diagram for English tenses of any textbook I've ever seen. You can take your 2-D timelines for a short walk off a long pier:

English Life and Thought

This post originally appeared on one of my other blogs, Violetta Crisis.

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I bought a wonderful book at the Schanze Flea-market a a few weeks ago; Learning English: English Life and Thought, by Dr. Karl Eckermann. It’s “Ein kulturkundliches Lesebuch” (a cultural-studies reader) from 1927 and a rather interesting insight into language teaching in Germany between the wars.

It’s written in the traditional children’s book style: quite conversational, very paternal and 100% steadfast in its view of the world, a bit like going on an educational forest walk with a great uncle (in an age when that didn’t suggest anything untoward). It also has that enthusiastic praise of modernity which is so wonderful to look back on 80 years later. Like this passage, in the chapter, “From Berlin to London by Air”:

Our machine rises gently, in spite of a violent west wind. I am not nervous, and I am not sick. We are gliding along with the utmost comfort. Some one says: We are going too slowly,- so I put out my hand to see. The wind bends my fingers back till I fear it will break them. We are really shooting through the air - though we do not notice it.
We are flying against the wind. The pilot has a difficult trip before him. Yet he takes the trouble to write down for me on a card the names of the chief places we pass. I wish I could write as good a hand at my desk as he does in this storm, holding on to his steering wheel. (p.93)

On the one hand, I’m glad that the ‘machines’ no longer have windows you can open. On the other hand, personal service seems to have gone downhill since then.

Dr.Eckermann seems to have a genuine love of England, its customs and history. But he also strikes me as one of the inter-war xenophiles who enthusiastically adopted the some of the more negative aspects of their subject’s character (see Houston Stewart Chamberlain). The chapters on Scotland and Ireland are terrible - this is very much a book in praise of England, not Britain. He includes a passage from Andrew Carnegie, entitled “Why Scotchmen succeed”:

Scotch children are reared right: they are fortunate in being born poor. They have as a guide and model their father, and for their nurse, seamstress, cook and saint, their mother. Oh, how I pity the boy who is born the son of a millionaire! (p.63)

The rest of the passage talks about Scottish pride and other virtues (apparently this theme was also very popular in language textbooks in the late 1930s) but any positive effect is immediately negated by the three “Englishman, Irishman, Scotchman” jokes which follow. And there’s worse to come in “A letter about Ireland”, from a fictional tourist to his friend:

Mr. Mackinder himself is of Scotch descent, and I hear him very often speak of the Irish and especially of the Irish peasants with an undertone of contempt. "If the Irish peasant", Mr Mackinder once said to me, "is so poor, it is in most cases his own fault. It is true, he is clever and witty, but he is awfully backward as regards the tilling of the soil, the use of tools [...] He does not send his children to school, under the pretence that they have no decent clothes to put on [...]". Well, at first I thought Mr. Mackinder's words too sharp, but when I saw the first real old Irish village, I found them true. (p.67)

Again, the passage is followed by a couple of anecdotes, this time about the Irish "reputation for an apt retort". Not only does this show how normal this kind of contempt must have been at the time, it's scary to think that this probably formed countless German children's lasting opinion of Scotland and Ireland. Little wonder that the inferiority complex of both countries has proven difficult to shake off, despite being completely unfounded.

For the sake of completeness, here's the title page and a section from the glossary at the back:

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Links

• If you're interested in the history of language teaching in Germany, this essay gives an interesting overview, complete with some amusing example English dialogue from the early 19th century: "Drink, pray, my love, it grows late and we have half a mile to make."


• More from Andrew Carnegie here