Germany Federal Minister of Education
Lessons about war? Criticism and encouragement for Stark-Watzinger
Status: 17.03.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Education Minister Stark-Watzinger demands that students prepare for war
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) sees schools as having a responsibility to prepare young people for war. Society in Germany must prepare for crises, “from a pandemic to natural disasters to war,” said the minister.
Schools should develop a “relaxed relationship with the Bundeswehr” and prepare students for the event of war. This is what Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) is calling for and is proposing concrete measures. Criticism comes from CDU federal deputy Karin Prien.
After an initiative by the Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), the German Teachers’ Association has also spoken out in favor of preparing young people in school for the event of war. Stark-Watzinger’s suggestion “makes sense,” said Stefan Düll the “Bild am Sonntag”. “I expect the Federal Minister to now seek discussions with the education ministers in the federal states,” said Düll. “A declaration of intent is not enough, politics lessons now have to teach about the war in Ukraine and the pan-European, even global threat situation.”
Youth officers provide “sensible support” because they are “trustworthy senders for classifying a war threat for the students,” Düll continued. They could be used for “content for politics lessons and the interdisciplinary goal of democracy and peace education”.
Stark-Watzinger had suggested, among other things, holding civil defense exercises in schools and developing a “relaxed relationship with the Bundeswehr”. In this context, she suggested “that youth officers come to schools and report on what the Bundeswehr is doing for our security.”
“It doesn’t help (…) to cause fear”
CDU federal vice-president Karin Prien has expressed criticism. “It doesn’t help to scare the population and especially children and young people,” said the Schleswig-Holstein Education Minister. “It is the responsibility of the federal government to concern itself with questions of civil protection and external security.” Prien, who is also the coordinator of the Union states in the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), emphasized that the topic must be discussed sensitively and with great seriousness.
“In the federal states, we culture ministers are concerned with ensuring greater understanding of security policy issues,” said Prien. “In Schleswig-Holstein we have been doing this consistently since 2021, for example through our cooperation agreement with the youth officers of the Bundeswehr.”
Stark-Watzinger sees the schools as responsible. “Society as a whole must prepare well for crises – from a pandemic to natural disasters to war,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Young people must be aware of the threats to freedom and be able to deal with the dangers. This doesn’t have to be a separate school subject, but it does have to be a learning content.
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Also the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Education Stefanie Hubig (SPD) had described Stark-Watzinger’s statements as incomprehensible. Nothing is too good that it cannot be improved, said Hubig, who is also the coordinator of the SPD-led federal states in the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK). But a lot is already happening in this area and concepts are also being readjusted.