Eigensinn im Einheitsstaat

Although the Nazis strove for centralization and standardization, the results of their education policy varied from land to land. The school systems strikingly differed in Württemberg, Baden and Alsace. This variety had historical reasons. But it was preserved and restored by the different profiles of Nazi school policy in the three regions. The education ­reformers in Berlin did not succeed in overcoming regional forces of ­persistence, structural path dependencies and educational traditions, because teh federal states adapted central reform plans to the local circumstances. Thus, a limited freedom of design emerged for regional policy makers.
Dr. Jürgen Finger is a historian of political, administrative and business history of the Third Reich and currently does research on morality and economy in capitalist societies at the end of the 19th century.