תקציר:

Following its defeat in the Second World War, Germany began to reevaluate its cultural assets. Critiques of "black pedagogy" and its effects on child-rearing practices led to the liberalization of the German family. Parents and kindergarten teachers began to promote values such as responsibility and autonomy, and it appeared that "black pedagogy" would become a thing of the past. The present paper assesses this claim by engaging in a qualitative analysis of interviews with eighty Israelis who live in Germany, coupled with one hundred further responses to an online questionnaire. The findings suggest that, in contrast to the notion that child-rearing methods have changed, the troubling practices of the past have persisted. While confirming the presence of values such as autonomy, politeness and pacifism, respondents reported on the stubborn presence of blind obedience to disciplinary measures aimed at preserving order. After presenting those findings, the paper assesses the effects of this persistent pedagogy, finding both a lack of creativity and lack of empathy in German adults. In the child-rearing practices of the early 21st century, Israelis see characteristics that may have provided fertile ground for the Holocaust. They perceptively discern the character traits that allowed ordinary Germans to collaborate with the Nazi regime. It may be that the Israeli cultural trauma magnifies those perceptions, but the respondents insist that traces of black pedagogy can still be found in Germany today. Some even fear that if this pedagogy persists, it could once again lead to a repeat of what happened during the Third Reich; this time, in the seemingly multicultural and modern liberal country of Germany.