Reviewing official - Educational institutions need to focus more on the German Democratic Republic.
The commissioners for reassessing the East German SED dictatorship are urging schools to take a closer look at the nation's past, particularly the GDR era. In a resolution signed in Erkner, Brandenburg, they encouraged education ministers to get involved. These officials lamented the decline in young people's understanding of the GDR and the SED dictatorship, citing an increase in myths, false facts, and trivializations. Schools are not devoting enough attention to the GDR past. With the 35th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall approaching on November 9, 2024, they want the history of the GDR and German division to be incorporated into school curriculums, relevant to exams. Visits to memorial sites should also be promoted. The resolution also suggested creating chairs on contemporary history focused on the GDR at universities and offering more seminars on the subject.
Brandenburg's reappraisal commissioner, Maria Nooke, presented the proposal to Senator for Education Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU), the Vice President of the Conference of Education Ministers, on Sunday. Backing the resolution are the SED Victims' Commissioner at the German Bundestag, the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, and the History Teachers' Association.
The history of the GDR and Germany's division must be incorporated into school curriculums in a manner suitable for exams, according to the commissioners. They also recommended visits to memorial sites. Universities should establish chairs on contemporary history with a concentration on the GDR's past, and provide more seminars on the topic.
A hardship fund for victims of the SED dictatorship should be established 35 years after the nonviolent revolution in the GDR, as proposed by Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP). Pensions for former GDR prisoners and victims of career-related persecution will also be increased annually on July 1, like other pensions. As compensation for forced relocation, victims of persecution can receive a one-time payment of 1,500 euros.
However, the one-time payment amount has been criticized. The commissioners for the reappraisal of East German states and other institutions at their federal congress demanded that it should be simpler for those affected by persecution to have health damage recognized through a reversal of the burden of proof in their favor.
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Source: www.stern.de
