The contending democracy. The impact of the Radikalenerlass on society and subjects. The example of the institution school, 1967-1989

• Applicant: Dr. Jan-Henrik Friedrichs
• Subject Area: General Education and History of Education ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 425213234

On January 28, 1972, the prime ministers of the Bundesländer, together with Chancellor Brandt, passed the so-called Radikalenerlass (decree against radicals) to keep "extremists" out of the public service. Communist teachers were the most affected. While advocates of this approach relied on the concept of "militant democracy," its opponents interpreted it as an attack on civil rights and lamented increasing forms of (self-)discipline. In stark contrast to its enormous contemporary significance, the decree against radicals has hardly been the subject of historiography. Although questions about its genesis are discussed, its social and individual effects are a desideratum of research.Located between science of education and history, the project explores how the "Long March into the Institutions" was shaped in concrete terms and how subjects, institutions and society changed vis-à-vis the Radikalenerlass. The school is of particular importance in that, with the feared indoctrination of the youth, the future of the nation seemed to be at stake. Conversely, young, left-wing teachers considered it an elementary prerequisite of democratic education to help pupils develop their critical faculties. Against the background of the decree, teachers, parents, pupils, school supervisors, the media and politicians argued over what (education for) democracy actually meant. The concept of (political and didactic) engagement played a key role here.Based on interviews with those affected, former pupils, parents and colleagues, archival sources and educational discourses, these conflicts and their subsequent interpretations are to be reconstructed. This reconstruction is embedded in a broad educational and historical context, from the education reforms of the 1960s to the maoist K-Gruppen to the Beutelsbach consensus and the alternative milieu of the 1980s. Within a Dispositivanalyse, the productive versus the repressive aspects are emphasized: instead of acting solely disciplining, the decree increased the politicization of education, served different groups as an "incitement to discourse" and an opportunity to influence educational processes. As a result, ideas of democracy and reform, generational relations and political education changed.The research project contributes to current historiographical debates about the significance of the 1970s. The focus on the institution school emphasizes the central role of educational issues for social change since the 1960s. The question of their subsequent framing also contributes to our understanding of "1968" in a generational context and of the different modes to narrate political protest.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants