The Nazi seizure of the International Education Review: a dark episode in the early professional development of comparative education

ABSTRACT

It was not until the 1930s that comparative education, with the initiation of dedicated courses and programmes at universities in various countries, that the field became internationally recognised in its own right. And, it was not until the 1930s that the first internationally recognised journal in the field, the International Education Review, was founded by Friedrich Schneider of Germany. The journal's launch happened to be concurrent with the rise of Hitler. Once Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, he initiated his purge of Jews and liberal democratic elements in the universities, and this action was felt soon afterwards by the IER. After overcoming early financial difficulties, the IER developed promisingly until 1934, when the Nazi ideologue, Alfred Bäumler, replaced Schneider shortly before Schneider was dismissed from his positions at the Academy of Pedagogics in Bonn and the University of Cologne. Bäumler’s philosophy was one of virulent anti-Semitism and focused on the critical role to be played by the Aryan race in the Nazi master plan. This article is an account of how, in the mid-1930s, this same Nazi racist took charge of the International Education Review, which at that time was the most important international forum in comparative education.

KEYWORDS:

• International Education Review
• Nazi ideology
• education extremism
• journal subversion
• academic complicity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Erwin H. Epstein is Professor Emeritus of Cultural and Educational Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago. He is a former president of both the Comparative and International Education Society and the World Council of Comparative Education Societies, and was the editor for 10 years of the Comparative Education Review. He has been the head of academic units at four universities and has been a visiting professor at universities in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and South Africa. He has been a visiting lecturer at 12 North American universities as well as at universities in Argentina, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Spain, and Taiwan. He has been a Fulbright Professor in Mexico and an Academic Specialist for the United States Information Agency in Nicaragua. His most recent edited book is Crafting a Global Field: Six Decades of the Comparative and International Education Society.