The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Albrecht Classen
Great countries leading humankind in science, philosophy, humanities, arts, and medicine are those that develop and support education on all levels, but especially the universities.
This was so true under Charlemagne (d. 814), in twelfth-century France, England, and Italy, and under the Prussians after their defeat at the hands of Napoleon in 1806. The famous Humboldt University in Berlin was founded in 1810 and became a role model for many universities across the world. Building an advanced schooling system has always been a major catalyst for any society to progress, to advance in technology, in mathematics, in philology, or architecture, all predicated on strict ethical and scholarly principles. This was fundamental for the United States as well, where our universities continue to be the envy of the world, including the University of Arizona. Rogue societies have, by contrast, tried hard to repress advanced learning, to streamline and politicize research, and to impose heavy-handed ideological restrictions, as we observe it happening right now in countries such as Russia, Turkey, or North Korea. Once a regime embarks on a strategic effort to target and hence silence universities, democracy is quickly in decline, which then leads to the loss of innovative research, progress, and freedom.
There are frightful signs on the horizon in our country concerning the status of the academy because it is no longer recognized by some political groups as the ultimate ideal of a free country. Some critics have even defended the effort to cut funding, to force universities to submit to governmental policies, and to send away foreign students and researchers because they dared to voice their opinions in public, although freedom of speech is a fundamentally important aspect of all American life. We must learn from history and apply lessons from the past for our own times regarding the educational system as the signal institution of an advanced and sophisticated society.
As a scholar of German Studies, here I offer a quick outline of what happened to German university under the Nazi regime since Hitler’s takeover of power on Jan. 30, 1933. Although there was no direct correlation between educational politics on the one hand and the Holocaust and WWII on the other, the battle against free scholarship was a revealing harbinger of horrible things to come, affecting first any critics, but then all Jewish members of the universities.
In short, at that time, removing forcefully all Jewish professors and students was the prime objective during 1933 and 1934. In 1935, a law was finally issued that laid the foundation for this severe discrimination fed by antisemitism across the country, and this also meant the complete subordination of all universities under the Nazi government. The university presidents were from then on directly subordinated under the educational ministry in Berlin and had to be members of the Nazi party, which also applied to all professors. Many of them quietly submitted or even enthusiastically welcomed those changes that solidified their traditional positions. Hardly anyone ever raised his/her voice against the dictatorial rulings. In short, the traditional values and ideals of the German university system were badly eroded, which became part of the global “Gleichschaltung” of every institution or organization. Once the intellectual elite had become subsumed under the Nazi regime, true and independent research was no longer possible, as a large number of students and professors was excommunicated or had to go into exile. The Holocaust hence affected the entire educational system. Tragically, a vast number of German professors became perpetrators, joined the Nazi party, welcomed Nazi rulings against their Jewish colleagues, and thus volunteered to promote the horrible regime.
We are not quite there yet, but the parallels are striking, and if we do not speak out now, we will soon face the same muteness and submission as at the German universities under the Nazis. It took years and decades following 1945 to re-establish German universities, which today share the same values and ideals as the U.S. institutions. We must avoid this horrible failure of our colleagues from the 1930s and are morally, ethically, and academically obligated to uphold the fundamentals of research and scholarship as essential components of our free and democratic country.
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