The Fatal Conceit: Swedish Education after Nazism

Arbeitspapier

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden dismantled an education system that was strongly influenced by German, Neo-Humanist pedagogical principles in favor of a progressive, student-centered system. This article suggests this was in large part due to a fatal misinterpretation of the education policy on which Nazism was predicated. Contrary to scholarly and popular belief, Nazi schools were not characterized by discipline and run top-down by teachers. In fact, the Nazis encouraged a nationwide youth rebellion in schools. Many Nazi leaders had themselves experienced the belligerent, child-centered war pedagogy of 1914-1918 rather than a traditional German education. Yet, Swedish school reformers came to regard Neo-Humanism as a fulcrum of the Third Reich. The article suggests this mistake paved the way for a school system that inadvertently came to share certain traits with the true educational credo of Nazism and likely contributed to Sweden's recent educational decline.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IFN Working Paper ; No. 1338

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Analysis of Collective Decision-Making: General ; Studies of Particular Policy Episodes ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Education: Government Policy ; Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Europe: 1913-
• Subject: National Socialism ; Neo-Humanism ; Progressivism ; Sweden ; War pedagogy

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel ; Wennström, Johan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)
• (where): Stockholm
• (when): 2020

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/240481
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET