Saxony: Ministry prohibits racist textbook

Which eye, face and hair forms belong to which "race circles"? Last fall, ten-year high school students in the outskirts of Dresden had to deal with such questions - and cut out and assign corresponding drawings. These are called and shown alleged race characteristics: the yellowness of the skin, bulging lips or certain body shapes.

The racist tasks are part of the thematic book "Natural Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics - Colors", published in 1998 by the former GDR publishing house "Volk und Wissen". The book is in this form for some years no longer commercially available, but apparently still used in school education.

The case became known through a small request by the Green MP Petra Zais. She had been alerted by parents to the use of the textbook. The case from Dresden was an isolated case, emphasized the Saxon Minister of Culture Christian Piwarz in his reply in December.

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"In the current curriculum, the theme of 'human evolution' is mandatory content in grade 10 in the field of biology at high schools and high schools," said Piwarz, "the term 'human races' is deleted and the intended context of species affiliation by predominantly genetic similarities of all people strengthened."

Moreover, there is no state admission procedure for textbooks in Saxony since 2017. "Since then, the headmaster is responsible for ensuring that the syllabus is complied with and that suitable teaching materials are used," a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture told SPIEGEL.

How are textbooks approved?

Who decides whether a textbook may be used in class?

The use of teaching material is initially a matter of the country. Which regulations apply, decide the federal states on their own.

Which countries are particularly lax in the admission of textbooks?

Saxony has the most liberal rule. There, the textbook admission was abolished in 2017, since then alone decide the headmaster or the conferences at the schools, which teaching material is used. In doing so, the curricula prescribed by the state must be adhered to - but it remains up to the school with which books this happens or, for example, whether learning software or other materials are used. Similar regulations exist in Berlin.

Which states are particularly strict?

Among the countries with the strictest admission rules are Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. These provinces are popular with textbook publishers on the one hand (because of the large number of students), on the other hand because of the extensive examinations of the books also feared.

The head of the concerned secondary school had only withdrawn the theme book after widespread public and political pressure. Ministry spokesman Dirk Reelfs confirmed that all Saxon schools were instructed on Tuesday to check their schoolbooks to see if the racist book was still available. If that is the case, it should not be used anymore.

For Petra Zais this is a necessary step. Because she has heard, says the member of parliament, of the use of the book in other schools. "There were also letters from other states with some frightening examples of racist materials," says Zais.

Dear users, the mission is not supported by the Ministry of Culture. This is a regrettable individual case. Unfortunately, the school used a 20-year-old exercise book that did not match the new curriculum content. 1 | 2

An e-mail comes from the mother of a nine-year-old from Hesse. According to this, a worksheet with a Wilhelm Busch poem was used in the fourth fund of a primary school to teach the children about adverbial regulations. The poem states, among other things: "A moor, out of malice and pleading, shoots at the elephant animal."

The "evil Moor" is then maltreated by the elephant, the accompanying drawings on the exercise sheet show the people very ape-like. "The exercise sheet receives no indication of today's racist connotation, so does not put the text in a historical context," writes the mother of the elementary student.

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She considered it inappropriate to "give primary school children the text as a pure grammar exercise," wrote the mother on. The textbook publisher, who had published the exercise sheet, told SPIEGEL-request that the sheet was exchanged as a master copy 15 years ago - but still it is still used by teachers in the classroom.

The accusation of lack of sensitivity is therefore to make those who continue to use outdated materials for years and decades without thinking. Maybe every few years teachers should take a look at their respective school law.

Thus, § 1 of the Saxon Education Act states that students should learn to "treat all people without prejudice, regardless of their ethnic and cultural origin, outward appearance, their religious and ideological views and their sexual orientation and for a non-discriminatory togetherness".

The teaching materials must not contradict this.