Seite - 521 - in Zwischen geistiger Erneuerung und Restauration - US-amerikanische Planungen zur Entnazifizierung und demokratischen Reorientierung und die Nachkriegsrealität österreichischer Wissenschaft 1941-1955

521 Longe Range Policy 1946 / 47  – Paradigmenwechsel Reeducation-Aktivitäten aus , zeigte sich im Hinblick auf deren mögliche Wirkungen aber wenig hoffnungsfroh : “Educating the Germans is almost hopeless because of the majority of the professional classes are Nazis. The spiritual forces of the Germans are in the universities and schools which are reactionary.”2226 Trotz aller Vorbehalte hinsichtlich einer adäquaten , also letztlich wirksamen Durch führung von Reorientierungs-Maßnahmen häuften sich zwischen Frühjahr und Sommer 1945 An- regungen , Anfragen und zum Teil auch massive Kritik ziviler Einrichtungen oder privater Einzel personen gegenüber State Department und US-Kriegsministerium , die die Dringlich- keit entsprechender Maßnahmen hervor hoben und dabei mitunter deutliche Skepsis gegen- über allzu simplen methodisch-didak tischen Konzepten einer Reeducation formulierten.2227 Ein besonders interessantes Dokument stellt in diesem Zusammenhang ein vom „Ins- titute on Re-education of the Axis Countries“ im Juni 1945 verfasster Bericht dar , an dem unter anderen auch Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster mitgearbeitet hatte. Der Report zur „Re- 2226 The U. S. Occupation of Germany : Educational Reform 1945–1949 , Microfilm-Collection , a. a. O., 1-A- 223 , a. a. O. Foreign National Groups in the United States. Memorandum to the Director of Strategic Services from the Foreign Nationalities Branch. No B–304 , 18 January 1945 , 4 f. 2227 Ein Beispiel unter vielen ist das engagiert ausgearbeitete Pamphlet des Lehrers William F. Sollmann ( Pendle Hill , Pennsylvania ) vom April 1945 , das dieser unter dem Titel „Educational Recon struction in Germany“ an die Division of Central European Affairs im Department of State ge richtet hatte. Darin schrieb dieser : „The Germans have an old satirical story about an invention made centuries ago by the citizens of Nuremberg and therefore called ‚der Nuernberger Trichter‘ , the Nuremberg Funnel. It was a method by which one aquired learning without any effort by teacher or pupil. The teacher simply poured knowledge through the funnel into the heads of the students and they willingly accepted it. I am some- times reminded of that Nuernberg Funnel when I read certain plans for the re-education of the Germans. It seems that with the best intentions some people would send an army of teachers from the thirty United Nations into Germany , to occupy all schools from kindergarden to university and reshape the learning and the character of the Germans by mechanical devices prefabricated in the victorious nations. [ …. ] We will not excuse the millions of crimes committed by masses of criminals during these years in the name of Germany. We will not minimize the heavy responsibility which Germany carries for the preparation and the outbreak of the two world wars and some earlier conflagrations. However , before we come to a final judgement we may look into certain historical facts and ask ourselves a few questions. It is true that the war lords , Frederick the Great , Bismarck , Wilhelm II , and Hitler have started furious European battles. But were these the only wars ? Is it not also true that the great wars in Asia , America , and Africa were caused by non-German powers and fought by non-German war lords and conquerors ? Were not empires created and expanded by blood and iron thousands of years before Germans had entered history ? Is our perspective not much too shortsighted if we seek the enemies of peace only in Germany and her allies ? Should we not learn a lesson from the prehistoric story in the Bible , the symbolic legend of Cain and Abel ? The old Jewish writer had neither a German , nor an Italian , nor a Japanese as model. He thought of the Cains in all races , perhaps in every human soul.“ Zit. nach ebd., 3 ff. Hoover Institution Archives , Stanford University , John Doane Hartigan Papers , 1909–1958 , Box 7 : Military reports and career of John Doane Hartigan.