Abstracts Economics

How ideology affected education in the German Democratic Republic 1945–1959

by E. (Elina) Hoppu

Abstract. Ideologies exist in all societies. They influence for example politics, economics and also education. Ideology or ideologies are detectable in all parts of education such as curriculum, textbooks and teacher education. Therefore, education is not neutral. As an example of the ideology of the society affecting education, I will be looking at the German Democratic Republic’s education system in the years 1945–1959. In my thesis I will show how the Soviet Union imposed its Marxist-Leninist ideology into the education system after the denazification of it as a consequence of the Second world war. The relevance of ideologies has not disappeared. They still have an influence in societies. By inspecting ideologies, we can better understand their influence in today’s world. Through understanding, we can aim to contradict the current ideologies and aim to change their influence on the different aspects of the society.