Pupils life and the school city in the 19th and 20th centuries

In terms of academic research into the Francke Foundations, the focus is clearly on the 18th century. There are understandable reasons for this, given the Foundations' global reach during this period. However, the Research Centre has also set itself the task of strengthening research into the history of the Foundations in the 19th and 20th centuries. On the one hand, the character of the Foundations as a »school city«, which developed into a »city within a city«, remained quite unique. On the other hand, the density of archival and source material is so rich and varied that it allows a thematically differentiated approach to school history in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Historian Daniel Watermann received funding from the Dr. Liselotte Kirchner Scholarship Programme to continue his research on the topic of »School Life in the 19th and 20th Centuries«. Building on extensive preliminary work and current debates in historical educational research, the interpretations, experiences and biographies of students will be the starting point and the focus of attention.

A project on pupils' associations has already been successfully completed (see below). Two further projects on the careers/educational paths of pupils in the Weimar Republic and on the history of the boarding schools of the Francke Foundations are currently being developed.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, boarding schools were multifaceted spaces for school education, social order, and everyday coexistence. The workshop examined the interactions between educational concepts, spatial structures, everyday practices, and social conditions. Comparative perspectives revealed the different forms and functions that shaped these institutions and how they developed in the context of social transformations and upheavals.

At the Institute of Education at the MLU Halle-Wittenberg, Daniel Watermann offered a seminar in which the innovative educational-historical perspective on pupils' lives around 1900 was critically discussed and analysed in more detail using case studies from the three secondary schools of the Francke Foundations.

As part of the colloquium »Modern and Contemporary History« (Prof. Theo Jung / Prof. Patrick Wagner) at the Institute of History at MLU Halle-Wittenberg, Daniel Watermann presented a project that aims to examine the biographies of pupils of the Francke Foundations on a broad source basis for the first time. Pupils had to submit their CVs when registering for the school-leaving examination. The presentation focused on the idea of analyzing the self-images of the pupils in their CVs against the backdrop of the years of the Weimar Republic, which were marked by fundamental social transformations.

The 24th Halle City History Day was dedicated to the topic of »Halle and colonialism«. In his lecture, Daniel Watermann discussed the debates on the connection between mission and colonialism in the pupil missionary association of the Francke Foundations. The minutes of the meetings of this association for the years 1910 to 1913 have survived, which Watermann used to show that the German colonies in particular were an ongoing topic at the association's meetings and that the position of the association was very clear from the summarized lecture topics in the minutes. Like the other pupils' associations of the foundations, there can be no doubt that the pupils' missionary association felt that it belonged to the bourgeois-national camp in the German Reich and was fundamentally in favor of colonial ownership by the German Reich with all its opportunities for missionary work. The idea of missionary work in the association was essentially determined by the fact that Christianity was not only perceived as theologically superior to other religions, but that its spread could contribute to the civilization of the world.

The 21st Day of Halle's City History on 13 November 2021, organized by the Verein für hallische Stadtgeschichte e. V., was dedicated to the topic »No offside! The history and culture of sport in Halle«. Expanding on his contribution to the 2019 annual exhibition, Tom Gärtig discussed this topic under the heading »›An educational tool of the first order‹. Gymnastics, games and sport at the Francke Foundations 1890-1933«. He explained the ambivalent role of sport in the Foundation schools and sports clubs at the time. In addition to gymnastics, croquet, tennis and cricket, soccer, imported from England, also inspired the young men at the Foundation. However, the opportunities for sporting activities for girls had only slowly increased since the end of the 19th century. In line with the demands of Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941), sport was primarily intended to ensure that young men were physically fit for military service. It was also intended as a means of reducing physical tension in order to prevent sexual acts by young people.

The article »Discussions about ›dirt and trash‹ in children's and youth literature in the German Empire« (Kinder- und Jugendliteratur & Medien - kjl&m 4/2021) by Claudia Weiß uses the example of schools and the Francke Foundations publishing house to examine the struggle between different groups for literature suitable for adolescents. At this time, new literary formats such as booklet series with entertaining crime, adventure and love stories emerged, which particularly appealed to children and young people. At the same time as such changes in the literary field, but also the emergence of the new medium of film, a partly public, partly private discussion developed about the ›right‹ use of media by adolescents. Various groups, especially from the fields of education, upbringing and politics, were involved in the debate, which was conducted under the historical concept of the »fight against trash and filth«.

The publishing house of the orphanage bookshop in Halle published numerous writings on the subject of »trash and filth«. These prints, which have been preserved in the library of the Francke Foundations, provide insights into the controversial discussion about ›good‹ children's and youth literature and refer to concrete local effects such as exhibitions on so-called trashy literature, which pupils and teachers in Halle had to visit.