"Geschichte Durch die Brille des Anderen Betrachten" (Observing History through the other's glasses): The French-German textbook

Résumé du document

Despite a common origin – the Carolingian Empire – the relationship between France and Germany has long been tumultuous, especially from 1870 to 1945. During this period, the two countries fought no less than three times. Their history is not only tumultuous: it is also subject to ideological distortions. Nonetheless, they managed to agree on a common history textbook nowadays used by pupils in the two countries. This textbook is a symbol of the friendship that now ties France and Germany. It means they managed to get over their past discrepancies and to look at their stormy past through the same eyes. “The great lesson of this story is that nothing is set in stone - antagonisms that we believe are inscribed in marble are not eternal” said the French Ministry of Education Gilles de Robien when the first book was launched in 2006.

To understand how France and Germany managed to move from a post-war animosity to the common writing of a history textbook, we first need to ask oneself about the friendship that created the basis for this textbook. The focus of Part I will thus be to study which process led to the creation of what's called in Europe the “French-German couple”. Then we will see in Part II what is the common history textbook and what are its origin, goals and limits.

Extraits

[...] Already in 1958 the German chancellor Adenauer meets De Gaulle, but it is really in 1962 that the relation is deepened. First, Adenauer meets De Gaulle in France, in Reims, a highly symbolist city since it is where the Germans capitulated in 1945. The idea is to increase public awareness of the necessity of the French-German friendship. The following year is signed the Elysee Treaty, which increases cooperation between the two countries. Yet not long after, the relationship is tensed by the differences opposing the two countries regarding their relationship with the US. [...]

[...] The book aims not only at teaching history, but also at getting closer the youth of the two countries by making them share the vision they have on the past. The textbook is aimed at bringing together the visions of the past, which had been marked by strong national traditions, and at comparing the historical memories. As a columnist in The Economist pinpointed it, if any, instruments shape national culture more powerfully than the materials used in schools. Textbooks are not only among the first books most people encounter; in many places they are, along with religious texts, almost the only books they encounter.”[4] Thus, textbooks strongly shape the pupils' regard on history. [...]

[...] Even if the books do not exactly follow the normal syllabuses of the two countries (since both were merged choices had to be made) they are still nonetheless books about European history and not about the French-German relationship. This point is really important to highlight. As of today, it is the only common textbook between two countries that exists in the world. It is used by pupils preparing the Abibac (an exam with which you get both French and German high school certificates) or studying in a European class where they receive history classes taught in German. [...]

[...] So the reconciliation between France and Germany was made possible by the will of France, given the context, to work out its relationship with its past enemy even when the wounds were still open, by the acceptance and recognition by Germany of its wrongdoings and responsibility, and finally by symbols that are really important because it makes things easier to understand for the population. This reconciliation process made possible something that would have been deemed unrealistic 50 years before: the writing of three common history textbooks, just a few years ago. II. The common history textbook: origin, goals, limits In 2006, a history and geography book written by both German and French teachers was published in two versions, one for each language. The contents are exactly similar. The first book covers the period which goes from 1945 till today. [...]

[...] Yet one of the main limits of the book is that it is focusing too much about the French- German couple. The thing is that the relationship between France and Germany is so overlapping with the one of Europe especially during the 20th century that this bias is really to take when writing a history textbook in European countries. It is even easier when it's written by two countries whose first historical preoccupation is this tumultuous relationship. But that prevents the book from being used by all high school students, since for the classical sections of both countries, the books don't match exactly the national program because they focus too much on France for the German program and vice versa. [...]