Heidrun Dolezel, Andreas Helmedach (eds): Die Tschechen und ihre Nachbarn. Studien zu Schulbuch und Schülerbewusstsein

Those who aim to understand neighbouring peoples would be advised not to ignore their textbooks. The Historische Kommission für die böhmischen Länder (Bohemian Countries‘ Historic Commission) therefore periodically re-examines history textbooks to ascertain the role they play in the relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic (and its predecessor, Czechoslovakia). The Commission partnered with the Georg Eckert Institute in Braunschweig whose raison d'être is the revision of textbooks in the service of peace. This volume is one of the results of that partnership. It contains papers, which have been revised and supplemented with case studies, presented at the conference ‘Nach der Wende: Nachbarn im Schulgeschichtsbuch’ (After the fall of the Wall: Neighbours in history textbooks), which was organised jointly by the Commission and the Institute and held in Bad Wiessee from 9 to 11 May 2003. The starting point for the conference was current teaching practice and what teachers and students expect from textbooks; bearing these points in mind the delegates predominantly addressed the image of Central European neighbours in textbooks and in the minds of students in the Czech Republic and Germany, but also looking at Poland and Austria, and taking Slovak-Hungarian textbook relations into consideration. Delegates also discussed the treatment of minorities—neighbours within their own countries, so to speak—in current history textbooks in the Czech Republic. In addition, the conference provided an overview of four decades of textbook understanding and explored Europe's significance in school history lessons.

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