RELA_2025_1_Hoggan-Kloubert_et_al_Adult_education

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Hoggan-Kloubert, Tetyana; Hoggan, Chad; Luthardt, Nicole

Adult education, democracy, and totalitarianism. A case study of the German

Democratic Republic (1949-1990)

European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults 16 (2025) 1, S. 39-57

Quellenangabe/ Reference:

Hoggan-Kloubert, Tetyana; Hoggan, Chad; Luthardt, Nicole: Adult education, democracy, and

totalitarianism. A case study of the German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) - In: European journal for

Research on the Education and Learning of Adults 16 (2025) 1, S. 39-57 - URN:

urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-327351 - DOI: 10.25656/01:32735; 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4940

https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-327351

https://doi.org/10.25656/01:32735

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Kontakt / Contact:

peDOCS

DIPF | Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation

Informationszentrum (IZ) Bildung

E-Mail: pedocs@dipf.de

Internet: www.pedocs.de

University of Augsburg, Germany (tetyana.kloubert@phil.uni-augsburg.de)

North Carolina State University, USA (cdhoggan@ncsu.edu)

University of Augsburg, Germany (nicole.luthardt@phil.uni-augsburg.de)

This article explores the role of adult education in supporting democracy through an

examination of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) (1949-1990). This case

study presents the institutional landscape, political regulations, and key trends of adult

education in the GDR, complemented by insights from educators who worked within the

field during the 1970s through 1990s. Two key categories emerge from the findings: (1)

‘Learning society’: Opportunities, access, and control of learning; and (2) Coexistence

of conformity and resistance. Interviews highlight the diverse aspects of adult education

in the GDR. While some programmes facilitated access to education, culture, and certain

professions that would have otherwise been unattainable, the indoctrinative, centralised,

and state-controlled education system promoted a predefined societal model and sought

to mould a specific personality type, aligning with the vision of a totalitarian learning

society, which clashes with the fundamental values of adult education and creates a

contradictory situation for adult educators.

democracy, indoctrination, resistance, GDR, authoritarianism

Democracy is always under threat, and lifelong civic learning is essential if it is to survive

and function (Biesta, 2011; Dewey, 1916; Negt, 2010). To better understand the current

precariousness of democracy, it is helpful to look at a previous instance when adult

education served anti-democratic interests. In this article, the former German Democratic

Republic (GDR), which existed from 1949 to 1990, will be presented as a case study. By

examining the experiences of this particular dictatorship under the guise of a democracy,

we address the role of adult education as a supporter of democracy or totalitarianism.

In characterising the GDR as a totalitarian state, we draw upon the influential

definition of totalitarianism by Friedrich and Brzezinski (1965), who defined it by a six-

point pattern: 1) an official ideology aspiring towards a utopian society, 2) a single

hierarchical party, 3) a system of terror through secret police, 4) party control of mass

communication, 5) party control of the military, and 6) central control of the entire

economy (pp. 21-22). Accordingly, the characteristics of the GDR state structure qualify

it as totalitarian. When we use the term ‘indoctrination’, we understand it as a systematic

and deliberate strategy that employs specific doctrines and values to shape and control

human behavior in predetermined ways, while disregarding the individual’s autonomy

and personal choice (Böhm & Seichter, 2018, p. 231).

This case study has two sources of data. First, drawing from historical accounts, we

provide an overview of the institutional structures, political regulations, and key trends

of adult education in the GDR. Second, data are presented from interviews we conducted

with educators who worked in adult education in the GDR. By examining the experiences

of these educators, we explore the complexities of adult education under a totalitarian

regime and hope to contribute to a more nuanced view of the subject. The interview data

are retrospective constructions characterised by selected memories and ex post facto

interpretations (Hoggan-Kloubert, 2024); as such, they provide insights into the lived

educational practice with ‘a subjective refraction and processing’ (Tietgens, 1993, p. 11;

translated by the authors).

Drawing from the emancipatory tradition of adult education, which has its European

roots in the Enlightenment and has been reinforced by critical theorists such as

Horkheimer and Adorno (1947), we emphasize the need to continue the academic

discourse regarding the values of adult education, such as autonomy, solidarity, and

pluralism (Hufer, 2016; Hoggan-Kloubert & Hoggan, 2023). Additionally, this

examination reinforces the importance of adult education’s traditional commitment to

democracy (Zeuner, 2010; Boggs, 1991) and the need for continued focus on these core

principles in the development and implementation of adult education programs and

policies.

Adult education in Germany experienced growth during the Weimar Republic (1918-

1933), which was the first attempt at republican democracy in German history. The

government emphasized the importance of adult education by granting constitutional

status (the first and to date only time) and invested in programs aimed at improving adult

workers’ education and job skills. Trade unions and political parties also offered adult

education courses (Borinski & Friedenthal-Haase, 2014). During the Nazi dictatorship

(1933-1945), there was a suppression of democratic adult education movements;

nevertheless, the Weimar period marked a turning point in the development of adult

education in Germany and laid the foundation for future growth.

After World War II, Germany was initially divided into four occupation zones (1945-

1949) and then into two states. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was

established as a democratic government, rebuilt with the economic help of the Marshall

Plan. Although people in West Germany cannot be said to have lived in a democratic or

egalitarian utopia, they at least enjoyed freedom of speech, religion, and the press and

elected their government through free and fair elections. East Germany, under Soviet

control, became the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and, despite its name, was far

from the characteristics of a democratic state. The one-party communist government

monitored the population and did not tolerate dissent, with staged elections and only a

facade of democracy (Jesse, 2005).

Initially, many adult education providers in the GDR sought to provide a more

egalitarian system of education, in reaction to their view of the classist and fascist

approaches of the Weimar and Nazi dictatorship regimes, respectively. The government,

however, decided that such egalitarianism was best accomplished by using education to

build the perfect society through the creation of a socialist personality and a culture of

conformity. According to the definition in the GDR literature, adult education was

intended:

to continue the all-round development of personality, the ability to further develop the

initiatives and creativity of all citizens, to deepen education and training, to impart and

acquire knowledge of Marxism-Leninism and all other sciences, progressive tradition, and

cultural values, to expand the interests and to develop socialist consciousness and socialist

behavior. (Schneider et al., 1988, p. 9; translated by the authors)

Certainly, some core elements of this definition align with democratic concepts of adult

education. The GDR’s definition of adult education, however, placed a strong emphasis

on inculcating a specific (i.e., Marxist-Leninist) ideology. The requirement to form a

specific type of socialist consciousness highlights the political agenda behind the adult

education programs in the GDR, which sought to control the thoughts and beliefs of the

population. This use of adult education diverged from its more traditional conception

following the legacies of the Enlightenment, which strove to support the development of

democratic citizens through the promotion of free inquiry, personal growth, and the

pursuit of knowledge and skills for their own sake (Deutscher Ausschuß für das

Erziehungs- und Bildungswesen, 1960, p. 20).

To the extent that the GDR endorsed lifelong learning and personal development, it

was only within the parameters of a structured state-guided system. The predominant

focus on professional and academic qualifications for adults shaped the adult education

landscape, with a tendency toward homogeneity and significant state intervention through

educational policies. The state, in this context, did not allow for a personal or institutional

autonomy in adult education, emphasizing instead a centralized and directed approach to

learning and development (Knoll, 1999).

The GDR used adult education to shape the adults in its society. ‘Their ways of

thinking and behaving, their emotions and their will are influenced according to a given

ideological norm’ (Siebert, 1970, p. 148; translated by the authors). In cases where

individuals deviated from the ideological norm, the goal was to change their

consciousness and bring them back in line. According to Siebert (1970)1, the GDR

believed that people in a socialist society should never be released from the educational

process at any stage of their lives (p. 149).

The content taught in adult education institutions was tightly controlled by the state,

and it was deemed necessary for all teaching to conform to the state’s ideology. Some

adult education institutions faced criticism for not putting enough emphasis on the

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摘要：

Hoggan-Kloubert,Tetyana;Hoggan,Chad;Luthardt,NicoleAdulteducation,democracy,andtotalitarianism.AcasestudyoftheGermanDemocraticRepublic(1949-1990)EuropeanjournalforResearchontheEducationandLearningofAdults16(2025)1,S.39-57Quellenangabe/Reference:Hoggan-Kloubert,Tetyana;Hoggan,Chad;Luthardt,Nicole:Adu...

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