Uddannelse og oplysning i de danske flygtningelejre efter Anden Verdenskrig

Overview & Synopsis

When the German forces occupying Denmark capitulated in May 1945 several hundred thousand German civilian refugees were staying in the country. They had come from the eastern regions of Germany and had fled west for fear of the Russian soldiers. The refugees were mostly women, children and elderly people because many German men were serving in the military. During the first years after the war, returning to Germany was not possible for these refugees, and for many of them their home region would no longer be part of Germany. So, most of the refugees had to stay in Denmark for several years after the end of the war. They lived in refugee camps around the country, and their everyday life was characterized by cramped conditions, uncertainty, missing family and home and isolation from Danish society. After recognizing the situation, the Danish authorities responded by establishing a refugee administration to ensure orderly and humane conditions in the camps. Among its many activities the refugee administration organized schooling, education and information, much of which was aimed at democratic learning. The refugees themselves had an active and an important role in this. The education and information work in the refugee camps is the focus of this book. It describes and analyses goals and plans developed by Danish authorities, the activities initiated, the cultural and ideological basis for the effort, and the German refugees' experiences of the schooling and information activities.