Centralism versus Particularism

Abstract

Shortly after the establishment of the first NPEA in Prussia, ‘copy-cat’ Napolas were swiftly established by the educational authorities in Saxony, Anhalt, and Württemberg—an initiative which did not always meet with the Reich Education Ministry’s whole-hearted approval. This chapter charts the—ultimately successful—attempts by the NPEA authorities to centralize the Napola system and place the Napolas in the federal states outside Prussia under the sole power of the Reich. From this perspective, the NPEA can be seen as a bellwether for the type of fully centralized ‘reformation of the Reich’ (Reichsreform or Verreichlichung) which the National Socialist regime desired to effect not only in the realm of education, but in all spheres of government, devolving power and autonomy from the federal states to Berlin. The cases of the schools at Klotzsche in Saxony, Ballenstedt in Anhalt, and Backnang and Rottweil in Württemberg, are each considered in detail. In conclusion, the chapter sites the NPEA-Inspectorate’s efforts to create a Reich-wide educational system within the context of broader impulses towards centralization within the Nazi state.