Schule am Meer explained

Schule am Meer (Hebrew: בית ספר ליד הים,), also known as S.a.M. or SaM, was a private boarding school on the East Frisian island of Juist in the Free State of Prussia of the Weimar Republic, located between Wadden Sea and North Sea. The school was co-educational and combined elements of holistic and progressive education.

Operation and key people

The boarding school was operated by Stiftung Schule am Meer, a private foundation whose board of trustees consisted of the Swiss educator (1884–1961),[1] the Austrian painter Fritz Hafner,[2] the German industrialist, art collector and patron of the arts Alfred Hess from Erfurt in Thuringia, the progressive educator Martin Luserke from Berlin,[3] the social scientist Elisabeth Jaffé, née Freiin von Richthofen originating from Lorraine, and the chemist (1886–1932) from Nuremberg in Franconia.[4] [5] Aeschlimann, Hafner, Luserke and Reiner were active teachers at S.a.M. and among the school's founders. The foundation got co-financed by the Prussian state.[6] [7] [8] Still most funds had to be brought up by the board of trustees, by the student's parents via tuition payments, by monetary donations or contributions in kind.[9] Most musical instruments of the boarding school got donated by Robert Wichard Pohl,[10] a Steinway grand piano was donated by Paul Reiner's wife (1891–1972), née Hochschild,[11] a qualified nurse helper who also acted as a substitute teacher for the elementary/primary and the intermediate/lower secondary level.[12]

Historical significance

Schule am Meer was the first progressive school in Germany to be set up on an island in the sea. It is considered the first regular German open air school, which from grade 5 to grade 13 led to graduation (Reifeprüfung, Abitur).[13] Due to its open air status, in some cases it was chosen by parents of children and youth with health issues like bronchial asthma, which for instance affected the Austrian mountaineer and S.a.M. student Ulrich Sild (1911–1937) from Vienna who graduated at Schule am Meer in March 1931.[14]

It was the only German school that built its own free-standing theatre hall in 1930/31, right during Great Depression, which was also intended to train amateur play teachers throughout German Reich.[15] [16] This and the remaining other large building Arche (= Ark) of the former school today are due to demolition.

Curriculum

In contrast to most state-run schools, it placed a special emphasis on training its students in the visual and performing arts, sports,[17] crafts and gardening.[18] [19] It also considered scientific, artistic and sporting subjects as of equal value.[20] [21]

Boarding

The boarding school existed from the beginning of May 1925 to the end of March 1934 and quickly developed some national reputation,[22] amongst others by its orchestra and choir, both founded and conducted by the most talented concert pianist, composer and music educator Eduard Zuckmayer, but most notably by its stage play.[23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

External support

It got support by senior guest students and teachers from England, France and the United States,[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] especially for language classes and stage plays, the latter performed in German, English and French.[36] [37] [38] [39]

Despite being competitors there was also some support among the progressive schools throughout German Reich, a temporary exchange of students and teachers as well as visits of senior classes for topical discussions like from, led by progressive educator (1885–1951), née as Fritz Krakauer.[40] Among other visitors had been progressive Protestant educator (1877–1955) with his students.[41]

Democratic tendencies

Schule am Meer was practicing "grassroots democracy" with a tendency to non-hierarchical structures. Students and teachers were considered as of equal rights and duties. Students actively helped shape the lessons.[42] All individuals of the Schulgemeinde (= school community), which acted as the boarding school's "legislative council" participated in a shared decision-making process. Comradeships, the subdivisions of the community were formed out of about ten students of different age and sex, not related to classes in any way. As a leader of each comradeship, a teacher was characterized as "primus inter pares" and got addressed either by first name or nickname, the latter sometimes an abbreviation or a cacography of the teacher's surname. Those comradeships were named as Bears, Bulls,[43] Dolphins,[44] Foals,[45] Seals,[46] Penguins,[47] Pinnipeds, Vultures[48] and Wolves,[45] [49] created their logos and raised their own pennants. The comradeships turned out similar to a family-like structure, out of which most life-lasting friendships between many of the students and teachers emerged.

Closure

The boarding school was closed due to Nazi "Gleichschaltung" and state-run anti-Semitism, forcibly carried out by the islanders of Juist who already denounced the boarding school as Jewish since its foundation in 1925.[50] Several of the students and their parents as well as some teachers had to emigrate from Nazi Germany due to political or anti-Semitic prosecution. They went to North and South America, South Africa, Mandatory Palestine, Spain, France, England, Switzerland and other places, where several of them were able to make an encyclopedically relevant career in the industry, in sciences, in the arts, in photography or in journalism. All of them spread the word and shared their memories about a unique boarding school on a remote island in the sea.[51]

Related people (selection)

The following list is focussing on those related people who got a biography at the English Wikipedia, so it is no representative cross section, but already containing major names.

References

53.6756°N 6.9631°W

Notes and References

  1. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 3 (Rudolf Aeschlimann, Switzerland). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  2. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 6 (Fritz Hafner, Vienna). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  3. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 1 (Martin Otto Rudolf Luserke, Berlin). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  4. Prof. Dr. Peter Dudek: „Versuchsacker für eine neue Jugend“. Die Freie Schulgemeinde Wickersdorf 1906–1945. Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2009,, p. 59
  5. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 5 (Dr. Paul Reiner, Nuremberg). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  6. https://recherche.staatsarchiv.hamburg.de/ScopeQuery5.2/detail.aspx?ID=263397 Beihilfe für den Bühnenfonds der Stiftung Schule am Meer in Juist
  7. https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/BWUVWNKVLTT4OEMR7SAK4KE3O4ORK5Q7?isThumbnailFiltered=false&query=Schule+am+Meer+Juist Stiftung Schule am Meer, Juist
  8. https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/5RHEA3KGGLQH44XMEABWKP6RAFX7YK7X Luserke, Martin – Stiftung Schule am Meer, Juist/Ostfriesland
  9. https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/KEBQEHAKLGP3YYGWCBA7GPT2MLLTO7CX Staatskommissar für die Regelung der Wohlfahrtspflege in Preußen: Schule am Meer, Juist – Antrag zur Sammlung von Geldspenden zugunsten eines Hallenbaus zur Verbesserung der kulturellen und sportlichen Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten
  10. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 22nd April, 1932. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  11. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 11st March, 1932. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  12. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 4 (Anni Reiner, Frankfurt am Main). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  13. Margarita Schweitzer: Andrés Manjón – ein spanischer und christlicher Reformpädagoge. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1987., p. 76
  14. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 83 (Ulrich Sild). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  15. Martin Luserke: Zum Abschluss – An die Mitglieder unserer Außengemeinde, 15. Oktober 1934. In: Blätter der Außengemeinde der Schule am Meer Juist (Nordsee) [''S.a.M.''{{'s}} periodical], November 1934, pp. 1–3
  16. Dr. Herbert Giffei: Martin Luserke – Reformpädagoge, Dichter, Theatermann – Gründer und Leiter der Schule am Meer auf der Nordseeinsel Juist (1925–1934). K. Neubauer, Lüneburg 1990,, p. 75
  17. Dr. Alexander Priebe: Vom Schulturnen zum Schulsport. Die Reform der körperlichen Ausbildung in den Deutschen Landerziehungsheimen und der Freien Schulgemeinde Wickersdorf von 1898 bis 1933. Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2007., pp. 21, 181
  18. Ulrich Schwerdt: Der Reformpädagoge Martin Luserke und seine Schule am Meer. Term paper, University Paderborn, Faculty 2, Paderborn 1986
  19. Dr. Hans Peter Schöniger: Die Bildung des ganzen Menschen – Zur Geschichte eines reformpädagogischen Ideals. Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2004., pp. 420ff.
  20. Prof. Dr.
  21. Prof. Dr. Jörg W. Ziegenspeck (Ed.): Martin Luserke. Reformpädagoge – Dichter – Theatermann; Gründer und Leiter der Schule am Meer auf der Nordseeinsel Juist (1925–1934) (= Wegbereiter der modernen Erlebnispädagogik, 6). Neubauer, Lüneburg 1990,
  22. Dr. Winfried Mogge: Luserke, Martin. In: Deutsche Biographie, at: deutsche-biographie.de
  23. Prof. Dr.
  24. Franz L. Pelgen: Das Laienspiel und die Spielweise Martin Luserkes. Thesis, Ludwig Maximilians University, Philosophical Faculty, Munich 1957.
  25. Prof. Dr. Wilfried Gruhn: …und wir sind immer noch im Aufbruch. Eduard Zuckmayer – Musiker und Pädagoge im Umbruch der Jugendbewegung. In: Forum Musikpädagogik – Musikpädagogische Forschungsberichte, Vol. 6, Wissner, Augsburg 1993, pp. 450–465
  26. Prof. Kurt Sydow: Eduard Zuckmayer zum 70. Geburtstag. In: Musik im Unterricht, 1960, pp. 264–265
  27. Zuckmayer, Eduard. In: Walter Killy: Dictionary of German Biography, Vol. 10: Thiebaut – Zycha. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2006,, p. 731
  28. Alfred Ehrentreich: Martin Luserkes Vision des Shakespeare-Theaters. In: Bildung und Erziehung. Vol. 4/1965. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1965, pp. 284–295
  29. Dr. Herbert Giffei: Martin Luserke und das Theater. Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Spiel und Amateurtheater in Nordrhein-Westfalen (Hrsg.). Recklinghausen 1979,
  30. D. P., Nancy [= Dominique Picard]: Eindrücke eines französischen Gastschülers von der Schule am Meer (= Impressions by a French guest student of Schule am Meer). In: Stiftung Schule am Meer (Hrsg.): Blätter der Außengemeinde der Schule am Meer Juist, 9. Rundbrief, August 1931, pp. 15–16
  31. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 142 (Jean Crussard, France). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  32. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 143 (François Crussard, France). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  33. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 168 (Dominique Picard, France). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  34. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 194 (Jean France-Lanord, France). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  35. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 190 (Thomas José René Herrán, Colombia). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  36. Englisches Theater in der Schule am Meer. In: Stiftung Schule am Meer (Hrsg.): Blätter der Außengemeinde der Schule am Meer Juist, 9. Rundbrief, August 1931, pp. 12–15
  37. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 17 (Lennox Bain Dickinson, England). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  38. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 33 (Ellen Musgrave, England). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  39. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 24 (Jeanne Laumain, France). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  40. Prof. Dr. Christa Uhlig: Reformpädagogik und Schulreform: Diskurse in der sozialistischen Presse der Weimarer Republik; Quellenauswahl aus den Zeitschriften „Die Neue Zeit“ / „Die Gesellschaft“ und „Sozialistische Monatshefte“ (1919–1933). Peter Lang Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2008,, p. 95
  41. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 4th June, 1929. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  42. Dr. Hans Peter Schöniger: Es war einmal eine Schule am Rande der Welt… In: Deutsche Lehrerzeitung, 42/1995, No. 5, February 1995, p. 15
  43. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 10th May, 1932. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  44. Die Schule am Meer auf Juist. In: Gesine zu Münster (Ed.), Oswald zu Münster: Fototagebuch Band 1 – Aufenthalt in den Landschulheimen Schule am Meer auf Juist und in Marienau 1931–1937. Bei der Olympiade 1936, Berlin. FTB-Verlag, Hamburg 2015., pp. 3–5
  45. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 24th May, 1933. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  46. Prof. Dr. Gunther Nickel, Johanna Schrön (Ed.): Geheimreport. Wallstein, Göttingen 2002., p. 161
  47. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 28th November, 1931. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  48. Logbook of Schule am Meer, Juist, entry dated 12th May, 1932. In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  49. Prof. Dr. Peter Dudek: Versuchsacker für eine neue Jugend – Die Freie Schulgemeinde Wickersdorf 1906–1945. Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2009., p. 293
  50. Thomas Aititsch: Eine Schule am Meer… In: Schule, Vol. 225, Landesschulrat für Steiermark (Ed.), Graz, November 2010, pp. 6–7
  51. Prof. Dr. Andreas Lischewski, Prof. Dr. Janne Fengler: New Schools – Écoles Nouvelles – Landerziehungsheime. Zum historischen Auftakt reformpädagogisch motivierter Schulversuche. In: Prof. Dr. Heiner Barz (Ed.): Handbuch Bildungsreform und Reformpädagogik. Springer, Berlin 2017,, pp. 229–241
  52. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 109 (Gottfried Bruno Ahrends, son of Bruno Ahrends, architect, Berlin). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  53. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 208 (Annemarie Martha Bondy, daughter of Max Bondy, headmaster, Marienau). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  54. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 63 (Gerhard Bry, son of pharmacist Isaac Bry, Berlin). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  55. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 111 (Peter Döblin, son of Alfred Döblin, MD and writer, Berlin). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  56. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 41 (Heinz Friedrich Hartig, Kassel). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  57. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 11 (Hans Hess, son of industrialist Alfred Hess, Erfurt). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  58. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 221 (Beate Dorothea Köstlin, daughter of manor owner Otto Köstlin, Wargenau). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  59. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 16 (Walter Georg Kühne, son of painter Wilhelm Kühne, Jamlitz). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  60. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 232 (Anna Maria Dora Felicitas Kestner, daughter of university professor Otto Kestner). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  61. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 59 (Karl Siegfried Ludwig, legal guardian: Paula Ludwig, writer, Berlin). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  62. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 26 (Dr. phil. Heinrich Karl Ernst Martin Meyer, Nuremberg). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  63. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 163 (Friedrich Rolf Pappiér, son of merchant Gustav Pappiér, Bremen). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  64. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 1 (Hans Rasmussen, son of Jørgen Rasmussen, factory owner, Zschopau). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  65. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 2 (Ove Rasmussen, son of Jørgen Rasmussen, factory owner, Zschopau). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  66. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 12 (Arne Rasmussen, son of Jørgen Rasmussen, factory owner, Zschopau). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  67. Student's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 49 (Werner Rings, son of architect Josef Rings, Essen). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37
  68. Berichte der Schule am Meer Juist (Nordsee) – Zusammenfassender Bericht über die beiden ersten Jahre der Schule 1925–1927, No. 7, p. 15
  69. Bruno Jahn: Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie der Musik, Band 2: S – Z. K. G. Saur, München 2003,, p. 963
  70. Luserke, Martin. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie, Vol. 15. Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Historische Kommission. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1987,, p. 533
  71. Teacher's records of Schule am Meer, Juist, p. 9 (Eduard Zuckmayer, Nackenheim). In: Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel (= Schleswig-Holstein State Library in Kiel), Legacy Luserke, Martin, call number Cb 37

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