Abstract

The year 1938 constituted a considerable setback concerning French classes, as French was degraded to an insignificant tertiary language as a result of the national-socialist school reform. French was reduced to being a compulsory elective subject at school during the NS regime, even though it had been able to establish its position within the school system before the seizure of power by the Nazis. The status of the French language reached its culmination during the 19th century, shortly before the seizure of power by the Nazis. After many debates on the rank of different languages, it had been established to be the first modern language to be learnt at school. However, its status was withdrawn, or at least reduced, during the national socialist rule and French was placed into a marginal position in the spectrum of school subjects. In addition to a variety of existing analyses concerning the ideological influence on French school books and the research which has been conducted for that matter and which has led to various results, in this article a catalogue of criteria to facilitate the analysis of textbooks will be presented. Furthermore, the development of the status of French as a foreign language during the NS-regime and the extent to which the school book was influenced by Nazi ideology will be discussed. The textbook Französisch für Erwachsene (French for adult learners) by Strohmeyer/Thiele, 1938 will be taken as an exemplary basis for the analysis