National Political Institutes of Education

NPEA Student Armbinde (armband)

Patch for uniforms called "Gaudreieck" from school location "Adolf-Hitler-Schule Pirna" in Sonnenstein castle

National Political Institutes of Education (German: Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalten; officially abbreviated NPEA, commonly abbreviated Napola for Nationalpolitische Lehranstalt meaning National Political Institution of Teaching) were secondary boarding schools in Nazi Germany. They were founded as "community education sites" after the National Socialist seizure of power in 1933.

Overview

The goal of the schools was to raise a new generation for the political, military and administrative leadership of the Nazi state. Therefore, life at the NPEAs was dominated by military discipline.^[1] Only boys and girls considered to be "racially flawless" were admitted to the boarding schools. This meant that no children with poor hearing or vision were accepted. "Above-average intelligence" was also required, so that those looking to be admitted had to complete 8-day entrance exams.^[2] The official descriptor (rank) of a Napola cadet was “Jungmann” (plural "Jungmannen"), used similarly to the term “Cadet” in military schools in other countries. Napola cadets were between 11 and 18 years of age.

Life in boys' Napolas was often very competitive and frequently brutal. Approximately one fifth of all cadets failed to meet the required standards or were sent home because of injuries sustained in training accidents.

Library stamp of NPEA Vienna-Theresianum

The percentage of Jungmannen who eventually entered the SS was 13%, much higher than the 1.8% in the general German population.^[3] The National Socialist world view was considered paramount in Napola education. A prominent belief among the cadets themselves was that of "Endsieg" or Final Victory. Many of them were utilized as child soldiers, and were killed in the last months of the war.

The first three NPEAs were founded in 1933 by the Minister of Education Bernhard Rust in Plön, Potsdam and Köslin. The schools responded directly to the Reich Ministry for Education, rather than to any state like regular schools. From 1936, the NPEAs were subordinated to the Inspector of the National Political Institutes of Education and SS Obergruppenführer August Heissmeyer. From 1939, they were part of the Hauptamt Dienststelle SS-Obergruppenführer Heißmeyer. Therewith the schools were under the direct influence of the SS, and Heißmeier pressured teachers to join this organisation. He also considered introducing uniforms and ranks similar to the SS among pupils and teachers. By 1941 there were 30 NPEAs with 6,000 pupils enrolled in all of Nazi Germany. In 1942 there were 33 schools, 30 for boys and 3 for girls. By the end of the war there were 43 schools.

School Locations

Well-known former students

Well-known former students of National Political Institutes of Education include:

• Lothar-Günther Buchheim (author and painter)
• Heinz Dürr (businessman)
• Manfred Ewald (athletic official)
• Alfred Herrhausen (businessman)
• Horst Janssen (printmaker)
• Hellmuth Karasek (journalist and author)
• Hardy Krüger (actor)
• Johannes Poeppel (general)
• Theo Sommer (journalist)
• Rüdiger von Wechmar (diplomat)
• Heinz Hitler (nephew of Adolf Hitler)

Movie

Napola (also known as Before the Fall), a film set in an NPEA, was released in 2004. It was directed by Dennis Gansel and starred Tom Schilling and Max Riemelt. Gansel's grandfather had been a former Napola student.

See also

• Adolf Hitler Schools and SS-Junkerschulen - similar boarding schools.

References

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt.

• Hitler Youth Forum
• Adolf-Hitler-Schulen