Paula Fürst
Encyclopedia
Paula Fürst was a German reform educator of Jewish descent.
of November 1938, Leo Baeck offered Paula Fürst the position of head of all Jewish schools in Germany which she accepted. She also accompanied many children of the Kindertransport
to London but refused to stay abroad although life for Jews in Germany had become unbearable and the beginning of World War II was imminent.
on June 24, 1942 together with 201 people. It is alleged that she died in a death camp, possibly Auschwitz, later that year.
Education and early development
Paula Fürst was born in Głogów to Otto Fürst, a Jewish merchant and Malvine Fürst, née Rosenberg. Following the untimely and early death of her father, Paula moved to Berlin together with her mother and her older sister. During her studies in French and History she became acquainted with the principles of Montessori education and was deeply impressed with this "new way of education". She obtained a Montessori diploma through studies in Berlin and Rome and became head of the first Montessori class in Berlin. In addition, she was a frequent lecturer on pedagogical topics.Life and work under the Nazi regime
According to Nazi ideology, the Montessori method was mainly propagated by "Jewish elements" and contributed to selfish and anti-national behavior. Consequently, Paula Fürst was forced to resign from her position as teacher in 1933. In the same year, she became head teacher of the Theodor Herzl School of Berlin, a Zionist school with 600 students. As the Nazis tightened the grip on Jewish life in Berlin and Germany, conditions at the Herzl School deteriorated rapidly. Following the KristallnachtKristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
of November 1938, Leo Baeck offered Paula Fürst the position of head of all Jewish schools in Germany which she accepted. She also accompanied many children of the Kindertransport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
to London but refused to stay abroad although life for Jews in Germany had become unbearable and the beginning of World War II was imminent.
Deportation and death
Paula Fürst was arrested on June 19, 1942 and deported to MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
on June 24, 1942 together with 201 people. It is alleged that she died in a death camp, possibly Auschwitz, later that year.
Publications
- Manfred Berger: Recherchen zur Situation des Kindergartenwesens im Dritten Reich, in: Unsere Jugend, 1988/H. 2, S. 64 ff.
- Manfred Berger: Paula Fürst - eine in Vergessenheit geratene Montessori-Pädagogin, in: Montessori. Zeitschrift für Montessori-Pädagogik, 2005/H. 3, S. 147 ff.
- Manfred Berger: Führende Frauen in sozialer Verantwortung: Paula Fürst, in: Christ und Bildung, 2005/H. 4, S. 27
- Martin-Heinz Ehlert: Paula Fürst. Aus dem Leben einer jüdischen Pädagogin. Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-938414-76-6.
Web references
- http://www.berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/bezirk/lexikon/textehlert.html
- http://www.berlingeschichte.de/strassen/Bez17a/P627.htm