Country Profiles: Germany - Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

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3.0 Historical Overview Before World War II While the term ‘Cultural Diplomacy‛ might still not be part of mainstream German political vocabulary, its practice has a long tradition in Germany. Even before World War II there were several programmes promoting German culture in the world. Two of the most important examples of German cultural diplomacy today, were already established in 1925. Therefore, it is not possible to understand current-day Germany’s cultural diplomacy efforts without knowing the history of the concept. During the ‘Golden Twenties‛ of the Weimar Republic, the Deutsche Akademie (German Academy) and the ‘Akademische Austauschdienst e.V.‛ (Academic Exchange Service) were founded. However, in the course of Hitler’s dictatorship these institutions were misused for the regime’s propaganda. This was also the case for another historically important event which took place in 1936 in Berlin: the Olympics. 3.1 Deutsche Akademie The Deutsche Akademie was founded on the initiative of a group of scientists from Munich such as Georg Pfeilschifter, President of the University of Munich, or Karl Haushofer, known for his geopolitical research. In 1923 these academics decided to found an institution for cultural work abroad. On the 5th of May 1925 the Deutsche Akademie was established with the aim to foster ‘Germanness’ and to promote non-governmental, cultural relations to other countries as well as Germans living abroad. The members of the academy were made up of mainly national conservatists. Because several other institutions were competing with the ‘Deutsche Akademie‛, the academy experienced a financial crisis during its first years in operation. In order to remedy this situation the organisation started to focus on language education in other countries. In 1930 the first language schools were established in south-east Europe and in 1932 the academy started a division dealing with the education of foreign German teachers, which was named ‘Goethe- Institut‛. Both activities lead to the financial support of the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). With the beginning of Hitler’s dictatorship the ‘Deutsche Akademie‛ was politicised and used to promote national-socialist ideas. In 1941 it had to change its legal status which led to an extensive financial improvement. The workforce grew from 100 to 1000 employees and the academy ran around 250 language schools in occupied or neutral states. Yet, due to the war, the academy’s buildings were destroyed, lecturers had to fight in the army, and eventually, by the end of the war the academy had quit its work. 78 In 1951 the academy was re-opened as the Goethe-Institute. The Institute started out with providing further training for foreign German teachers in Germany and from the 1960s and onwards it took over all of the German cultural institutions abroad, intensifying German foreign cultural policy. Since 1970 the cultural work involving dialogue and partnership has become a great part of German foreign policy. 79 In 1976 the Goethe-Institute and the Foreign Office settled on a general agreement that the institute was to be an independent cultural organisation. In addition to institutes abroad, the Goethe-Institute established institutes within Germany. Already existing institutes were moved to cities and university towns. The unification of the two German states in 1989/1990 marked a turning point in foreign cultural diplomacy as a new focus on Eastern Europe emerged. Today the Goethe- Institute not only provides an access to German language, culture and society, but also promotes international cultural cooperation. The Institute tries to build bridges across cultural and political borders and also to deal with cultural diversity constructively. 80
3.2 Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst The ‘Akademische Austauschdienst‛ was one of the rivaling institutions of the ‘Deutsche Akademie‛. It was established in January 1925 in Heidelberg. A student of social and political sciences, Carl Joachim Friedrich, organised 13 scholarships for German students of social and political sciences in cooperation with the New Yorker Institute of International Education inspired by his own studies in the USA from 1922-1923. Following this initiative the Exchange service for political sciences was founded in Heidelberg. In October the same year, the institution moved its headquarter to Berlin, aiming to organize academic exchanges for all fields of study. The first connections to a foreign country were established in 1927 with a branch in the United Kingdom. France and Hungary followed suit in 1928. From 1930 and onwards all scholarship students had to become part of the alumni group which was established three years before. One year later the exchange service got its final name, ‘Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst‛ (DAAD), under which it also operates today. From 1933 on the DAAD was forced into line with the Nazi regime in Germany but claimed to be continuing work as usual. Many new branches opened over the following years, even after the start of the war. However, in November 1943 all records of the DAAD were destroyed by bombings, forcing the DAAD to halt its work. With the end of the war, the DAAD was officially liquidated. 81 In 1950, simultaneously with the founding of the Federal German Republic, the DAAD was re-launched. It provided scholarships for students who wanted to study in West Germany and also supported German students, interns and trainees in their attempts to study abroad. Since the 1960s the DAAD has set up offices in London, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi and many more. Since the reunification the DAAD is cooperating with all higher education schools and universities in Germany. Today the organisation is represented throughout the world by 14 offices and 50 information centres.
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Country Profiles: Germany - Institute for Cultural Diplomacy

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