Education for the National Community? Waldorf Schools in the Third Reich by Peter Staudenmaier
In some ways the particulars of anthroposophical doctrines on nation and race stood in the way of a closer convergence with elements of National Socialism rather than facilitating it. This was nonetheless the shared intellectual territory on which the controversy over Waldorf schools was carried out. To the extent that this complex interplay of ideas resulted in conflict rather than congruence between Waldorf education and its Nazi counterparts, it is tempting to reduce the conflict to a basic ideological incompatibility. In an important sense, however, it was the similarities between anthroposophical and National Socialist views of the world which led to their opposition, not the differences. Waldorf versions of the national community constituted a mirror image of Nazi ideals, one which Nazism itself could not abide.

July 25, 2014

Fairy-tale fallout: rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy has come under scrutiny in a racism row at a New Zealand Steiner school
…two years ago, parents at this Steiner school discovered a darker side to the writings of Rudolf Steiner. They found what Perkins now considers to be “evil, evil white racism”. Over an extraordinary few months, parents and staff left the school in droves. The school has no clear record of numbers. But those we talked to say the racism – and the way the school “vilified” those who spoke out against it – drove out six of Te Ra’s 35 staff members and more than 29 families. It was a huge hit for the roll, which is now 157. Perkins spent more than five years working at Te Ra and sent her children there. “We’ve managed to get ourselves out of something,” she says. “It’s like being woken up – I felt like Snow White, I really did – I felt like the poisoned apple came out of my mouth and I woke up.”

December 22, 2012

“…out of the frying pan and into the fire” review (in English) by Peter Staudenmaier of Ansgar Martins, Rassismus und Geschichtsmetaphysik: Esoterischer Darwinismus und Freiheitsphilosophie bei Rudolf Steiner (Frankfurt: Info3, 2012) – Ansgar Martins has written a perceptive and provocative book about a topic many prefer to avoid: Rudolf Steiner’s racial teachings, a perennial bone of contention between anthroposophists and their critics. It is a sober and discerning account, by far the best to appear from an anthroposophist publisher, and a noteworthy contribution to the historical literature on Steiner and his movement. The book’s approach is nuanced, complex, and sophisticated, taking heed of the contrasting motifs in Steiner’s thinking about nation and race, what Martins aptly terms “Steiner’s wavering between universalism, individualism, cultural chauvinism, and racist stereotypes.”

February 19, 2012

Anthroposophical Spiritual Racism: Karutz by Peter Staudenmaier: How Steiner’s racial teachings were carried on in Germany before and during the Nazi era. “Like Steiner, Karutz portrayed the various racial groups as rungs on the ladder of spiritual progress, with white people at the top. Racial traits, according to Karutz, are both ‘physiological features’ and ‘spiritual facts’; light skin indicates spiritual development and dark skin indicates spiritual debility. Karutz explained that in the ongoing process of racial evolution, the ‘lower races’ are destined to die out, because ‘the so-called natural peoples or primitive peoples that survive today are merely the debased remnants of earlier stages.'” From the Waldorf Critics discussion list.

February 16, 2012

Anthroposophist Spiritual Racism: Uehli by Peter Staudenmaier. How Steiner’s racial teachings were carried on in Germany and in the Waldorf curriculum. “Offering a cosmic explanation for racial differences, Uehli emphasizes that the origin of race lies in the spiritual realm and is expressed in the physical realm. The leading protagonist in this unfolding racial drama is the ‘Aryan race,’ whose members were carefully selected by their cosmically appointed guide. A sharp contrast between racial groups with exceptional biological and spiritual traits, like the specially advanced Aryans, and the large mass of people who do not share these superior traits, runs throughout the text. This fundamental contrast is coupled with the distinction between racial and ethnic groups that ‘lead’ and those that ‘follow’ and the divergence between ‘more advanced’ groups and those that have failed to evolve.” From the Waldorf Critics discussion list.

March 8, 2011

Antisemitism: A Very Short Introduction “… an extended excerpt from a very good basic text explaining the history of antisemitism, a short and accessible book which I recommend highly to anybody interested in informing themselves about the subject.” (Peter Staudenmaier)

March 4, 2011

Letter from the Anthroposophical Society to Adolph Hitler Translated by Tom Mellett and posted to the Waldorf Critics list by him. “The General Anthroposophical Society, which was constituted and founded by Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the year 1923, has assuredly had no dealings of any kind with Freemasonic, Jewish, or pacifist groups, nor even any casual contact with them in any way. Moreover, the Aryan line of descent of Rudolf Steiner was explicitly confirmed by the [Reich’s] ‘Office of Racial Politics’ in Berlin.”

December 18, 2010

From the article by Richard House: It is commonplace in developed Western culture for the slightest whiff of `racism’ to be unconditionally condemned – an understandable balance-restoring tendency, perhaps, when viewed in the context of the Western world’s own disreputable history in these matters. However, an equally interesting and quite new cultural phenomenon, at least in Britain, is the increasing challenge being mounted to what some see as an overbearingly stifling “political correctness” on questions of race. From the rebuttal by Peter Staudenmaier: Scholars have studied racism for a very long time, since decades before the notion of ‘political correctness’ was invented. Whether or not Steiner’s various statements about race are ‘politically correct’ has nothing whatsoever to do with whether those statements are racist. Like other anthroposophists, House appears entirely unaware of the extremely large body of scholarship examining racism in its multifarious forms.

A REFUTATION OF THE ALLEGATION OF RACISM AGAINST RUDOLF STEINER – with Rebuttal

December 16, 2010

Steiner Waldorf Schools Part 3. The problem of racism 279 Comments

2009

Illusion of Coexistence: The Waldorf Schools in the Third Reich, 1933–1941, by Karen Priestman, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2009 – Waldorf school teachers and administrators (as well as most parents) failed to grasp the true ideological and political nature of National Socialism. In their attempt to cooperate with the regime’s Gleichschaltung policies they were misled by its ideas of national renewal and Volksgemeinschaft, and its polycratic character of administration – and, thus, fell victim to the illusion of coexistence in a nazified ‘new Germany.’ (10) This belief represented a fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of National Socialism. It informed and determined all the choices the school leadership made in the Third Reich. Thus, while their level of cooperation increased over time as more extensive demands were made of them, this cannot be equated with collaboration. On the contrary, theirs was a policy of cooperation that allowed for a certain degree of accommodation to ensure survival. In this pursuit of coexistence, the schools were not motivated by an inherent affinity with National Socialism, as some have argued, but by their determination to continue to teach the lessons of Rudolf Steiner.” (23-24) For Peter Staudenmaier’s comments on the dissertation, see: http://www.academia.edu/2429972/Education_for_the_National_Community_Waldorf_Schools_in_the_Third_Reich

January 23, 2009

Steiner & Krishnamurti by Peter Staudenmaier. Posted to the Waldorf Critics discussion list January 23, 2009. “Making sense of Steiner’s indignant attitude toward the Krishnamurti affair requires taking seriously Steiner’s statements about the racial character of Asians, the future direction of racial evolution, the spiritual significance of skin color, the obsolete and inferior nature of Eastern spiritual traditions, and other factors.”

January 21, 2009

Steiner’s Early Nationalism by Peter Staudenmaier. Posted to the Waldorf Critics discussion list January 21, 2009. “In early 20th century Germany, anthroposophy promised a thoroughgoing spiritual renewal that would bring salvation not only to the German people but to the rest of the world as well. What was necessary to reach this goal, according to Steiner, was a return to Germany’s authentic spiritual mission.”

June 8, 2008

Anthroposophists and Antisemitism in Fascist Italy by Peter Staudenmaier. The surprising story of how a co-founder of the Anthroposophical Society in Italy played a leading role in the persecution of Italian Jews.

current on the web

‘Ecology’ and the Modernization of Fascism in the German Ultra-right by Janet Biehl (external link). Includes an analysis of the role of Anthroposophists in contemporary Neo-Nazi movements–see the section “Anthroposophy and the World League for the Protection of Life.”

January, 2008

The Art of Avoiding History: a reply that Peter Staudenmaier wrote to Göran Fant’s article “The Art of Making White into Black.” Both articles were originally published in the Swedish skeptical-humanist magazine Folkvett in 2001. “… this is the one I revised most thoroughly and expanded most extensively; it now includes much more material. Even those who have read it before might find interesting new things in it.”

December, 2007

Anthroposophy and Ecofascism by Peter Staudenmaier. An update of his 2000 article.

December, 2007

Anthroposophy and its Defenders by Peter Staudenmaier and Peter Zegers. An update of their 2000 article.

December, 2007

The Janus Face of Anthroposophy by Peter Staudenmaier and Peter Zegers. An update of their 2000 article.

July 25, 2007

Steiner education in State Schools — Parent Ray Pereira: “…for example, the class wasn’t allowed to use black or brown colours, it was only yellows and reds and certain colours that were allowed to be used. Now this was a little bit of a problem I guess for my kids because they see themselves as being brown, and therefore weren’t allowed to colour themselves as brown…” Transcript of ABC (Australia) broadcast (external link).

October 10, 2004

Race and Redemption: Racial and Ethnic Evolution in Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, by Peter Staudenmaier. Presented to the conference of the American Family Foundation, Atlanta,

October 15, 2004

This article has been accepted by the University of California journal Nova Religio, and is not currently available from PLANS.

August 6, 2004

Waldorf in the Nazi era. Response posted to the waldorf-critics discussion list by Peter Staudenmaier, Aug 6, 2004.

1997 – 2001

Anthroposophie und Antisemitismus: Frequently updated: articles in German from 1997 to the present on the web page of Aktion Kinder des Holocaust.

July 10, 2000

Report Mainz: July 10th, 2000: an unauthorized translation of the news broadcast shown on German national TV on July 10th, 2000 about racism in Waldorf schools.Spring,

1999

Three people reflect on Waldorf Education: Recollections, published in Natural Jewish Parenting.

Spring, 1999

Rudolf Steiner and the Jews by Dan Dugan, published in Natural Jewish Parenting.

Spring, 1999

What every Jewish parent should know about The Waldorf Philosophy by Deborah Salazar, published in Natural Jewish Parenting.

March, 1997

RUDOLF STEINER’s ANTHROPOSOPHY, A NAZI CULT? by Peter Nasselstein. A probing analysis from a devotee of Wilhelm Reich. External link to www.w-reich.de.

September, 1996

The Roots of Racism in Waldorf Schools: Quotations from Rudolf Steiner and other Anthroposophists compiled by Dan Dugan, July 1995, revised September 1996.

1996

Waldorf Salad with Aryan Mayonnaise?: A mother challenges ‘race’ theories in Rudolf Steiner education. By Toos Jeurissen, 1996.

June, 1996

Racism and Waldorf Education by Ray McDermott and Ida Oberman. Research Bulletin: Vol. 1, No. 2 (June, 1996) p. 3, Waldorf Education Research Institute.

February 4, 1995

Racial Ethnography by Robert Sikkes. Zutphen, Netherlands. De Volkskrant, February 4, 1995.

1992

The Swedish anthroposophists and the “Negro problem” by Sven Ove Hansson. Folkvett 1992, No. 1.

Source: http://www.waldorfcritics.org/articles.html#Racism

Through the mediation we, and the school, have arrived at a set of statements concerning the events leading up to the 8th of June 2009, when the school expelled all our children, using loopholes in Private School Law, which the Law Commission happened to simultaneously recommend closing.

After those expulsions, a lot of effort was made by the school’s community to make the problem appear to be all about us, and to destroy our reputation, conveniently side-stepping the bullying issue which testimony shows has been going on at that school for decades.

For instance, on the 29th of June 2009, a meeting was held at the school for the parents of our eldest daughter’s class to discuss the events that led to our children’s expulsions. It was hosted by Mark Thornton and Susan Cole, our eldest daughter’s teacher. We were not invited to attend and only knew of the meeting and what was said at it, because other parents informed us.

During that meeting various slanderous claims were made including but not limited to:

-Our family is very unbalanced;

–The axe incident was all made up;

-Our eldest fabricates stories because we wouldn’t listen to her otherwise;

-She asked to be bullied (no one seemed to notice the obvious contradiction with the previous statement).

On the 20th of September 2009 Mark Thornton stated to a curious parent:

“the school has investigated all incidents reported by this family and has found them to be without substance.”

Richard Lee, a parent, added his voice to other derogatory comments on the Aucklander article from the 15th of July 2010 in which he said:

“the real story here is about two thugs who want to tear down a cherished community asset because the school dared to stand up to their unsatisfactory and inappropriate demands.”

This is just a very small sample of what we’ve had to endure during these three and a half years.

Compare those smears with the statements the school eventually signed off on with Human Rights involvement:

1. Titirangi Rudolph Steiner School (TRSS) accepts that the Paris Garden’s eldest child’s accounts were honest and that her actions in reporting bullying were fully commensurate with the school policy which emphasises the importance of telling both teachers and parents.

2. The class was a mixed-age class of 17 boys and 5 girls. There were many boys in the class who were nearly two years older than the Paris Garden’s daughter.

3. TRSS acknowledges that some children in the class displayed bullying behaviour.  

4. The Paris Garden’s middle child was very happy in the kindergarten right up until her place was withdrawn in response to her parents’ actions. The middle child had been happy in the kindy for over a year with no problems whatsoever and was settled with her teacher and her friends.

5. The Paris Garden’s youngest daughter was happy in the play group and registered to begin nursery in 2010.

6. In retrospect, TRSS regrets not going through with the meeting scheduled for Monday 8 June 2009, and acknowledges that the Paris Gardens had invited a parent representative to that meeting who was knowledgeable about socially inclusive ways of addressing bullying.

7. TRSS acknowledges that Steve and Angel’s words and actions (behaviour) in continuing to try and address the issues of bullying with TRSS, as they were advised and encouraged to do in all conversations with all TRSS staff, arose out of their natural and dutiful concern as parents for the safety of their child and concern for the wellbeing of other children in the class.

It’s a fact that our settlement arose only because of our publications. Without them, we would never have come to the attention of the Human Rights Commission, without whose help the school would undoubtedly still be playing the “we’re much too important to talk to you” and “we haven’t done anything wrong” cards. Even with Human Rights involvement, on the 9th of May 2011 their response was still to refuse mediation, saying:

“The school doesn’t consider it has in any way breached the Human Rights Act. It feels strongly that it has conducted itself fairly and civilly with Ms Garden and Mr Paris regarding the enrolment of their daughters.”

One of the good things about our settlement, is that it involves no confidentiality (gagging) clause whatsoever. Had we not settled in mediation but taken it to the Tribunal it is possible that there would have been suppression of the name of the school, whether we had won the case or not. So this is definitely a much better outcome since we are still free to let others know what happened here.

We hope this result can be of help to others, not just those experiencing similar problems at Steiner Schools worldwide, but certainly also at New Zealand private schools, still totally unregulated, as well as to anyone whose justified concerns about bullying are being ignored or demonised.

We want to encourage others not to listen to those who tell you to either publish or seek due process. We now believe, through this experience, that doing both simultaneously can be pretty effective, even if it does incur aggressive smearing.

Our settlement also shows clearly to all that we preferred to mediate rather than to litigate, as we have tried to do since the very beginning, and the statements we have agreed with the school also demonstrate that the vendetta that has been mounted against our family, was simply due to our supporting our daughter in asking them to make good with regard to their own policy on bullying.

The statements show that the school knows perfectly well that we have a legal duty to protect our children from bullying, including emotional bullying as well as physical assault. Also that we were deceived by the school into believing that they intended to deal with the bullying, and that we were encouraged in that belief by all the staff.

Obviously these statements do not go as far as to accept liability, and that’s the value to the school of settling in mediation, but we as a family, and that includes the children, feel that they do show clearly that we did absolutely nothing wrong, but that the school acted to protect the bullying at all times. Send your children there at their peril.

The process of pursuing this matter, has raised many further questions specifically about Steiner and bullying which we shall return to elsewhere.

The school has also agreed a modest payment of NZ$9,000 to our children. Let’s be very clear that this in no way reflects what it has cost us, even just financially, to follow this situation through. But we always said it was not about the money, and we meant it; neither could money possibly undo the damage that was done.

So that’s it. We will be tidying up this site, and adding testimonials from other families in due course, so that people can see how long this school has been treating others in this high-handed manner. We will not take this site down, nor have we been asked to.

We feel that people should know, not only that the school expelled bullied children but that they made us work for a full three and a half years to get them to admit it.

Not only does the result prove that what we’ve said consistently about the bullying was true, our daughter followed school policy and yet the school failed in its promises to take the bullying seriously.

The smears and judgements we suffered all turn out to be projections, and that matters because this is not some intellectual exercise, but a situation that damaged our family, and we are sharing it only because we think it’s useful.

Of course we hope the school will examine their shocking attitude to bullying problems that arise, but feel no confidence whatsoever that they will do so.

Without breaching the confidentiality of the mediation process, we can, and feel it’s important to, disclose that the school claimed poverty when it came to shelling out to make this situation go away. Not only that, but even having agreed to settle and pay, they actually went as far as to claim that they wouldn’t be able to pay until March when… wait for it… they get their Government grant.

Yes that’s right, this Steiner school, who proudly threw out the children on the basis that as a totally independent private school, they could do whatever they like, then said they couldn’t pay until the Government bailed them out with a hand-out. Supreme irony? We think so.

So why doesn’t the school have enough money, not just to pay their Human Rights abuses fines, but even to pay all their teachers? Why was there a teacher working for nothing up there during the last school year?

Here’s our advice. Stop shooting the messenger and run a better school.

Steve Paris & Angel Garden

Addendum (26 January 2013):

Here’s a link to a scanned copy of the original signed statements. The only parts removed are our daughters’ names and the technical details of the agreed payment.

Source: https://titirangisteinermessenger.com/News/Entries/2013/1/three-and-a-half-years.html