Bernhard Rust | |
|---|---|
 Rustc.1934 | |
| Reich Minister of Science, Education and Culture | |
| In office 1 May 1934 – 30 April 1945 | |
| Leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Gustav Adolf Scheel |
| Prussian Minister for Science, Culture and Public Education | |
| In office 2 February 1933 – 1 May 1934 | |
| Leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Wilhelm Kähler [de] |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Gauleiter of South Hanover-Brunswick | |
| In office 1 October 1928 – November 1940 | |
| Leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Hartmann Lauterbacher |
| Gauleiter of North Hanover | |
| In office 22 March 1925 – 30 September 1928 | |
| Leader | Adolf Hitler |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Additional positions | |
| 1933—1945 | Member of thePrussian State Council |
| 1933—1945 | Member of theReichstag (Nazi Germany) |
| 1932 | Landesinspekteur forLower Saxony |
| 1930—1933 | Member of theReichstag (Weimar Republic) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karl Josef Bernhard Rust (1883-09-30)30 September 1883 |
| Died | 8 May 1945(1945-05-08) (aged 61) |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Resting place | Neuberend |
| Political party | NSDAP |
| Other political affiliations | German Völkisch Freedom Party |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Johann Franz Rust (father) Josefa Deppe (mother)[1] |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Cabinet | Hitler Cabinet |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  German Empire |
| Branch/service | Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant |
| Unit | Infantry Regiment 368 Infantry Regiment 232 |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class |
Bernhard Rust (30 September 1883 – 8 May 1945) was Minister of Science, Education and National Culture (Reichserziehungsminister) inNazi Germany.[2] A combination of school administrator and zealous Nazi, he issued decrees, often bizarre, at every level of the German educational system to immerse German youth in Nazi ideology. He also served as the partyGauleiter in Hanover and Brunswick from 1925 to 1940.[1]
Rust was born inHanover and obtained a doctorate in German philology and philosophy. After passing the state teaching examination with the grade"gut" (i.e. "good")[3] in 1908, he became a high school teacher at Hanover's Ratsgymnasium, then served in the army duringWorld War I. He reached the rank ofOberleutnant, served as a company commander and was awarded theIron Cross first and second class for bravery. He was wounded in action and sustained a severe head injury, which caused serious mental and physical impairments for the rest of his life. He was discharged in December 1918 and returned to Hanover.[4]
Rust joined theNazi Party in 1921 and was a cofounder of theOrtsgruppe (Local Group) in Hanover. When the party was banned in the aftermath of theBeer Hall Putsch, Rust joined theGerman Völkisch Freedom Party and served as anOrtsgruppenleiter and later asGauleiter for Hanover. When the ban on the Nazi Party was lifted, he rejoined it (membership number 3,390). On 22 March 1925, he was namedGauleiter for theGau of North Hanover. On 10 September 1925, Rust joined theNational Socialist Working Association headed byGregor Strasser. This was an association of northern and westernGauleiter who supported the "socialist" wing of the Party until it was dissolved in 1926 following theBamberg Conference.[5]
When theGaue were reorganised on 1 October 1928, Rust became theGauleiter forSouthern Hanover–Brunswick. He retained that position until November 1940, when he was succeeded byHartmann Lauterbacher.[6] In September 1930, he was elected to theReichstag from electoral constituency 16,South Hanover-Braunschweig. He would retain thisReichstag seat through the end of the Nazi regime in 1945. On 15 July 1932 came his appointment asLandesinspekteur forLower Saxony. In that position, he had oversight responsibility for hisGau and four others (Eastern-Hanover, North Westphalia, South Westphalia & Weser-Ems). That was a short-lived initiative byGregor Strasser to centralise control over theGaue. However, it was unpopular with theGauleiter and was repealed on Strasser's fall from power in December 1932. Rust then returned to hisGauleiter position in Southern Hanover-Brunswick.[7]
Shortly after Hitler became chancellor in January 1933, Rust was appointed as the Prussian Minister for Science, Culture and Public Education on 2 February. He was made a member of thePrussian State Council on 11 July and theAcademy for German Law when it was formed in October 1933.[8] On 1 May 1934, he was selected asReichsminister of Science, Education and National Culture (Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung) and set about to reshape the German educational system to conform to his ideals of Nazism. Considered by many to be mentally unstable, Rust would capriciously create new regulations and then repeal them just as quickly. One noted example was in 1935, when he changed the traditional six-day school week to five days, with Saturday to be "Reich's Youth Day", when children in theHitler Youth and theLeague of German Girls would be out of school for study and testing. He then ordered the creation of a "rolling week", with six days for study, followed by the "youth day" and a rest day, in eight-day periods. Thus, a rolling week starting on Monday would end with rest on the following Monday. The next rolling week would start on Tuesday and end eight days later on the next Tuesday. When the eight-day week proved unworkable, Rust went back to the former system.[9]
It was Rust who in 1933 issued a rule that students and teachers should greet each other with the Nazi salute "as a symbol of the new Germany". He added his opinion that it was "expected of every German", regardless of membership in the party.[10] Rust was instrumental in purging German universities of Jews and others regarded as enemies of the state, most notably at theUniversity of Göttingen. Nazi Germany's future leaders received their instruction elsewhere, in anNPEA, or "Napola" (NAtionalPOLitische erziehungsAnstalten), of which there were 30 in the nation, where they would receive training to become administrators of conquered provinces.[11]
He bluntly informed teachers that their aim was to educate ethnically aware Germans.[2] Rust also believed that non-Aryan science (such asAlbert Einstein's "Jewish physics") was flawed and had what he felt to be a rational explanation for that view. In an address to scientists, he said, "The problems of science do not present themselves in the same way to all men. The Negro or the Jew will view the same world in a different light from the German investigator".[12]Erika Mann, the daughter ofThomas Mann, wrote an exposé of the Rust system in 1938,School for Barbarians, followed in 1941 byGregor Ziemer'sEducation for Death.
Rust reportedly committed suicide on 8 May 1945, when Germany surrendered to Allied forces.[13]
Rust prepared a reform of Germanorthography, and his fairly-extensive version corresponded to the ideas of the spelling reformers of the 1970s (lowercase common nouns, elimination of lengthening symbols). The attempt met internal resistance within the Reich's ministry. TheGerman orthography reform of 1944 also failed.
Before those failures, the rules of the reform had been printed in millions of copies intended for classroom use and published in numerous newspapers. The 1944 reform was postponed on the orders of Hitler because it was "not important for the war effort". Some of Rust's innovations had, however, found their way into the 1942Duden, such as the spelling of the wordKautsch forCouch, which persisted into the 1980s.
Many of the proposed changes were finally implemented with theGerman orthography reform of 1996.
