SCHULBÜCHER UNTER DEUTSCHEN IN WANDERERN IN BRASILIEN

Abstract

In the 1890ies, when the influx of immigrants was more intense, Brazil had a highly deficient school system and more than 80% of the population was illiterate. Some groups of immigrants put pressure on the government to have public schools, and others, particularly the most isolated groups in rural areas, invested in the creation of ethnic schools. The German immigrants in Brazil were a small group in comparison with some immigrants groups of other ethnic origins, but they were the ethnic group that invested the most in the ethnic school process. They encouraged school attendance and create a structure to support its functioning (association of teachers, newspaper for teachers, school to train teachers, pension fund, German-Brazilian school days, teacher conferences). These initiatives culminated in a significant production of school books. Up to the present we have identified more than 150 textbooks specifically designed for the German-Brazilian school. Furthermore, they published two newspapers for teachers (one Catholic and one Protestant) from 1900 to 1939 and the journal Das Schulbuch from 1917 to 1939. Since the school process among German immigrants in Brazil has not been much researched, the basic goal of our research was to locate their school books and to index them. Until now 134 textbooks have been located and indexed. This is a significant number if we take into account the conditions that prevailed at that time.