Indo-German Exchanges in Education

Rabindranath Tagore visited Germany three times and professed a special affinity to the German people and their culture. In 1930, his final visit, the Indian poet met the German couple Paul and Edith Geheeb, who had started the Odenwaldschule in 1910. They fled from Germany (from the Hitler regime) in 1934 to Switzerland and led their new school, the Ecole D’Humanité, until their death. They followed the innovative education of the Reformpädagogik (New Education Movement) which gave maximum freedom to children to choose their education. Tagore recognized a striking similarity to his school in Santiniketan. Both educators, working in two different cultures and historical situations, came to the same basic conclusions about how education of children should be like in this modern age. The book first discusses the personalities of Paul and Edith Geheeb and offers a brief delineation of their school’s genesis. The meeting with Rabindranath Tagore and its aftermath is given special attention as it still occupies an important place in the collective memory of the Ecole d’Humanité. After a study of the pedagogical principles which guided Tagore and Geheeb, a comparative study of its similarities and dissimilarities follows. Geheeb’s two schools generated Indo-German cultural activities, especially in the field of Sanskrit studies. The schools had numerous Indian guests and Paul and Edith corresponded with several Indian personalities. Edith developed an interest in the activities of the Ramakrishna Mission. In 1953, Indira Gandhi and her sons stayed in the Ecole. In 1965–6, when Edith was 80, she visited India, especially Tagore’s Santiniketan and Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission.