There is no such thing like ethical or a special intellectual education at most schools in Germany, so there are pupils who feel the pressure of gaining economical success in later life by passing their school terms smoothly, but if they fail, some are getting mad... like the Amok runner of Winnenden. He obviously didn't know how to succeed emotionally.

There are different reasons for becoming mad-minded in Germany: First of all, there is an aristocratic, selective school-structure emerging from the 19th century, called the 'three-divided school-system' - that means one school for working class pupils (Hauptschule), one for the coming civil servants (Realschule) and one for the privileged élite (Gymnasium) - still dominating in many parts of Germany, especially in the south-west where the Christian Democratic Party, CDU, takes the governmental responsibility - as the political culture in Baden-Wuerttemberg for decades looks like - a much more disintegrated and dehumanized school-system than, for instance, in Britain before the comprehensive Primary- and Secondary School was established in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ideologically Germany has been one of the most disrupted countries in Europe since the days of the 30-years-war between the Protestants and Catholics from 1618 to 1648.

When it comes to questions of education, the political answer often is: "I agree with you to disagree."

A progressive consensus of how to develop a philanthropic and socially integrated society is further away than the nearest neighbouring galaxy.

That's why there is a kind of schizophrenic mood among the native Germans, not the immigrants.
There is a tendency of not trying to understand each other or of developing empathy, patience and friendliness, particularly among the middle-class and upper-class Germans. They are looking for scapegoats again and again and stigmatize other people for their own ignorance.

I would say: Since 1933 something is rotten in the state of Germany.
Germany is still a fragile civilization, built up on engineering progress, but not on terms of humanity and participation.

A well-known German publicist, Dr Ralph Giordano, now in his eighties, a few years ago said in an HR-interview - the broadcasting station of the Federal state of Hesse – Hitler in 1945 was defeated militarily, but not yet intellectually!

The historical darkness of Auschwitz - human selection, physical annihilation and self-destruction - is the psychological underworld of 99% of the Germans even nowadays.

There is still a long way to come forwards in this country with its great tradition of classical composers, poets and expressionist painters, a long way to go for politicians, the educational system, teachers and pupils as well as for the rest of the society.

The Amok run of Winnenden - once more - is a beacon!


From Bremen, Germany, Benjamin Bildung