Educational Activities in the Danish Refugee Camp for German Refugees after WW2

By the end of WW2, more than 200.000 German refugees came to Denmark in the first months of 1945. They were housed in refugee camps all over the country, some very small and some larger, but all isolated from the Danish society. The German refugees, the camps and the Danish Refugee Administration, have been the subject of interest from many sides (Andreasen & Rasmussen, 2024). The presentation focuses on a specific part of the practice and everyday life of the refugee camps, namely the schools and educational activities that were implemented.
The experiences refugees gain in refugee camps, as well as what they learn in school and education during the stay, they will take with them when they later continue their life in their home country or elsewhere, and can be considered important. However, in many refugee camps, school and education are characterized by being absent or of very poor quality (Dryden-Peterson, 2011). But the management of the Danish camps for the German refugees differed on some points from what might otherwise typically be applied. Important to notice is, that German emigrants who migrated to Denmark during the war played a key role in the planning and practice of this.
Schools and educational activities were attributed a special role in the camps in socializing and educating the refugees into democratic thinking and practice. In building up a democratic Europe educating the new generations to be familiar with democratic principles and practice were important not just for the Germans but in building up a peaceful democratic Europe in general.