German Educational Reconstruction

German Educational Reconstruction (GER) was a voluntary organisation founded in London in 1943 with the aim of helping German refugee educationists to prepare for their post-war return to Germany. The main consideration was the restructuring of the German school system on 'democratic principles'. After World War Two the emphasis shifted toward promoting Anglo-German relations by acting as an information bureau and means of communication and exchange between British and German educationists. GER undertook a wide variety of activities, including organising conferences, lectures, and study groups; co-operating with other voluntary bodies; arranging visits and youth work; publishing and distributing memoranda, pamphlets and textbooks. Several prominent figures were associated with GER, including Eleanor Rathbone, Sir Ernest Barker, Karl Mannheim, Fritz Borinski, S.H. Wood, Erich Hirsch and Fritz Burchardt. It was wound up in 1958.