Abstract
This dissertation examines how textbook authors from France, Denmark, and Norway presented the Second World War, specifically the invasion, occupation, resistance, Jewish persecution, and liberation, from the immediate postwar period through the 1980s. These wartime experiences were central to the formation of national narratives. The dissertation breaksdown assumptions of a great silence after the war by showing that in the early years after liberation, textbook writers presented the war in nuanced ways within national frameworks.
This dissertation argues that 1960 marked a watershed moment due to the extension of mandatory education. This reform presented an opportunity to develop new sets of textbooks for an older student audience. The ensuing debates demonstrate the struggle within the history subject to embrace a moral education. After 1960, educational reforms and increasing international influence, particularly from UNESCO, reshaped how history was taught. Authors slowly moved away from national myths and embraced more critical, transnational, and ethical approaches to the war. The rise in student-centered pedagogy and human rights education marked a profound shift in both content and purpose, especially in how the Holocaust was taught.
Although the post-1960 period is often associated with secularization, this dissertation reveals that religious frameworks still played a role in shaping historical understanding. Through a comparative study of textbooks, curricula, and educational debates, this dissertation traces the transformation of history education into a space for moral reflection and international awareness.