Unterrichtsentwurf: Die Entwicklung eines nationalen Identitätsbewusstseins in den von Napoleon besetzten Ländern

Nathalie Friedrichs proposes the following lesson plan for the senior classes of the German Gymnasium (grammar-school): „Die Entwicklung eines nationalen Identitätsbewusstseins in den von Napoleon besetzten Ländern“ (The Development of a National Sense of Identity in the Countries Occupied by Napeoleon).The central question, however, is whether this new German national consciousness at the dawn of the 19th century can be traced back to Napoleon’s reign in the Rhineland region or whether it emerged during the wars of liberation as a result of a firm rejection of Napoleon.The following materials will be given to the pupils beforhand: A short preparatory text with essential background information, a pithy quote , and two historical sources, namely the appeal of Ludwig Adolf Peter Graf von Sayn-Wittgenstein to support the war of liberation, and another more francophile source by the physician Adolf Kußmaul. The latter source points in the direction of a positive experience during the time of French occupation and therefore relativises the claim of a German patriotism as a direct result of the war against France. From a didactical viewpoint, the lesson aims to develop the prerequisites for a critical analysis of historical source texts and different points of view on the topic. Finally, a table listing the respective pros and cons of the Napoleonic arguments is sketched out, visualising the perspectives of the students and leading to the final discussion, which should produce answers to the questions of the role of Napoleon for the Germans