''Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule'' (DEO; ar, المدرسة الألمانیة الإنجیلیة الثانویة بالقاهرة) is an exclusive German school in
Dokki,
Giza, Egypt, in the
Cairo metropolitan area. It is operated by the
German Protestant
The religion of Protestantism, a form of Christianity, was founded within Germany in the 16th-century Reformation. It was formed as a new direction from some Roman Catholic principles. It was led initially by Martin Luther and later by John Ca ...
community of Cairo.
History
The initiative for a school was established by the Protestant
congregation
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
of Cairo. The school was built along with a
rectory in the spring of 1873 on land given to the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
von Theremin by the
Khedive Ismail
Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...
. The language of instruction was
French with 15 students attending. On 2 February 1878, there was a dispute about the school's ownership between the church and the school, which resulted in the school's becoming
community owned Community-Managed assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative mechanisms that allow a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.
Benefits of ownership in infrast ...
and adding optional
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
lessons. In 1880, the school further expanded to include 89 students in three classes. There were students of different nationalities with 28
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, 19
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
ians, ten
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
, five
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
, five
Swiss, five
French, four
Syrians, three
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, three
Scots, three
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
ines and one each
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n and
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
n. The school had students of different religions: 41
Muslim students, 19
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, 14
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, seven
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, seven
Copt
Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...
ic and one
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
. After the English conquered Egypt in 1882, English courses were added to the school's curriculum. In 1908, the school was relocated to
Boulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land ava ...
with
primary and
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
facilities. A year later, their first "Einjährigenexamen" (a German secondary education exam) was made before the German examination committee.
Due to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, students stopped going to school and by November 1914 the school was shut down. In 1920, England
liquidated
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...
all the German properties including the community properties in Egypt. On 17 February 1930, the school was reopened with five students attending. In July 1933, the school was relocated to its old location. By 1939, the school had 13 classes with 130 students, but had to be closed again due to the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
On 12 January 1953, the school was reopened with 18 students attending and the addition of a newly established kindergarten. The first director of the school was Artur Hachmeister. The school was than moved to Dr.-Mahmoud-Azmi-Straße 2 in
Zamalek
Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...
. The first "
Reifeprüfung" (high school exam) was done by three female and three male students. On 1 October 1956, an Islam course was added to the school's curriculum which was required by the Egyptian government as of 26 June 1956. In 1957,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
was made a compulsory course for all students attending the school. The graduates of the school were eligible to attend Egyptian universities by January 1958. In 1959, the school's first Arabic division director, Auni Abder Rauf, was appointed. On 1 March 1977, the school was relocated to
Dokki. In 2001, the school added a new course called "koeducative" religion for Muslim and Christian students.
Notable graduates
*
Michael Bochow, sociologist
*
Samih Sawiris
Samih Onsi Sawiris ( ar, سميح أنسي ساويرس, ; born in 1957) is an Egyptian- Montenegrin businessman and billionaire and the second of three sons of Onsi Sawiris, the other two being Naguib Sawiris and Nassef Sawiris. He is the former ...
, entrepreneur
*
Naguib Sawiris
Naguib Onsi Sawiris (or Sawires; ar, نجيب اُنسى ساويرس ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telec ...
, entrepreneur
*
Nassef Sawiris
Nassef Onsi Sawiris ( ar, ناصف أنسي ساويرس; born January 19, 1961) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman, and the youngest of Onsi Sawiris' three sons (his brothers are Naguib and Samih). As of October 2021, his net worth was e ...
, entrepreneur
*
Mohamed El-Sawy, engineer, politician
*
Amr Hamzawy, political scientist, politician, publicist
*
Tarek Kamel
Tarek Kamel (8 May 1962 – 10 October 2019) was an Egyptian politician and computer engineer expert in global Internet governance issues.
Early life and education
Tarek Kamel was born in Cairo, Egypt on 8 May 1962. He graduated from Cairo Univ ...
, Former Minister of Communications
*
Aida el Ayoubi, singer, songwriter and guitarist
[ Aida el Ayoubi]
*
Yasser Shaker, CEO of the French Telecom company Orange
Notable visitors
*On 22 March 1974, Germany's
Chancellor Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
visited the school.
*On 27 February 1978, Germany's Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Before becoming Ch ...
visited the school.
*In 1981, Egyptian president
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
and his wife
Jehan Sadat
Jehan Sadat ( ar, جيهان السادات ''Jihān as-Sadāt'', ; née Safwat Raouf; 29 August 1933 – 9 July 2021) was an Egyptian human rights activist, the First Lady of Egypt from 1970 until her husband's assassination in 1981. As Egypt ...
visited the school.
*In October 1984, Germany's
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Richard von Weizsäcker visited the school.
*On 22 February 2000, Germany's President
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician ( SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In th ...
visited the school.
References
External links
Official Site (German)
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1873
Private schools in Cairo
International schools in Egypt
Schools in Giza
International schools in Greater Cairo
German international schools in Egypt
1873 establishments in Egypt