Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium (''HBG'') is a

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al secondary school in Bremen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

The ''Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium'' was founded in 1905 as a secondary school for boys at the instigation of the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Therefore, HBG should notably educate a new elite in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

s and

foreign languages A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at sch ...

. This tradition continues to date, as evidenced on the basis of numerous outstanding placings at various competitions and the emphasis of

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and

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 ...

as major fields of study. Students are also able to participate in a number of international conferences, such as

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

(MUN) and Model European Parliaments each year. In 2009, the school hosts the first MUN for middle and high school students in Bremen. Furthermore, the Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium is the only secondary school in Bremen, which still resides in its original building. The school itself was constructed in the style of the ''

Weser renaissance Weser Renaissance is a form of Northern Renaissance architectural style that is found in the area around the River Weser in central Germany and which has been well preserved in the towns and cities of the region. Background Between the star ...

'' and is today under monumental protection. The building is located very central and is close to the central station. From 1933 until 1945, the school was named after

Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...

, a German officer who led the

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...

in German East Africa successfully through

World War I 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 ...

. This post-World War I hero today is controversially discussed, as he was also involved in the abatement of the Herero uprising in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...

. Lettow-Vorbeck often held pro-colonial speeches at the school. Today the school holds a partnership with a Namibian school. After

World War II 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 opposing ...

the school was named after

Hermann Böse Hermann Böse (May 4, 1870, Hemelingen – July 17, 1943, Bremen) was a German music teacher and conductor at the Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium, which was named after him, as well as a communist activist. He was also conductor of the ultra left ...

(1870-1943), a music teacher of the school who was deported by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. Since he was a communist, it was perceived after World War II that he could not serve as an example for students alongside greats like

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

and Kopernikus. So it was decided to name the street after Böse instead, and from then on the institute was referred to as ''Gymnasium an der Hermann-Böse-Straße''. It was not until May 2005 that the school decided the renaming to ''Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium'' from August 2005, since for pupils and the public the school was long known as ''Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium'' for short, or rather in the shortest form ''HBG''. In addition to this it was considered reasonable to connect the values of Böse like

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

, solidarity and humanity directly with the school. Across from the school there is a 7 metre high brick-elephant designed by the sculptor Fritz Behn, inaugurated on 6 July 1932, which became the

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often us ...

of the school. Just like the school the monument changed from a pro-colonial monument to an anti-colonial monument in a ceremonious renaming on 18 May 1990. The Motto of the school is seen on the facade above the main entrance and says "non scholae sed vitae iscimus, in English " e learn,not for school, but for life", in its well-known inversion of the saying of

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

"non vitae sed scholae discimus". From 29 September till 1 October 2005 the school celebrated its centenary.

Building

The ''Charlottenburger architect group'' had won the contest for the construction of a ''Realgymnasium'' in Bremen. The school building was constructed according to their plans from 1903 to 1906. On 19 April 1906 the school first opened its doors to students. The building outlasted World War II relatively undamaged. In 1977 it was the first school building in Bremen to be put under monumental protection, which turned out to be one reason - among others - not to give up the school location ''Hermann-Böse-Straße'' from 1988 to 1989. There are four small statues located above the main entrance. One of them shows

and another one

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

. The other two statues represent

and cosmopolitanism.

External links

Hermann-Böse-Gymnasium official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermann-Bose-Gymnasium Gymnasiums in Germany Schools in Bremen (state) Education in Bremen (city) 1905 establishments in Germany Educational institutions established in 1905

History

Building

See also

External links