Schmidt's Girls College (SGC; ; ) is an international German school for

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

girls, located in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

. It was founded in 1886 and approximately 500 pupils attend the school today. It includes a ''

grundschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government only playing a minor role. While kindergarten (nursery school) is optional, formal education is compulsory for a ...

'' (primary school) program, as well as the (DIAP, German International

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

) program.Information on the German International Abitur (DIAP)
" ''Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem''. Retrieved on 23 January 2015. It also offers a Tawjihi program. Although it is owned and supported by the German Association of the Holy Land, it is currently in the care of the international convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Jesus. Lessons are taught in German and the spoken language outside of class is English. The teaching staff is composed of both Arab and German teachers.

History

Ottoman period: "Old Hospice" building

In 1886 a school for Arab girls was established in the

Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem The Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (, ; , , ), also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem, was a district in Ottoman Syria with special administrative status established in 1872.Büssow (2011), p5Abu-Manneh (1999), p39Jankowski & Gershoni (1997), p174 T ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, in the newly built " Old Hospice", which it shared with a pilgrims hospice and a medical station, at what is today number 25 on Hillel Street, a street leading east towards the Jaffa Gate. The school and the medical station were under the care of a convent of the Catholic Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo. In 1890, the German Lazarist, Father (1833-1907) took on the administrative role for the school, developing it until his fatal accident. The school takes its name from him. The pupils' numbers grew from 36 in 1890 to approximately 120 in 1914, and to 138 in 1915. The syllabus followed the learning plans of German state schools. During

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

's journey through

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, he also paid a visit to the Schmidt's Girls College. At a meeting with him, Wilhelm Schmidt suggested building a new bigger and more suitable accommodation for pilgrims. The kaiser had already supported the construction of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City and the establishment of the Abbey of the Dormition on

Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...

. With his support, the German Association of the Holy Land acquired two parcels directly opposite the

Damascus Gate The Damascus Gate is one of the main Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side and connects to a highway leading out to Nablus, which in the Hebrew Bible was called Shechem or Sichem, and from the ...

in Jerusalem, where they built the Paulus-Haus. After Schmidt died in 1907, the administrative role was passed on to , who continued building the library and expanded the natural sciences collections. The pilgrims' hospice moved into the new building in 1908, where a teachers' seminary was also established. As a result, more teaching space became available in the old hospice. At the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the school was initially closed, like all other international institutions, but it resumed activity at the start of 1915 due to the good relations between Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The only requirement was to include Turkish as a teaching language.

British period

After the capture of Jerusalem by the British forces in late 1917 the college closed down for three years. When it reopened, under the British Mandate of Palestine, English replaced German as the main teaching language. However, German was later used again. By adopting Palestinian learning plans, the pupils could receive Palestinian certificates of secondary education alongside their German ones, as well as take a teaching exam. Initially, the college taught 27 pupils split between two classes and a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

group. Because of the small number of female pupils, boys were also accepted until 1930. By 1936 the student body had increased to 370. German became an obligatory foreign language from the sixth grade onwards in the 1930s. A German division was composed of two classes of German students taught according to German syllabuses. From 1925 on the German church and state increased its support for the college, however the college remained largely unaffected by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

ideology after

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

. At the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the German teachers were deported, including the head of the school, Sister Marina Kramm, who was replaced by the Arab Sister Elia Sa’ati. The German teaching staff returned in 1943 and the school remained active until the start of the Palestine War in May 1948.

Jordanian period: "Paulus-Haus"

The old hospice in Hillel Street, used as a school building, lay in the western, Israeli part of Jerusalem after the ceasefire agreement of 1949. However, the students mainly lived in East Jerusalem, then under

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian administration and had to cross the ceasefire line on their way to the college. As a result, the school was temporarily moved into the Paulus-Haus on 1 October 1950. The headmaster, Father Sonnen, was able to achieve the move quickly through the support of the Israeli authorities, enlisting the help over 60 vans for the transportation purposes. Three years later the school had approximately 400 students. (The Old Hospice buildings have since been housing the ''Jerusalem Italian Jews Association'', with the Italian Synagogue and, since 1952, the Museum of Italian Jewish Art.) The Paulus-Haus was not conceived as a boarding school and had to continue to serve as a hospice. In the 1950s several new buildings were constructed and in 1962 a new school site began to be built on land adjacent to the Paulus-Haus. Although it was completed on 14 May 1967, the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

began only a few days later, during which the new building suffered heavy external damage.

Israeli period: new building

In June 1967 Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, where part of the students are coming from.

Academic overview

The twelve-year school period finishes with the Palestinian Tawjihi certificate and the (DIAP, "German International Abitur Program"). The abitur is recognized by the Palestinian education authorities and enables applying for higher education in Germany, Palestine and worldwide. Almost 100% of Schmidt's College students continue onto university. The Schmidt's Girls College is considered a prestigious institution and graduates are in demand by employers. The college is under the care of the convent of the sisters of the

Congregation of Jesus The Congregation of Jesus is one of two congregations of religious sisters founded during the 17th century through the work of the nun Mary Ward, who was dedicated to female education. The other congregation is the Sisters of Loreto, a name the ...

(CJ), also known as the Mary Ward Sisters, amongst other organisations. The college is a Catholic school following the

Corpus Iuris Canonici The () is a collection of significant sources of the Canon law of the Catholic Church that was applicable to the Latin Church. It was replaced by the 1917 Code of Canon Law which went into effect in 1918. The 1917 Code was later replaced by t ...

(lit. "Body of Canon Law") and highlights the requirements of the Gravissimum educationis. Since its establishment, it has been following German traditions and has a close connection to the German educational environment. At the same time it is a school in a predominantly

region. This is reflected in the student body composition of 80% Muslim and 20% Christian students, which is the opposite of the teaching staff composition.

Famous graduates

* Karimeh Abbud (1893–1940), photographer * Yusra Al Barbari (1923–2009), Palestinian teacher and activist * Salma Khadra Jayyusi (1925–2023), Palestinian historian and literary scholar * Shahd Seethaler-Wari (*1983) German-Palestinian urban planner and architect

References

External links

*
Schmidt-Schule Jerusalem
', official homepage in English and German *

. Federal Office of Administration. 3 November 2014.
Schmidt's Girls College on the German Association of the Holy Land website

''Statement of the German Association of the Holy Land regarding the Father Schmitz Collection''
the history of Schmitz's taxidermic collection. Accessed Feb 2021. {{coord, 31.7827, N, 35.2304, E, source:wikidata, display=title Schools in Jerusalem High schools in Israel International schools in Israel Girls' schools in Asia German international schools in Asia 1886 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Educational institutions established in 1886