On January 20, 1942, the Nazis held the Wannsee Conference at Wannsee Villa. Wannsee Villa now serves as the House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Education Site, but it was used as a Schullandheim (school rural study center) for the Neukölln District from 1952 to 1988. The present paper aims to clarify the history of that Schullandheim from the viewpoint of pedagogy.

This paper focuses on the following three stages:

In the first stage, the establishment of the Schullandheim was eagerly desired to provide a good educational environment for students, rich in nature. However, no thought was given to the victims of the Holocaust in the establishment of the Schullandheim.

In the second stage from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s, Jewish-historian Joseph Wulf requested to convert the Wannsee Villa into an “International Document Center for Research on National Socialism and its After-effects,” thus attracting global attention on Wannsee Villa’s use as a Schullandheim. Wulf’s request generated an intense debate about Schullandheim. However, the happy experiences of students at the Schullandheim made it difficult to establish the Document Center, and the City of West Berlin was firmly opposed to Wulf’s request. In response, Wulf insisted that if Wannsee Villa continued as a Schullandheim, students must learn about the Wannsee Conference during their stay. His insistence was not realized at the time, but Wulf’s demands paved the way for future changes.

The third stage, in the 1980’s, reflected a change in the popular recognition of the past events, leading to the removal of the Schullandheim and the establishment of House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial and Education Site. Prior to that, however, the Schullandheim began to teach students about the Wannsee Conference.

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Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem is famous for the concept of the banality of evil and thoughtlessness. This book is said to be the turning point that redirected Arendt's interest from Vita Activa to The Life of the Mind and has been primarily studied from the perspective of thinking and judgement. However, this paper examines the book differently, perceiving Eichmann as a Laborer. Arendt argued that totalitarianism was supported by animal laborance (laboring animal), appearing when labor became the primary activity in modern society. Eichmann was also a diligent laborer who obeyed the orders of superiors without employing his own thinking and judgement. Eichmann's case can be analyzed from the perspective of labor, connecting it with her discussion of The Human Condition (Vita Activa). 　However, it is incorrect to state that Eichmann consistently engaged in animal laborance since he joined the Nazis. Between 1933 and 1941, Eichmann made every effort to accomplish the Jewish emigration project to Jerusalem. During this period, he engaged in work rather than labor in Arendt's terms because he assumed the role of an emigration expert possessing superior ability and exceptional skill. He formulated an elaborate plan, negotiated with the numerous persons concerned, and put it into practice. However, when Hitler issued the order to commit Jewish atrocities in 1941, the emigration plan was suspended. Eichmann despaired and lost his joy in work, initiatives, and interests. From this point, he turned into animal laborance, blindly following the totalitarian movement. 　In conclusion, we should discontinue the enlargement of the realm of labor and retrieve the realm of work and activity in order to prevent the appearance of totalitarianism. We require both action and work for public reconstruction in order to resist totalitarianism.

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