Research Subject, Objectives, and Hypotheses

Abstract

The purpose of this theoretical and empirical study is to help find answers to some of these fundamental questions. Specifically, my objectives are threefold: (1) to contribute to the conceptual development of historical consciousness research by introducing an eighth dimension to Pandel’s model that encompasses individual or societal determination to engage in peace and freedom-preserving actions and that I will label action consciousness or, in German terms, Aktionsbewusstsein;¹ (2) to explore the current state of knowledge and attitudes with specific focus on Aktionsbewusstsein in regard to twentieth-century Germany’s dictatorships and their crimes, and assess the impact of the forms or Formen der geschichtskulturellen Sozialisation on knowledge, attitudes, and Aktionsbewusstsein; and (3) to synthesize the implications and develop a set of recommendations for the further development of history didactics.