When the English began to hate: the manufacture of German demonisation in British school history textbooks 1900‐1930

This article explores how within a climate characterised by a national moral panic and an institutionalised imperialist xenophobia school history textbooks in the early years of the 20th Century came to present an intensely hostile discourse of Germans and Germany. The approach is multi‐disciplinary as a single discipline approach would not provide a full and coherent understanding of the development of Germanophobia within school history textbooks. Consequently, the evidence base for this analysis is drawn from a variety of representations including political perspectives; popular culture; children’s literature; newspaper and magazine depictions. The purpose is to provide a framework through which to link cultural depictions of Germans and Germany with how history was taught, what was to be learnt and how this was mediated through school history textbooks.