TRANSFORMATION OF APPROACHES TO COVERAGE OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Abstract

Aim. To study the key ways that approaches to coverage of the Second World War - and especially the emphasis of the Great Patriotic War as its most important part - have transformed over time in textbooks for domestic and foreign history students. Methodology and Approach. The research consists primarily of comparative analysis of school textbooks published from the 1970s to the present. The authors also use a quantitative analysis method to calculate the frequency of citations and references to key events of the Great Patriotic War. Results. The authors conclude that it is impossible to create a single textbook narrative of European history; they analyze and present differences in the interpretation of the events of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War in domestic and foreign textbooks. Theoretical and/or Practical implications. The research materials can be used by teachers in developing courses on methods of teaching the history of the twentieth century, as well as by specialists in the field of historiography of school textbooks.