Nuns Teaching German in Twentieth-Century Milan: The Deutsche Schule Istituto Giulia

In 1925 German nuns of a congregation dedicated to the teaching of girls (the Schwestern Unserer Lieben Frau) founded a school in Milan, the Deutsche Schule Istituto Giulia, initially intended for children from German Catholic families. In the following years the school saw a significant increase in enrollments of Italian-speaking pupils of all confessions and religions, thus unexpectedly becoming what would be later defined as a Begegnungsschule ('meeting school') that played a pivotal role in spreading the German language and culture among Milan's middle class. German was the vehicular language from kindergarten to graduation, and French and English were introduced after primary school; therefore, the nuns ensured that students acquired a high level of linguistic competence in three foreign languages in a time when Italian schools did not offer a comparable education. Aiming to prepare young women to take on a significant role in society, the nuns spent almost seventy years educating nearly 5000 students in an intercultural environment. Based on materials from the Congregation’s private archive and on testimonies of teachers and students, the presentation highlights some aspects of the history of the congregation and of the Istituto Giulia.