Federal Agency for Civic Education

Federal Agency for Civic Education
Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
Agency overview
Formed25 November 1952 (1952-11-25)
JurisdictionGovernment of Germany
Headquarters
Employees450+[1]
Annual budget€100.1 million (2024)[2]
Agency executive
Websitewww.bpb.de

The Federal Agency for Civic Education (FACE, German: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb)) is a German federal government agency responsible for promoting civic education based in Bonn. It is subordinated to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Volker Ullrich (CSU) is heading the agency on an interim basis since 2026. The modern agency was established in West Germany in 1952 by the Adenauer government in response to the experiences of the Nazi dictatorship. Its aim is to strengthen democratic awareness and encourage citizens to participate in political life.

The bpb organizes seminars, festivals, exhibitions, study trips, and further education courses. In addition, it publishes non-fiction books and several magazines. The agency runs media centers in Bonn, Berlin and Gera.

Objective

Bpb publishes Informationen zur politischen Bildung (a magazine published quarterly) and Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte (APuZ), a weekly topical journal of essays and academic articles. German, Arabic, Turkish and Russian versions of the Grundgesetz can be ordered for free by anyone living in Germany. Furthermore, it offers extensive material, e.g. books, journals and information material for schools on contemporary topics in politics, history, sociology and economy.

A number of congresses, symposia and excursions are organised by bpb either directly for citizens or for experts on selected topics. Furthermore, bpb co-operates with a number of political foundations, associations and organisations committed to civic education.

Substantive work

As a state agency tasked with providing objective information on political and historical events, the bpb has been subject to scrutiny by various political factions since its existence. The agency’s work is guided by the "Beutelsbach Consensus," (Beutelsbacher Konsens) a fundamental policy document from 1976. It mandates that controversial topics be presented in a balanced manner that reflects differing viewpoints, that independent judgment be fostered, and that no specific opinion be imposed.[3]

In 1997 the objectives for bpb were specified, and these were officially defined in 2001. Its task is now to promote understanding of political issues, strengthen awareness for democracy and willingness to participate in political processes amongst the citizen.[4]

Furthermore, a committee of 22 members of the Bundestag is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness and political neutrality of the bpb.

In 2025 Anna-Mira Brandau and Friedrich Zillessen of Verfassungsblog stated in 2025 that bpb is under treat of destruction when right-wing nationalist partys — such as the AfD — assume government office and disparage the agency as "ideological."

"For a long time, the value of such an institution seemed so indisputable that its legal structure faded into the background. A closer look, however, reveals that the bpb rests on shaky foundations: under current law, the agency is a federal institution without independent legal personality, operating within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Just as the Interior Minister was able to establish it by decree, he can—likewise by decree—dissolve it." Brandau and Zillessen stated in Spiegel.[5]

Also the state agencies are also subject to political pressure. In 2004, the conservative CDU state government of Lower Saxony completely closed the State Agency for Civic Education. The than government transferred it´s duties to the state domestic intelligence service. The later SPD-government restored the agency in 2017.[5]

In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD parliamentary group tabled a motion in as January 2025 calling for the dissolution of the state’s agency for civic education, arguing that it stood for "political paternalism and indoctrination."[5]

History

The seal of the Reichszentrale für Heimatdienst, c. 1925

Propaganda of Deutsches Kaiserreich and Nazi Germany

The first Agency in Germany had its background in the propaganda war of World War I. In October 1914 the Zentrale für Auslandsdienst (Agency for Foreign Service) was established by German Empire for the purpose of propaganda conducted outside Germany. In 1918 it was complemented by the Zentralstelle für Heimatdienst (Agency for Homeland Service) which was formed for the purpose of domestic propaganda; in order to strengthen the public resilience during the war. In the Weimar Republic it was renamed as the Heimatdienst, which literally means homeland service, may also be translated as "domestic propaganda" or "political explanation/education in the homeland".

Following by the National socialistic movement, which take the power in 1933, the agency was dissolved on 16 March 1933. The facilities and staff of the agency were incorporated into the new Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda headed by Joseph Goebbels and responsible for enforcing Nazi doctrine on the people and controlling public opinion.

Democratic education

The Federal Agency was founded in 1952 as the Federal Agency for Homeland Service (Bundeszentrale für Heimatdienst) to make a German contribution to education for democracy. The name was a reference to the „Reich Agency Office for Homeland Service“ (Reichszentrale für Heimatdienst) of the Weimar Republic.

The recent Agency was renamed as the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) in 1963. It can also be translated as "Federal Agency for Political Education", as in the German language "civic education" normally translates as "Bürgerschaftliche Erziehung", of which "Politische Bildung" represents just a sub-category.

Founding president was the catholic politician (Center party) and historian Paul Franken. He served from 1952 to 1969. Franken invented the initially controversial supplement to the BdP weekly newspaper Das Parliament, Politics And Contemporary History (Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, APuZ). APuZ is today one of the most important German-language political science journals.

In 2000 Thomas Krüger (SPD) became president of BpB. He brought new impetus to political education: Since 2002, the „Wahl-O-Mat“ has regularly informed about the parties' programs before elections. In 2025, the „Election-O-Mat“ was called up approximately 26 million times for the federal election.[6]

Wahl-O-Mat - voting advice

The agency runs a voting advice application website Wahl-O-Mat, which compares the user's political position with the platforms of the parties and shows all parties ranked for closeness to the user's position.[7] The tool was originally developed for young, internet savvy voters and the questions asked to determine user preferences were chosen accordingly by a young team. At 2025 federal election, about 26 Million times Wahl-O-Mat was used.[6]

In 2026 Neue Zürcher Zeitung journalists questioned the Federal Agencies concept, pointing out that the majority of the users was by now older and the questions asked did not correspond to their realities anymore, while the Agency did not explicitly inform users that their app was still aimed at a younger demographic.[8]

Presidents and advisory board

Presidents and directors of BpB were:[9]

  • 1952–1969: Paul Franken (non-partient)
  • 1969–1976: Hans Stercken (CDU)
  • 1976–1992: Franklin Schultheiß (SPD)
  • 1992–2000: Günter Reichert (CDU)
  • 2000–2025: Thomas Krüger (SPD)
  • 03/2026–07/2026: Sönke Rix (SPD)[10]

The president is supported by a scientific committee of 12 people[11] and a Kuratorium,[12] of 22 MPs from all parties of Bundestag.

State agencies

In addition to the federal agency, 15 of Germany's 16 states each have their own state agency for civic education. These agencies are independent from the federal agency, and subordinated to the state governments, usually to the state ministry of the interior. The agencies are:

  • State Agency for Civic Education of Baden-Württemberg
  • Bavarian State Agency for Civic Education
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Berlin
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Brandenburg
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Bremen
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Hamburg
  • Hessian State Agency for Civic Education
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
  • State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Rhineland-Palatinate
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Saarland
  • Saxon State Agency for Civic Education
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Saxony-Anhalt
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Schleswig-Holstein
  • State Agency for Civic Education of Thuringia

Further reading

  • Benedikt Widmaier: Die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte staatlicher politischer Bildung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. University of Heidelberg. In: Beiträge zur Politikwissenschaft. 35. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1987, ISBN 3-8204-1122-4.

References

  1. ↑ "Karriere bei der bpb". Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Archived from the original on 2026-05-14.
  2. ↑ "Bundeshaushalt digital". Bundeshaushalt. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  3. ↑ Mäurer, Dietrich Karl. "Wohin steuert die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung?". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-08-11.
  4. ↑ "Erlass über die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BpB)". Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. 24 January 2001.
  5. 1 2 3 Brandau, Anna-Mira; Zillessen, Friedrich (2025-03-21). "(S+) Meinung: Warum die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung aktiv vor der AfD geschützt werden sollte". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
  6. 1 2 deutschlandfunk.de (2025-08-30). "Thomas Krüger - Präsident der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung geht nach 25 Jahren in den Ruhestand - Dobrindt dankt für "unermüdlichen Einsatz"". Die Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 2026-08-11.
  7. ↑ "Was ist der Wahl-O-Mat?" (in German). Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "Der Wahl-O-Mat ist Etikettenschwindel – und ignoriert die Sorgen von Millionen Deutschen" (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Direktoren und Präsidenten der Bundeszentrale für Heimatdienst/ Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
  10. ↑ "Sönke Rix tritt nach fünf Monaten als bpb-Präsident zurück". zeit.de. 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  11. ↑ Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. "Wissenschaftlicher Beirat | bpb" (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  12. ↑ Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. "Kuratorium | bpb" (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-20.
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.

50°43′40″N 7°06′33″E / 50.72778°N 7.10917°E / 50.72778; 7.10917

This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.