Counteracting Stigma: Illiteracy in Germany

In Germany, although there is no lack of access to education, schooling, or language courses, 6.2 million people – nearly one in eight – cannot read or write, or at least not competently. But who are they? According to one popular prejudice, they have to be immigrants. Wrong! Fully 60 percent of those affected speak German as their mother tongue. Another prevalent prejudice: illiterate people are less intelligent. Wrong again! Actually, they display enormous creativity and resourcefulness to function in daily life despite their disability. Meanwhile, a growing number of children – nearly 20 percent – advance from primary to secondary education without acquiring an adequate knowledge of reading and writing. 37 Grad tells the stories of three such individuals, and follows their progress for a period of one year.

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