Let's talk about Hitler: School creates 'unsafe space' to debate Mein Kampf

An all-boys grammar school in Kent has revealed plans to discuss Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf in classes and introduce an "unsafe space".

Simon Langton Grammar School described the proposals as "the antidote to political correctness", but others disagree.

One student online described the move as "legitimising fascism", while another user questioned whether the story was a "parody".

The new "unsafe space" is a reaction to the "safe space" concept – a reference to an area where minorities or anyone can feel confident in facing no harassment, harm or prejudice.

The Guardian reported that director of humanities at the school, Professor James Soderholm, told pupils that the first session would centre around the fired Google employee James Damore and the memo claiming that women were innately less capable as engineers. Soderholm claimed it was a "much-needed forum for debate".

When approached for a comment, a spokesperson from Simon Langton Grammar School told IBTimes UK: "The phrase unsafe space is a bit of a misnomer. The Research Centre is, first and foremost, about creativity and invention. Don't forget, this is the school where the Institute for Research in Schools was born, where Pavegen originated and that we have a device on a satellite feeding data to CERN and NASA and a licence to modify the human genome.

"This is a voluntary part of the Sixth Form curriculum which students can buy into and, if they do, they can be introduced to The Communist Manifesto, Mao's Red Book, Mein Kampf and Lenin's What is to be Done? as well as other cornerstone texts.

"These are not texts we wish to protect our students from but help them to consider with proper academic guidance as ways in interpreting and understanding the Twentieth Century. The agenda is neither right nor left wing, simply free-thinking."

Soderholm told The Guardian: "The unsafe space is a much-needed forum for debate about a host of issues seen from both sides of the ideological spectrum.

"We are not interested in fomenting xenophobia, racism or sexism. We are interested in evaluating arguments, not putting stilts under postures."

Safe spaces have been a controversial topic of debate primarily as critics argue that they shut down debate and free speech. Universities across the UK commonly hold debates as to whether they pose a hurdle to education or whether they are a necessary element to student safety.

While plans for the controversial lessons were sent to parents in September, pupils have only been made aware of the specifics now.

Mein Kampf is the 1925 autobiographical book by Adolf Hitler that outlined his political credo for a Nazi Germany and the blueprint for the racial supremacy theories that led to the Holocaust.