As someone already mentioned, the exact content of history class in German high schools is regulated by each state. Also you should know that there's three different forms of high schools in Baden-Württemberg, the Gymnasium being the one that allows its graduates to enter college. Since I went to a Gymnasium in Baden-Württemberg, I will take that example.

The Lehrplan is a sort of guideline what teachers have to bring across to students. The first time the Third Reich comes up in this Lehrplan is in grade 10. History is taught chronological in Baden-Württemberg, which means you start with prehistorics and Egypt in grade 6, until you arrive at the Weimar Republic and National Socialism in grade 10. Here's a rough excerpt I translated from the Lehrplan for Baden-Württemberg high schools (Gymnasium):

1. Weimar Republic and National Socialism

Students can:

• explain important burdens of the first democracy in Germany and the reasons for its failure;

Facts and terms

1919 Weimar constitution; 1919 Treaty of Versailles; 1930 Presidential Cabinet; Emergency decrees

• explain basic essentials of the National Socialist ideology;
• research measures of the "cooptation" as well as indicators of totalitarian rule - preferably in local and regional areas - recognize their influence on the everyday lives of people, place it in the higher context of the developments, and present these results;
• describe personal fates of victims of ideological as well as racial persecution before and during World War 2, and ascribe them to National Socialist ideology and political rule;
• describe and assess forms of acceptance and of resistance in the population;
• realize the historical responsibility that derives from the National Socialist past.

Facts and terms

30.1.1933 seizure of power; 9.11.1938 Novemberpogrom; 1.9.1939 Invasion of Poland; 20.7.1944 Plot to kill Hitler; 8.5.1945 German Instrument of Surrender; SS-state; Antisemitism; Racial profiling, Holocaust, Führerprinzip; Lebensraumpolitik (living space politics); Concentration camps

Source: Landesinstitut für Schulentwicklung Baden-Württemberg, Gymnasium Bildungsstandards für Geschichte. Stuttgart. pg. 224.

This is basically a list of things each student has to study and to know, and at the same time it is an orientation for teachers what the content of their class should be. I should highlight that the war itself, tactics etc are not really topics of the classes, but rather the broader range of things that happened, ideology, and consequences.

Edit: I was trying to find old history books of mine, but I just remembered that our teachers were never really using history books. In Baden-Württemberg the schools pay for the books used in class, so the students don't have to purchase expensive textbooks. While this sounds like a good idea, many of the books are dated, because the schools just can't afford new ones. So the teachers work with what they have, mainly by providing copies of their newer own books, or stuff from the Internet. However, if you're interested, I think this book comes close to what we were using.

I could tell you about Austrian textbooks which should be quite the same as german ones. If it wasn't for copyright i could upload some scans :-/ Generally I would say WW2 is a huge part of history class in school. Of course they show all the cruel stuff too, holocaust etc. As Austria was a big part in both WWs (started WW1 and Hitler was born in Austria) it gets a lot of attention in media too. In my parents generation tough it wasnt taught at school at all and just left out. Nowadays many school classes visit former KZs, documentarys get shown in class and there is always a neutral view on the topic. If you have further/more specific questions i could look for my textbooks and get back to you! Sources: went to school in Austria and graduated only a few years ago

Edit: Not only in History Class but also in other school classes WW2 is an important part. In German for example a lot of German literature we read had something to do with WW2 and we learned about the life of the authors (in a "Gymnasium" = school for 10-18 year olds) For example Stefan Zweig, Berthold Brecht etc. But that depends a lot on the teacher an what his preferences are. But as a poster above wrote about Germany is similar to Austria: it is much more US focused an not so much about the eastern frontline with the exception of Stalingrad. The war in the Pacific ocean wasn't talked about much if i remember correctly.

If you are interested what the Ministry of Education demands to be talked about and you are capable of German there is the link to the curriculum for History Class (Austria/AHS School). Link!

WW2 is taught in 7. Year of AHS (~17 year olds)

Quote:

"kollektive Friedenssicherungspolitik nach 1918 und ihr Scheitern; Ursachen und Verlauf des Zweiten Weltkrieges (Friedensverträge; Völkerbund; soziale und ökonomische Rahmenbedingungen)

• demokratische, autoritäre und totalitäre Staatensysteme und ihre Ideologien (Systemvergleiche; Kommunismus, Faschismus, Nationalsozialismus; Radikalisierung des politischen Lebens in Österreich 1918-1938)
• nationalsozialistisches System und Holocaust (Entwicklung; Österreich im Dritten Reich; Widerstands­ und Freiheitsbewegungen)
• das bipolare Weltsystem 1945-1990, sein Zusammenbruch und die Transformation des europäischen Systems (Folgen des Zweiten Weltkrieges, z.B. Vertreibungen; Ost-West-Konflikt; Bündnissysteme und internationale Organisationen; neuer Imperialismus; Zerfall der Sowjetunion; Entwicklung neuer Demokratien)"

I'll try my best to translate:

• collective peacekeeping after 1918 and it's failing; causes and course of second world war (Peace-Contracts, league of nations, social and economic framework) -democratic, authoritarian an totalitarian state-systems and it's ideologies (Comparison, Communism, Fascism, National-socialism; radicalisation of political Life in Austria 1918-1938)
• national-socialist system and Holocaust (Development; Austria in the third reich; Resistance and Liberation Movements)
• the bipolar World-System 1945-1990, it's collapse and the transformation of the european system (consquences of WW2, eg. displacements; East-West Conflict; Alliances and international Organisations; new imperialism; decay of the soviet union; development of new democrcys)

Japan has a centralised National curriculum which requires the entire of human history to be taught in one years worth of lessons and all schools use one of 7 books, one of which devotes about 20 pages to 1931 to 1945 and just one sentence for the Nanjing Massacre (another book decided never to use the word "invaded" for any of Japan's conquests). There was recently a BBC world service documentary about how this period is thought of and thought in both Japan and China (Part one was Japan) which goes into Japan's History teaching or lack of it at length.

Basically there seems to be a effort to concentrate on the history that Japanese children can be proud of and that obviously means that Japan's darker moments are marginalised as a result.

Of course like every national syllabus, Japan's focuses on it's own internal history only expanding into world events at key points and Japanese history is rich and long going back over 15,000 years to the start of the Jomon period but other nations with long histories still manage to cover the darker aspects of their history. (Also found a BBC essay which covers the same ground as the radio doc if people prefer that - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21226068)

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