I usually encounter three typical reactions when I mention that I deal with education for democratic citizenship (for the sake of simplicity, let us call it “democratic civic education”): firstly, a wry grin signalling that my conversation partner has no idea what I am talking about (most people, but especially my parents’ generation). Secondly, a fierce indignation that there is no need for civic education, and we know all-too-well how similar top-down, compulsory programs turned out (my grandparents).