Adolf Koch
Encyclopedia
Adolf Koch was a German school teacher and leader of the Freikörperkultur
(naked culture) movement in German
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Koch studied psychology and medicine at the Friedrich William Institut. He also studied with Magnus Hirschfeld
at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
. Subsequently, he trained to be a school gymnastics teacher, finding in nude physical exercise the symbol of 'a new beginning for a new society'. Finding difficulty in putting his radical body culture ideas into practice at two mainstream schools in Moabit in the early 1920s, with the support of the Prussia
n government he created its own Institute for nudist education, which by 1929 had 3,000 pupils.
The poet Stephen Spender
remarked after visiting Germany (in World within World) on the extent to which the Freikörperkultur
was visible in the Germany of the late 1920s:
Koch went on to developed thirteen schools in Germany. His was a primarily working-class movement, and although opposed to racial prejudice did however advocate eugenics
and contributed to the mood of the times in relation to the need to physically regenerate the German people. German nudists generally were mildly harassed by the Nazis during 1933/4, but by 1933 the Kampfring für völkische Freikörperkultur
(Militant Circle for Ethnic Naked Culture) had been established, which acted as a pro-Nazi umbrella body for German nudist groups – and which excluded Jews and most communist nudist groups.
The working-class socialist-leaning Adolf Koch schools were banned, but the "Adolf Koch League for Social Hygiene, Body Culture and Gymnastics" (Institut fur Eubiotik und Lebensregelung), was still operating towards the end of 1934. In 1934 Koch published an article that stated... "We have pointed out often enough that racial biology and racial hygiene are crucial to this struggle for public health." and which praised the SA leader Ernst Röhm
. This was not, however enough to prevent his organisation being closed down again by the Nazis. Koch even paid eighteen months of subscriptions as a "Supportive Member" of the SS to try to curry favour with the regime – but a de-nazification committee of 1947 found him not guilty of supporting the Nazi Party.
Freikörperkultur
Freikörperkultur is a German movement whose name translates to Free Body Culture. It endorses a naturistic approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also of being nude itself, without direct relationship to sexuality. The followers of this...
(naked culture) movement in German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Koch studied psychology and medicine at the Friedrich William Institut. He also studied with Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld was a German physician and sexologist. An outspoken advocate for sexual minorities, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, which Dustin Goltz called "the first advocacy for homosexual and transgender rights."-Early life:Hirschfeld was born in Kolberg in a...
at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
Institut für Sexualwissenschaft
The Institut für Sexualwissenschaft was an early private sexology research institute in Germany from 1919 to 1933. The name is variously translated as Institute of Sex Research, Institute for Sexology or Institute for the Science of Sexuality...
. Subsequently, he trained to be a school gymnastics teacher, finding in nude physical exercise the symbol of 'a new beginning for a new society'. Finding difficulty in putting his radical body culture ideas into practice at two mainstream schools in Moabit in the early 1920s, with the support of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n government he created its own Institute for nudist education, which by 1929 had 3,000 pupils.
The poet Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
remarked after visiting Germany (in World within World) on the extent to which the Freikörperkultur
Freikörperkultur
Freikörperkultur is a German movement whose name translates to Free Body Culture. It endorses a naturistic approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also of being nude itself, without direct relationship to sexuality. The followers of this...
was visible in the Germany of the late 1920s:
The sun – symbol of the great wealth of nature within the poverty of man, was a primary social force in this Germany. Thousands of people went to the open-air swimming baths or lay down on the shores of the rivers and lakes, almost nude, and sometimes quite nude, and the boys who had turned the deepest mahogany walked amongst those people with paler skins like kings among their courtiers.
Koch went on to developed thirteen schools in Germany. His was a primarily working-class movement, and although opposed to racial prejudice did however advocate eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
and contributed to the mood of the times in relation to the need to physically regenerate the German people. German nudists generally were mildly harassed by the Nazis during 1933/4, but by 1933 the Kampfring für völkische Freikörperkultur
Kampfring für völkische Freikörperkultur
The Kampfring für völkische Freikörperkultur , established in 1933, was a pro-Nazi völkisch umbrella body for German Freikörperkultur nudist groups, which excluded Jews and most communist nudist groups....
(Militant Circle for Ethnic Naked Culture) had been established, which acted as a pro-Nazi umbrella body for German nudist groups – and which excluded Jews and most communist nudist groups.
The working-class socialist-leaning Adolf Koch schools were banned, but the "Adolf Koch League for Social Hygiene, Body Culture and Gymnastics" (Institut fur Eubiotik und Lebensregelung), was still operating towards the end of 1934. In 1934 Koch published an article that stated... "We have pointed out often enough that racial biology and racial hygiene are crucial to this struggle for public health." and which praised the SA leader Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
. This was not, however enough to prevent his organisation being closed down again by the Nazis. Koch even paid eighteen months of subscriptions as a "Supportive Member" of the SS to try to curry favour with the regime – but a de-nazification committee of 1947 found him not guilty of supporting the Nazi Party.