Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG, German Scout Association Saint George) is the largest of Germany
's many Scouting
organizations. The Catholic
association has about 95,000 members of both genders. Via the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
the DPSG is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
.
The DPSG is also a member of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting
(ICCS) and of the Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend (BDKJ).
or a-religious movement. In the beginning the DPSG didn't count more than 800 members. After 1933 membership rose massively: Most competing youth organizations were disbanded by the Nazi
-authorities or incorporated in the Hitler Youth
. In 1935 membership stood by 16.000 boys in 457 local groups. This development lasted till 1938 when all religious youth organizations were banned.
Catholic Scouting was restarted as soon as World War II
was over. The first local groups were reorganized in 1945, mainly in the American occupied zone
. In 1946 the national association was restored. When the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderbünde
was founded in 1949 the DPSG had about 20,000 members.
The membership of the association rose also in the following years - with some temporary set-backs - until it reached 100,000 in the early 1980s. Since then membership has stagnated. In 1971, the DPSG did open to girls. Today, nearly all local groups are coeducational but there is also a parallel Guiding
organization with strong ties to the DPSG: the Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg.
symbol, a combination of the Scouting fleur-de-lis
with a cross
.
All leaders in the DPSG are supposed to be 18 or older; they wear a grey scarf or, if they are Gilwell educated, the Wood Badge scarf and insignia. Unlike most German Scout associations, the association doesn't practise youth leadership.
. The promise shall be formulated individually by the respective group and for the respective advancement. Nevertheless some local groups have regular wordings that are in use since the 1960s.
for the whole association. In the years before, four guide lines were used instead of a Scout Law.
and the Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani. More recently a number of development partnerships were started. These partners include the Scouts de Bénin
, the Asociación de Scouts de Bolivia
, the Lebanese Scouting Federation, the Association des Scouts du Rwanda
and the Association Scoute du Togo
.
s of Germany. Only two dioceses in the former German Democratic Republic
are without own structures (Dresden-Meissen
and Görlitz
), they are served by the neighbouring councils.
Most of the councils are divided in districts (total: 137 districts) and on local level more than 1,400 groups (Stämme, "tribes") are active. Regularly, a local group consists of four troops - one of each section.
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...
's many Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
organizations. The Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
association has about 95,000 members of both genders. Via the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
the DPSG is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
.
The DPSG is also a member of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting
International Catholic Conference of Scouting
The International Catholic Conference of Scouting is an autonomous, international body committed to promoting and supporting Catholic Scout associations and to be a link between the Scout movement and the Catholic Church...
(ICCS) and of the Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend (BDKJ).
History
The DPSG was founded in 1929. In the preceding years only a few Catholic Scout groups were active, since most German bishops saw Scouting as a ProtestantProtestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
or a-religious movement. In the beginning the DPSG didn't count more than 800 members. After 1933 membership rose massively: Most competing youth organizations were disbanded by the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
-authorities or incorporated in the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
. In 1935 membership stood by 16.000 boys in 457 local groups. This development lasted till 1938 when all religious youth organizations were banned.
Catholic Scouting was restarted as soon as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was over. The first local groups were reorganized in 1945, mainly in the American occupied zone
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
. In 1946 the national association was restored. When the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderbünde
Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände
The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
was founded in 1949 the DPSG had about 20,000 members.
The membership of the association rose also in the following years - with some temporary set-backs - until it reached 100,000 in the early 1980s. Since then membership has stagnated. In 1971, the DPSG did open to girls. Today, nearly all local groups are coeducational but there is also a parallel Guiding
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...
organization with strong ties to the DPSG: the Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg.
Program
The Scout emblem is a blueBlue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
symbol, a combination of the Scouting fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
with a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
.
Sections
The DPSG is divided in four sections according to age:- Wölflinge (Cub Scouts) - ages 7 to 10; orange scarf
- Jungpfadfinder (Scouts) - ages 10 to 13; blue scarf
- Pfadfinder (Senior Scouts) - ages 13 to 16; green scarf
- Rover (Rover ScoutsRover ScoutsRover Scouting is a service division of Scouting for young men, and in most countries, women. A group of Rovers, analogous to a Scout troop, is called a 'Crew.'...
) - ages 16 to 20; red scarf
All leaders in the DPSG are supposed to be 18 or older; they wear a grey scarf or, if they are Gilwell educated, the Wood Badge scarf and insignia. Unlike most German Scout associations, the association doesn't practise youth leadership.
Promise
The DPSG doesn't know a common Scout PromiseScout Promise
Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law. The wording of the Scout Promise and Scout Law have varied slightly over time and from country to...
. The promise shall be formulated individually by the respective group and for the respective advancement. Nevertheless some local groups have regular wordings that are in use since the 1960s.
Scout Law
In 2005, the DPSG reintroduced a common Scout LawScout Law
Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout Promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law...
for the whole association. In the years before, four guide lines were used instead of a Scout Law.
- Als Pfadfinderin .../Als Pfadfinder ...
As a Girl Scout/Boy Scout ...- ... begegne ich allen Menschen mit Respekt und habe alle Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen als Geschwister.
... I'll meet everybody with respect. All Scouts and Guides are my brothers and sisters. - ... gehe ich zuversichtlich und mit wachen Augen durch die Welt.
... I'll meet the world confindent and with open eyes. - ... bin ich höflich und helfe da, wo es notwendig ist.
... I'm courteous and will help where necessity arises. - ... mache ich nichts halb und gebe auch in Schwierigkeiten nicht auf.
... I'll finish my task; I won't give up in difficulties. - ... entwickle ich eine eigene Meinung und stehe für diese ein.
... I'll develop my own opinion and stand for it. - ... sage ich, was ich denke, und tue, was ich sage.
... I'll say what I'm thinking and do what I'm saying. - ... lebe ich einfach und umweltbewusst.
... I'll live simple and environmental aware. - ... stehe ich zu meiner Herkunft und zu meinem Glauben.
... I'm aware of my origin and faith.
- ... begegne ich allen Menschen mit Respekt und habe alle Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen als Geschwister.
International partners
The DPSG emphasizes strongly on international partnership. Since the late 1940s, it is twinned with the Scouts de FranceScouts et Guides de France
Scouts et Guides de France is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France and the Scouts de France...
and the Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani. More recently a number of development partnerships were started. These partners include the Scouts de Bénin
Scoutisme Béninois
Scoutisme Béninois is the national Scouting organization of Benin Scouting in Benin started around 1930 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1964 under the previous name Dahomey...
, the Asociación de Scouts de Bolivia
Asociación de Scouts de Bolivia
The Asociación de Scouts de Bolivia is the national Scouting association of Bolivia. Scouting was founded in Bolivia in 1911 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1950. ASB has 7,898 members ....
, the Lebanese Scouting Federation, the Association des Scouts du Rwanda
Association des Scouts du Rwanda
The Association des Scouts du Rwanda is the national Scouting organization of Rwanda. Scouting in Rwanda was founded in 1940 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1975. The coeducational association has 18,884 members .- History :Scouting in Rwanda began in 1940...
and the Association Scoute du Togo
Association Scoute du Togo
The Association Scoute du Togo, the national Scouting organization of Togo, was founded in 1920, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1977. The coeducational Association Scoute du Togo has 9,727 members as of 2011....
.
Organization
The DPSG is divided in 25 councils (Diözesanverbände) corresponding to the Catholic dioceseDiocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s of Germany. Only two dioceses in the former German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
are without own structures (Dresden-Meissen
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen
The Diocese of Dresden-Meissen is a Diocese of Catholic Church in Germany. Founded as the Bishopric of Meissen in 968, it was dissolved in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation. The diocese was reestablished in 1921 and renamed Dresden-Meissen in 1980. The seat of the diocese is in Dresden and...
and Görlitz
Roman Catholic Diocese of Görlitz
The Diocese of Görlitz is a diocese of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. The current ordinary is Wolfgang Ipolt-History:For the history until 1972 see the History of the See of Breslau....
), they are served by the neighbouring councils.
Most of the councils are divided in districts (total: 137 districts) and on local level more than 1,400 groups (Stämme, "tribes") are active. Regularly, a local group consists of four troops - one of each section.