The Deutsche Pfadfinderverband (DPV; approximate translation: German Scout Association) is an umbrella federation of sixteen 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...

 non-denominational 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....

 associations. It was founded in 1970 and serves about 29,000 members.

History

The DPV was founded in 1970 under the name Deutsche Pfadfinder by a number of regional organizations which had left the Bund Deutscher Pfadfinder (BDP) due to the perceived loss of political neutrality within the latter. In 1971, the Deutscher Pfadfinderbund joined the Deutsche Pfadfinder and the federation was renamed to Deutscher Pfadfinderverband. However, the Deutscher Pfadfinderbund left the federation after some years.

In 1977, the DPV was amongst the founding members of the Deutscher Pfadfinderring (DPR); this traditional Scouting

Traditional Scouting

The Traditional Scouting movement refers to a back to basics effort that returns Scouting to a scheme intentionally based on Baden-Powell's own model of Scouting; rejecting the world-wide trend to "modernize" Scouting in order to appeal to more youths. This movement is very popular in Canada and...

 federation tried to form a counterweight to 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...

 and the Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände

Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände

The Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände is the German national Guiding organization within the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts...

. The DPR was disbanded in 1995.

An application for membership in the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände in May 1985 was rejected. The member organizations of the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände requested a merger of the DPV and the Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder

Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder

The Union of Guides and Scouts is the largest interreligious, co-educational Scout association in Germany, one of the three component members of the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände and of the Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände...

 prior to an integration in its ranks. Negotiations between the DPV and the Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder were closed unsuccessfully in 1989.

At the 2007 annual general meeting in Berlin, the Europa-Scouts resigned from membership in the DPV due to permanently low membership figures. At the same meeting, the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nordlicht was accepted as an associate member.

Member associations

The DPV has a total of sixteen member associations. With the exceptions of Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Mosaik and Pfadfinderbund Weltenbummler, all members are regional organizations. The membership numbers of the component organizations vary widely between 100 and 8,000 Scouts.

Full members:

• Bund Europäischer Pfadfinder, member of the Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme
  Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme
  Known in English as the Confederation of European Scouts, the Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme was formed in Brussels, Belgium on November 12, 1978, and is based in Belgium. CES stresses the European dimension of their Scouting program and that CES provides the "authentic Scouting of...
  
  
• Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Hamburg
• Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Mosaik
• Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Nordland
• Jomsburg – freier Pfadfinderbund
• Pfadfinderbund Boreas (since 2010)
• Pfadfinderbund Horizonte
• Pfadfinderbund Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• Pfadfinderbund Weltenbummler, member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts
  World Federation of Independent Scouts
  The World Federation of Independent Scouts is the non-governmental international organization which governs 82 affiliated Scout Organizations in 41 countries, with an estimated 200,000 members in 3562 Scout Groups...
  
  
• Pfadfinderschaft Grenzland
• Pfadfinderschaft Nordmark
• Pfadfinderschaft Süddeutschland
• Pfadfinder- und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nord
• Verband Deutscher Pfadfinder

Associate members:

• Freie Pfadfinderschaft
• Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nordlicht

Former members:

• Deutsche Pfadfinder Landesmark Westfalen (...–2010)
• Deutscher Pfadfinderbund
• Deutscher Pfadfinderverband Gau Westland (...–2010)
• Europa-Scouts
• Pfadfinderbund Nordbaden
• Pfadfinderbund Süd (1970–1981)
• Pfadfinderschaft Phoenix (...–2010)

Further reading

• Hansdieter Wittke, Freiheit in Bindung: der Deutsche Pfadfinderverband, Deutscher Spurbuchverlag, Baunach 1990, ISBN 3-88778-165-1
• Reinhard Schmoeckel, Strategie einer Unterwanderung. Vom Pfadfinderbund zur revolutionären Zelle, Günter Olzog Verlag, München 1979, ISBN 3-7892-7141-1
• Deutscher Pfadfinderverband (publisher), Dokumentation, Köln 1977-2005, volumes 1-6