Scouting in Germany
Encyclopedia
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....
in Germany
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...
consists of about 150 different associations and federations with about 260,000 Scouts and Guides
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...
.
Scouting in Germany started in 1909. German Scouting later became involved with the German Youth Movement
German Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement included German Scouting and the Wandervogel...
, of which the Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
was a part. German Scouting flourished until 1934-35, when nearly all associations were closed and their members had to join 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 West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, Scouting was reestablished after 1945, but it was banned in East Germany until 1990 in favor of the Thälmann Pioneers
Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation
The Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation, consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14, in East Germany...
and the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
. Today it is present in all parts of the unified Federal Republic of Germany
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...
.
German Scouting associations
- Ring deutscher PfadfinderverbändeRing deutscher PfadfinderverbändeThe Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
(World Organization of the Scout MovementWorld Organization of the Scout MovementThe 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...
member), a federation of- Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und PfadfinderBund der Pfadfinderinnen und PfadfinderThe 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...
(interreligious, coeducational, 30,000 members) - Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt GeorgDeutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt GeorgThe Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg is the largest of Germany's many Scouting organizations. The Catholic association has about 95,000 members of both genders...
(CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe 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...
, coeducational, 95,000 members) - Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und PfadfinderVerband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und PfadfinderThe Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder is a German Protestant coed Scouting and Guiding association with about 47,000 members....
(ProtestantProtestantismProtestantism 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...
, coeducational, 50,000 members)
- Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder
- Ring Deutscher PfadfinderinnenverbändeRing Deutscher PfadfinderinnenverbändeThe Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände is the German national Guiding organization within the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts...
(World Association of Girl Guides and Girl ScoutsWorld Association of Girl Guides and Girl ScoutsThe World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...
member), a federation of- Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder
- Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg (Catholic, girls-only, 10,000 members
- Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder
- Verband Deutscher Altpfadfindergilden, affiliated to International Scout and Guide FellowshipInternational Scout and Guide FellowshipThe International Scout and Guide Fellowship is a worldwide organization of Scout alumni in support of Scouting and Guiding who want to strengthen dialogue between communities through community-oriented projects worldwide....
- Deutscher PfadfinderverbandDeutscher PfadfinderverbandThe Deutsche Pfadfinderverband is an umbrella federation of sixteen German non-denominational Scouting associations...
, a federation of 18 independent associations (interreligious, coeducational, 29,000 members); one of its members is also member of the World Federation of Independent ScoutsWorld Federation of Independent ScoutsThe 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... - Christliche Pfadfinder Royal Rangers (Protestant, coeducational, 14,500 members); affiliated to Royal Rangers InternationalRoyal RangersRoyal Rangers is a worldwide ministry of the Assemblies of God and is designed to provide youth with challenging activities while providing them with Christian instruction. Royal Rangers International is open to participation of both boys and girls, while the US only allows boy participation in...
- Christliche Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder der Adventjugend (AdventistSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, coeducational, 10,000 members); affiliated to Pathfinders InternationalPathfinders (Seventh-day Adventist)The Pathfinder Club is a worldwide program organized and directed by the Youth Department of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church...
; - Ring junger Bünde, an umbrella organization of about 20 independent interreligious Scout and WandervogelWandervogelWandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
organizations with troops in Germany, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(mostly coeducational, estimated 6,000 members); among its members is- Deutscher Pfadfinderbund (interreligious, coeducational, 3,000 members)
- Christliche Pfadfinderschaft Deutschlands (Protestant, coeducational, 4,000 members)
- Members of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'EuropeUnion Internationale des Guides et Scouts d'EuropeThe International Union of the Guides and Scouts of Europe is a traditional faith-based Scouting organization with 20 member associations in 17 European...
:- Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (Catholic, coeducational, 2,500 members)
- Evangelische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (Protestant, coeducational, 500 members)
International Scout and Guide units in Germany
A large number of international Scout and Guide units from different countries are active in Germany. Most of them developed on military bases, but there are also some at international schools or connected to diplomatic missions. The majority of international Scout and Guide groups dates back to the Allied occupation of Western GermanyAllied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
following World War II. The small remainder were started recently.
Among the foreign associations in Germany are
- the Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
with about 120 units, served by three districts of the Transatlantic Council (Barbarossa District, Charlemagne District, and Edelweiss District) - the Girl Scouts of the USAGirl Scouts of the USAThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
with about 80 units, served by USA Girl Scouts Overseas—North Atlantic (NORAGS) and by USAGSO headquarters - Girlguiding UKGirlguiding UKGirlguiding UK is the national Guiding organisation of the United Kingdom. Guiding began in the UK in 1910 after Robert Baden-Powell asked his sister Agnes to start a group especially for girls that would be run along similar lines to Scouting for Boys. The Guide Association was a founder member of...
with about 60 units, served by British Guides in Foreign Countries/Germany County in five divisions (Lower Saxony Division, Westphalia Division, EMS Division, West Rhine Division, and Independent District of Munich) - the Scout AssociationThe Scout AssociationThe Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
with 11 groups, served by British Scouts Western Europe, Germany District . - Scouts CanadaScouts CanadaScouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...
(1952–1994) - Scouting NederlandScouting NederlandScouting Nederland is the national Scout organisation of the Netherlands with approximately 110,000 members Scouting Nederland is the national Scout organisation of the Netherlands with approximately 110,000 members Scouting Nederland is the national Scout organisation of the Netherlands with...
- Külföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség - Hungarian Scout Association in ExterisKülföldi Magyar CserkészszövetségKülföldi Magyar Cserkészszövetség is a Scouts-in-Exile organization created for youth of Hungarian descent. Scouting makes it possible for the young men and women to learn more about their Hungarian heritage, language and culture...
There are also other foreign Scout associations active in Germany, mostly with single troops (e.g. Organization of Russian Young Pathfinders and Plast
Plast
The Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine commonly called Ukrainian Plast or simply Plast is the largest Scouting organization in Ukraine.-First Phase: 1911-1920:...
).
The Dansk Spejderkorps Sydslesvig offers Scouting to the Danish minority of Southern Schleswig
Danish minority of Southern Schleswig
The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig, with a Danish majority and a German minority was united with Denmark, while Southern Schleswig remained a...
in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. It is affiliated to the Danish Det Danske Spejderkorps as well as to the German Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder and has about 700 members in 15 troops.
See also
- Sturmtrupp-PfadfinderSturmtrupp-PfadfinderThe Sturmtrupp-Pfadfinder was a Scout association in Germany active from 1926 to 1934. The association never had more than 500 members. It was the first Scout association in Germany to admit boys and girls. It was interdenominational and politically neutral....
- Scouting in displaced persons campsScouting in displaced persons campsScouting has been active in displaced persons camps and in the lives of refugees since World War II. During and after World War II, until the early 1950s, Scouting and Guiding flourished in these camps. These Scout and Girl Guide groups often provided postal delivery and other basic services in...
External links
- pfadfindertreffpunkt.de - Forum with members in about 20 countries and 150 associations (German)
- Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände and Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände
- Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg
- Deutscher Pfadfinderverband
- Christliche Pfadfinderschaft Royal Rangers
- Christliche Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder der Adventjugend
- Ring junger Bünde
- German Scout Wiki
- Christliche Pfadfinderschaft Deutschlands
- Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas
- http://www.pinetreeweb.com/left5-5.htm