ORGANIZED LEISURE IN GERMANY
By GODFREY BARRASS
THE New Germany is, above all else, a State for the people; but its outlook must be- national as well as socialistic. That is the object behind many of the organizations recently created—behind one of them in particular, a sub-division of the Arbeitsfront (Labour Union), known by the now familiar name of Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Enjoyment).
" We must protect the nerves of the nation," said Herr IIitler, and the task was allotted to the Kraft durch Freude. The K.D.F., as it is commonly called, is attempt- ing, with amazing success, to place the amenities of travel, knowledge, culture, and sport within the reach of people in every walk of life ; it also aims at improving the con- ditions under which they work and live. As a sub- division of the Arbeitsfront, membership of the K.D.F. at once includes the mass of working people from directors to labourers, from servant girls to lady secretaries. It also includes the professions, and as membership dues, which range from 60 pfennigs to 12 marks a month, are paid to the Arbeitsfront and not to the K.D.F., it follows that only a part of the money subscribed finds its way into the coffers of the Kraft durch Freude.
The K.D.F. is something like the Italian " Dopolavoro," but the essential difference is that the Italian model tends to separate the various trades and professions, whilst the Kraft durch Freude aims at bringing them all together. The value of this to a national Socialist State is at once evident. Apart from its cultural activities, the K.D.F. has three departments : Sport ; Travelling and Wander- ing ; and a department which- aims at the improvement of working and recreational conditions (Schonheit der Arbeit). At the end of 1934, the Department of Sport had organized places for games, gymnastics, swimming, &c., in 54 different towns. It plans to increase this number to 125 during the coming year. Courses of- in- struction in every form of sport, from tennis to ski-ing, are offered either free or at a purely nominal cost to members of both sexes. Particular attention is paid to novices. During the past year, no fewer than 357,810 people were taught to swim ; attendance at women's games is recorded as 287,916 ; and the men and women who took gymnastic courses number over 120,000.
The Department of Sport is closely allied with that of Travelling and Wandering. Last February, for instance, it offered a seven-day ski holiday in the Black Forest for 27 marks (less than 30s. at par). This price covered everything—fare, hotel accommodation, and food. A similar week's holiday in the Bavarian Alps was available for 33 marks. But the Travelling and Wandering Depart- ment is no mere connecting link between sport and environment ; it has other, and more significant, aims. Thousands of Berliners are going to drink Munich beer in the Hofbrauhaus and to see something of the beauty of Oberbayern ; Bavarians will visit the Schloss Sansouci in Potsdam and be shown- the sights of Berlin ; factory workers from Diisseldorf will travel as far as Breslau ; millions will see the sea for the first time. Herr Hitler has created a spirit of comradeship between Germans in all walks of life. The K.D.F. will foster this spirit in every way. A national pride will be strengthened by showing the people something of the nation to which they belong ; a socialistic outlook will be cultivated by bringing men and women of all classes into personal contact in an unusual environment. - Moreover,- the facilities offered by the - Travelling and Wandering Department arc by no means limited to German. soil. The K.D.F. possesses no fewer than five ships, all of which are over -10,000 tons and have been specially fitted out to carry- about 1,000 passengers. Two of them are luxury- ships; but they are all extremely com- fortable and the food is excellent. There is only one class.- On -May -29th, the 'Monte- Olivia' (14,000 -tons) is going to make a seven-day trip to Norway. The sea voyage will extend over _twelve hundred miles ; the total cost, including food and rail travel from Baden, will be fifty marks. It may be of interest to remark that the normal third class return fare from Heidelberg (Baden) to Ham- burg is fifty-five marks. Many other such trips are to be made this year both to the English and French coasts, and to Madeira. For some of the passengers they will be free of any charge at all ; for the K.D.F. is offering no fewer than thirty thousand free trips this year. The money is provided by voluntary contributions within the Arbeitsfront and preference is usually given to married men with families, who earn low salaries. I know one man, a lorry driver, who earns 30 marks a week and has five children ; between April 29th and May 6th he will be on board the ' St. Louis.' The ship will visit the Isle of Wight and Cherbourg. The price is 60.50 marks, but the holiday will cost him nothing ; half will be paid by his firm and half by the K.D.F. In years to come, this man's invitation card, which depicts quite pleasantly a square-rigged vessel under full sail, will probably be shown with great pride to occasional visitors.
The activities of the K.D.F. are too extensive to cover adequately in a short article. Its cultural efforts are evident in every town in Germany if one cares to look for them. In Berlin, for instance, the Reichs Symphony Orchestra gives concerts for amazingly low prices. Richard Strauss' Fledermaus, Lortzing's Undine and Hamlet, have all played to large audiences in the K.D.F. Theater des Volkes in Nollendorfplatz, where prices range from 10 pfennig to 1 mark. The " Schiinheit der Arbeit " (Beauty of Work) has provided a great many jokes for the German Press, but it has also done much to improve conditions in factories. Employers have been encouraged to redecorate or rebuild wash-rooms and lunch-rooms•; the work has been carried out by the unemployed. During 1934 alone at least 100 million marks have been paid for such improvements. This money goes into circulation and the number of unemployed goes down ; but the fac- tories still stand and continue to function. How is it all done ? There is only one answer and that is : Comrade- ship. Without it, these ideas could never be put into operation ; given enough of it, whole mountains can be moved ; but discipline and organization are also needed ; Germany today has them all.
The Kraft durch Freude is only a small part in the National Socialist machinery, but the spirit of comradeship which one finds today throughout Germany makes its task very much easier. There are many small factories where certain unskilled workers could not afford to take a holiday unless they received full pay whilst away from work. As the factory owners could not afford to pay them this, it seemed that they would be unlucky. However, the K.D.F. was approached and the problem solved. The places of the workers were taken by students, youths of the Hitler Jugend and girls of the Bund Deutsche Miidel. The gesture was quite voluntary and they received nothing for it, but it is typical of the spirit in Germany today.
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