Bund New Germany

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Memorial plaque at Hirschberg Castle

The Bund Neudeutschland (ND) is an association of the Catholic youth movement founded after the First World War . In 1923 he gave himself the so-called Hirschberg program at Hirschberg Castle in the Altmühltal .

History of the covenant

At the suggestion of the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Felix von Hartmann , the federation was founded on July 31, 1919 by Jesuits as an "Association of Catholic Students of Higher Education". Von Hartmann found "intensive pastoral care for the students of higher educational institutions urgently necessary if it is to be possible to preserve the educated people of the church". The name “New Germany” was intended to express the desire to contribute to a new, better, Christian Germany that was strongly oriented towards medieval knighthood. In the topics of the Bündische Jugend “naturalness, simplicity, truthfulness, personal responsibility, community” a way to this goal was seen. After six months the association already had 10,000 members. In addition to Cardinal Hartmann, the Jesuit Father Ludwig Esch SJ was the driving force behind this program and for decades the central figure of the Federation.

In 1923 - four years after its foundation - the Bund New Germany adopted a new federal program at Hirschberg Castle in Franconia in which the goals of the federal government were formulated. The founding by the church leadership became a self-responsible association of young people, priests were now companions and no longer leaders. The "Hirschberg Program" summarized the will and striving in the motto: "New way of life in Christ". It contained a clear rejection of "undesirable development (s) of the youth movement such as enthusiasm, subjectivism, radicalism". This realism met with resistance from some of the student groups known as “Great New Germans”, while at the same time there was a dispute about the girls' groups that were only represented in the student union. The Heliand Association was intended for them. Thereupon a substantial part of the "Großneudeutschen" with all girls' groups and some younger groups resigned from the Bund New Germany in the summer of 1924 at the Bundestag at Burg Normannstein and founded the " Normannsteiner ". In contrast to the Bund Neudeutschland, this group took the position that the youth movement was an end in itself and that organizational issues, such as founding an association, were subordinate to it. The spiritual leader of the Normannsteiner and author of their bulletin Heerfahrt was Alfons Maria Lins , who had already contributed to the founding of the Bund New Germany. Until then, Lins was also an author in Leuchtturm , the ND magazine.

The members of the ND were then only boys from high schools and grammar schools, while girls were not admitted.

After the National Socialists came to power, the Reich Concordat initially seemed to guarantee protection for the Catholic organizations, but this only lasted for a short time. As early as 1933 there were disputes with the Hitler Youth (HJ), which wanted to include all young people. Moral pressure on the parents through the higher education institutions, prohibition of gaps , travel knives, tent camps and trips did the rest to shift interest in this and related organizations in favor of the Hitler Youth. The number of members steadily decreased from 21,000 in 1933. Quite a number of groups operated on the verge of legality until they were dissolved by the Gestapo in 1939.

In the ND-Älterenbund (Äbu) mainly students were organized. He got the same in 1933 in turmoil because his federal leaders, government assessor Hans Hien , because of an initiative to self-confident political activity under the new regime after interrogations by Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich in protective custody was taken. His initiative was seen as an attempt at infiltration and charges of high treason were filed. However, the Reichsgericht rejected the indictment. Hien was released under certain conditions, the Äbu survived this crisis. In the following years he was less persecuted than the Jüngerenbund (Jübu) because his 2,000 men were less interesting for the Nazi student body than the wealthy and large corporations .

From 1932 to 1934, the works sheets of the Äbu developed under the editorship of the philosopher Max Müller into a lively and broadly oriented magazine. In June 1933, on Danube Day, Rudolf Graber (at that time “spiritual director” of the Danube valley and “spiritual federal director” of the Äbu) declared Israel had forfeited its salvation-historical vocation. It was "now granted to the Germans" to "be God's chosen people, civitas Dei, to keep order and values ​​holy, to protect and promote the bride of Christ, to pacify the world". In the “fight against Judaism” there is an “instinctive aversion of the whole German people, who [...] cannot understand why the rejected people of Israel should rule the world and not the people of the middle”. Graber's speech at the time was published in the works sheets in autumn 1933 . From 1936 (under Josef Gülden ) the topic of a popular liturgy (replacing the Latin language) came to the fore. In 1937 the magazine was detached from the federal government and at the same time it was laid dead. H. the supraregional organization was discontinued - except for one coordinator.

After 1945, a New German University Ring (ND-HSR) was formed at the West German universities , which, in contrast to the traditional Catholic student associations , endeavored to create a contemporary form of academic community life.

Today the federation exists as ND - Christian Being Today and sees itself as an academically shaped Catholic association, which until April 2016 also carried the name Association of Catholic Men and Women (ND-KMF). Its symbol is the Chi-Rho . The ND has 4,000 members, mostly older adults, who meet in regional groups, for work weeks, retreats and trips. ND is divided into 20 regions and thematic working groups. The office is in Cologne, the financial and legal entity is the non-profit ND-KMF eV The members' magazine Hirschberg appears monthly.

The federation is the root of the Catholic student youth - school community in the Bund New Germany (KSJ, since December 30, 2011 an independent youth association). A related association with the same roots is Heliand - Circle of Catholic Women . In May 1997 ND became a member of TransFair . The KSJ is a member of the International KSJ.

Federal institutions

The federal government built the “ Willi Graf ” student residence in Munich with the participation of the Christophorus Association of Catholic Students and Academics .

He maintains two youth guest houses in Neuerburg Castle in the Eifel and in Marienburg Niederalfingen in the Ostalb district as well as a youth meeting place in a tower of the Nuremberg city wall , the so-called ND Tower.

Members (ND / KSJ)

(Selection)

See also

literature

  • Ronald Warlowski: New Germany German Catholic Students 1919–1939. Nijhoff, The Hague 1970.
  • Rolf Eilers (Ed.): Does not extinguish the mind. The Bund New Germany in the Third Reich. Grünewald-Verlag, Mainz 1985, ISBN 378671195X .
  • Günter de Bruyn : Interim balance. A youth in Berlin. S. Fischer, Frankfurt / M. 1992. (de Bruyn's brother was with the ND)
  • Stefanie Kühne: Living in Christ, Catholic youth movement in the interwar period (1919–1938) shown using the example of the Federal Republic of New Germany. Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg 1999.
  • Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins. A life for the people. Catholic parish St. Martin, Bad Orb 2018.
  • Klaus Große Kracht : Confessional elite education and communicative networks 1945–1965 . In: Michel Grunewald, Uwe Puschner (eds.): Catholic intellectual milieu in Germany, its press and its networks (1871–1963) . Peter Lang, 2006, ISBN 978-3-03910-857-2 , pp. 483–505 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • Alfons Lins: From New Germany. Collected Essays. Articles from the "Lighthouse". Fulda Actiendruckerei, 1924.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hubertus Büker: A movement in constant movement. In: Day of the Lord No. 30/28. July 2019, Supplement Horizonte , p. III.S.
  2. ^ Hubertus Büker: A movement in constant movement. In: Day of the Lord No. 30/28. July 2019, Supplement Horizonte , p. III.S.
  3. ↑ The Normannstein Chapel . In: Poppenhausen. Climatic health resort on the Wasserkuppe . Poppenhausen 2017, p. 26.
  4. ^ Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins. A life for the people. Catholic parish of St. Martin, Bad Orb 2018, p. 68.
  5. ^ Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins. A life for the people. Catholic Church Community St. Martin, Bad Orb 2018, p. 38.
  6. ↑ Golden Jubilee Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Kapp - the portrait. Osthessen News, April 3, 2004.
  7. ^ Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins. A life for the people. Catholic parish of St. Martin, Bad Orb 2018, p. 155.
  8. ↑ Alfons Lins: From New Germany Becoming. Collected Essays. Articles from the "Lighthouse". Fulda Actiendruckerei, 1924.
  9. ↑ Olaf Blaschke: The Churches and National Socialism , Reclam, Stuttgart 2014, p. 86.
  10. ↑ nd-netz.de
  11. ^ Hubertus Büker: A movement in constant movement. In: Day of the Lord No. 30/28. July 2019, Supplement Horizonte , p. III.S.
  12. ↑ http://www.iycs-jeci.org