German Scouting Society Sankt Georg
| German Scouting Association Sankt Georg (DPSG) |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| legal form | registered association |
| founding | October 07, 1929 in Altenberg |
| Seat | Holzheim |
| main emphasis | Catholic Scout Association |
| Action space | Germany |
| Chair | Anna Sauer (Federal Chair) Joschka Hench (Federal Chair) Matthias Feldmann (Federal Curate) |
| Members | 95,000 |
| Website | dpsg.de |
The German Scout Association Sankt Georg ( DPSG ) is a Catholic scout association and the largest scout association in Germany . He is a member of the Ring of German Scout Associations (RdP) and the Federation of German Catholic Youth . The association sees itself in the tradition of Robert Baden-Powell , all members make a scout promise.
Structure and organization
The DPSG currently has around 95,000 members. They are distributed over the levels as follows:
- Wolves (6 to 10 years old): around 25,000
- Young scouts (ages 9 to 13): 21,500
- Boy Scouts (ages 12 to 15): 14,000
- Rover (16-20 years old): 14,500
These groups are looked after by approximately 20,000 adult leaders.
In addition, in some tribes there is an age group below the wölfling level, which has been uniformly referred to as beavers since the 83rd Federal Assembly in 2017 . A working aid on beaver groups was published in 2018.
The highest decision-making body is the Federal Assembly. This division can be found downstream down to the tribes, whereby the board of directors down to the diocesan level must be occupied equally by a male and female chairman as well as a curate - this division is only desirable in districts and tribes.
The DPSG is active in 25 dioceses . In these she works in 137 districts with a total of more than 1,300 tribes and settlements .
federal Association
The Federal Office of the DPSG is based in Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia .
The DPSG is managed by the three-person federal executive board and the voluntary federal management from the speakers for the age groups. The individual levels have their own presentation with a speaker, a level curate and a working group. In addition, there are speakers and working groups for various priorities in the content-related work, for example international justice, inclusion and ecology.
Federal Center Westernohe
The federal center is located on the outskirts of the village Westernohe in the Westerwald . The site includes a 28-hectare campsite as well as several conference and self-catering facilities and offers space for more than 4,000 guests all year round. This number of guests is regularly reached on Whitsun when the federal association invites to a nationwide meeting there. In 2004, on the 75th anniversary of the association, 6,200 participants were counted.
Diocesan Association
The DPSG is divided into various diocesan associations at the federal level. Its territorial expansion is identical to that of the diocese in terms of canon law . At the diocesan level, a lot of content-related work takes place in the level and specialist working groups. In addition, most diocesan associations are equipped with a diocesan office in which full-time employees support the volunteers in their work. In addition, most diocesan associations have their own legal entity, which, among other things, administers any facilities and houses of the diocesan associations. There are a total of 25 dioceses .
District level
Depending on the size of the diocesan association, it is divided into districts. If this is not the case, the diocesan association takes over the tasks that the district normally performs. The district level offers the tribes and their boards the opportunity to exchange ideas directly with one another and supports the work of the tribes on site.
Tribal level
The tribal level represents the local level, in larger cities the parish level, the DPSG. This is where most of the work with children and young people takes place. In addition to the tribal assembly, which represents the children and young people from the groups as well as the leaders and the tribal board, there is the tribal leadership and the tribal board. For the pedagogical exchange between the leaders there is also the leader group, which often takes over the tasks of the tribal leadership (partly).
Within the tribe there are management teams for the respective age groups and corresponding groups.
General classification
The DPSG is a member of the Ring of German Scout Associations (RdP). Other members are the Association of Christian Pathfinders (VCP) and the Association of Pathfinders (BdP). The RdP, in turn, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The DPSG is also a member of the DBJR through the RdP .
As the largest Catholic youth association in Germany, the DPSG is a founding member of the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) and a member of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting (IKKP) .
history
The first Catholic scout groups in Germany were founded in 1928 in Wuppertal, Beuthen, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt a. M., Mannheim and Speyer. On October 7, 1929, tribes joined together to form the German Scouting Society Sankt Georg in Altenberg . Wuppertal was designated as the seat of the Federal Chancellery . One of the co-founders, theology student Willy Werner, was appointed the first Reichsfeldmeister of the new Catholic boys' union at the 1st Reichsthing in 1930 in Altenberg. Chaplain Emmerich Wolter was proclaimed Reich curate. The thing passed a binding divide , a scout law and a provisional federal order.
On the VI. Imperial Assembly of the Catholic Young Men’s Association in Germany , 1931 in Trier , the DPSG was officially included in church youth work. Famous in Catholic scout circles during the acceptance ceremony was the pledge of loyalty of the first Reichsfeldmeister, which held many groups together in the times of the coming ban: "We are loyal or we are not". In 1932 the Federal Chancellery was relocated from Altenberg to Düsseldorf .
Willi Werner's successor in the office of Reichsfeldmeister is Walter Casott . The 3rd Bundesthing in Altenberg at Easter 1933 deals, among other things, with the subject of "Spiritualized form and formed spirit of the scout life". At that time, the DPSG consisted of 310 tribes with around 13,000 members.
In 1934, the National Socialists forbade wearing uniforms, badges and banners. The membership increased to 16,000 that year (in 457 tribes). After the National Socialists seized power in Germany, the dissolution and the ban on group work took place in 1938. In the illegality of the community of Saint George in churches, parish homes and apartments, leaders continued to do scouting work.
Shortly after the end of the war, scout groups were set up at the local level. The 6th Bundesthing in Altenberg in July 1946 enacts new federal regulations and elects Hans Fischer as field master. In 1947, George Scouts came into contact with worldwide scouting for the first time after the war. The Scouts de France (SdF) can take part in the first jamboree after the war, the “Jamboree of Peace” in France. The DPSG has around 10,000 members in 282 tribes.
The Bundesthing 1949 worked out a new structure and a new rift and for the first time allowed women as wolfling leaders. The armory company Sankt Georg as a supplier and the Georgs publishing house are founded. The DPSG has 20,500 members. The number of members rose sharply in the 1950s and up to the early 1960s, but fell disproportionately regionally in the following years. For example, 93 tribes with over 2,600 members (1961) were counted on the Landesthing in Munich in 1962, but this number fell to 59 tribes by the Landesthing in 1970. In 1965 the federal association had 73,000 members. At the beginning of the 1970s, membership began to rise again and in 1978 exceeded 100,000. In 1990 the number of members was 112,500, stagnated for a few years and fell to around 100,000 in 2004. The current number of members (2007) is around 95,000.
The first "annual campaign" under the motto "Nimble hands, nimble feet create a work for physically handicapped young people" (1961) marked the beginning of the annual campaign, which to this day deal with a different political and social topic every year and in which donations for specific Projects are collected.
After only boys and men were allowed to be members of the DPSG with a few exceptions (female Wölflingsleiter), the DPSG opened up to girls and women in 1971 and has been a co-educational association ever since . In addition, there is a purely female scout association, the St. Georg Scout Association, which was founded in 1947. In 1971 the pedagogical discussion culminated in the resolution of a new order, which replaced the Boy Scout Law with the "basic lines of our view of life" and changed the DPSG pedagogically.
In protest against the implementation of the resolutions of the Second Vatican Council , individual Catholic-traditionalist members of the DPSG split off as the European Catholic Scouting Association in 1976 .
The 57th Federal Assembly in 1995 brought another far-reaching change, with the introduction of “child participation”, according to which children should have a say in group lessons and life in the tribe.
The “update” perspective development process begins in 2001 and critically questions the DPSG with its goals and order.
In 2005, the Federal Assembly passed new rules for the association. This also includes the reintroduction of a boy scout law in a contemporary form.
The parts of the order that describe the work in the stages and thus form the basis of the educational work will be decided in a revised form at the 2018 Federal Assembly. This also shifts the age limits.
Due to the corona pandemic, the first digital federal assembly took place from 20 to 24 May 2020. The election of the federal chairman was carried out by postal vote . The teacher Annka Meyer from Aachen was elected as federal chairwoman , her term of office begins on November 1st, 2020. The Pentecost camp from May 29th to June 1st, 2020 did not take place in the federal center Westernohe , but was carried out completely online.
Annual promotions
The DPSG puts each year under an annual action motto, which can be used methodically by dioceses, districts and tribes.
| year | motto |
|---|---|
| 2020 | No waste! Without ifs or waste! |
| 2019 | fully PRECIOUS! |
| 2018 | Lively. Powerful. Sharper. Do you think? |
| 2017 | Be a star! - Together for Europe - Zjednoczeni dla Europy - Ensemble pour l'Europe |
| 2016 | H2O16 - water counts |
| 2015 | Guest >> Friendship: For people on the run |
Curates
Curates (“pathfinder chaplains”) in the DPSG are elected and confirmed by the responsible church level. The term of office is three years, and the curate is an equal member of the three-person tribal, district, diocesan or federal board; the extent of his actual participation varies greatly from tribe to tribe. There is also the office of graduate curate at the district, diocesan and federal level. The focus of his work is the spiritual accompaniment of the scouts entrusted to him in the respective level.
For a long time, almost all of the DPSG's curates were priests, mostly the local vicar ( chaplain ) or pastor was elected to the office. Because, on the one hand, the workload of the parish priests continues to increase and their number continues to decrease, and on the other hand, the talents of many lay people for the spiritual ministry are to be brought in profitably for the association, it is now possible to have male or female lay people with episcopal commission in the To choose office. For this purpose, the DPSG, in consultation with the youth commission of the German Bishops' Conference, has developed and approved a curriculum for the training of curates.
Until 2012, the statutes of the DPSG provided that only priests could be elected as federal curate. However, in September 2012 the Federal Government was informed by the Permanent Council of the German Bishops' Conference that due to the shortage of priests, no priest can currently be released for this office. The Bishops' Conference suggested opening the site to appropriately trained lay people. In December 2012, the Federal Assembly of the DPSG decided to change the statutes to open the office of curators to laypeople.
Gaps and structures in the course of time
Scout clothing , equipment and structures of the DPSG have been subject to numerous changes and redesigns over the decades.
Pre-war period
The first chasm from before 1930 still shows the influences of the largest German prewar association, the German Scout Association (DPB). Both the Catholic scouts and the scouts of the DPB at that time wear a hunter-green shirt for everyday camp life and a white “holiday shirt” on special occasions. In addition, short, knee-length black cord trousers and green knee socks are worn in all seasons. A scout hat is compulsory for scouts and a green boat for wolves . As a “camp cap”, the boat found its way into the headgear of the elderly - as was the case in many former leagues. In many tribes, wearing a shoulder strap (belt strap) was part of the cleft from 1930 onwards. Since the introduction of the new Kluftordnung in 1931, this belt carrier has been an official part of the DPSG costume. Coupling girders were there to absorb the load of the largely standardized coupling equipment. This included the knife , bread bag and the typical, felt-covered aluminum canteen. In addition, group equipment such as the feldspade could be added. The knapsack was mostly used as a transport container until the 1950s . It was only when the demands of the boy scouts in the camp grew that the much more spacious backpack was preferred.
1949 to 1964
In 1949 the Bundesthing decided to make some corrections to the organization of the levels. If the young scout was until then only a member of a sub-group of the scout level with the same scarf as this, an independent level was now established. It included a new age group (12 to 14 year olds), which had previously included the wolves. The Boy Scout Promise and the law continued to apply to young scouts. The new level got its own motto (“Be ready!”) As well as its own neckerchief in green color and a white cross lily on a green background. As with all levels, the Jungscharkreuz was also part of the official appearance. Young scouts of the 2nd degree received the slogan Be ready as a sleeve badge.
- Further resolutions made there on the age structure: The leader of all the wolves in the tribe is given the newly introduced name of the Wölflingsmeister. His previous name, Altwolf, is transferred to the newly created office of pack leader. Old wolves and troop cornets, the leaders of the pack and troop, are said to be over 17 years old. The previous pack is now called pack of 12–18 cubs each and is divided into 2–3 packs, each with a lead wolf, who is himself a wolf. As before the ban, the Wölflingsgesetz contains two points. As an independent scouting preschool, which according to Baden-Powell's specifications does not count among the actual scouts, it also keeps its own promise as in the past as well as the wolf salute, which deviates from the boy scout salute. In order to make the difference to the young and scout level even clearer, the degrees are omitted. Instead, a distinction is now made between young wolf, wolf (1 star) and wolf (2 stars). In addition, the Bundesthing changed the 7th point of the Boy Scout Law of 1949 The Boy Scout obeys without contradiction and does nothing half in The Boy Scout obeys of his own free will and does nothing half .
After the Second World War , not much was changed in the outward appearance of the Boy Scout. One retained the appearance from the days of the prohibition and was proud of the way through the prohibition time. Only the shorts have been shortened a little further in line with the zeitgeist and the badges show some slight modifications.
The “green” appearance only changed radically in 1957 with a resolution by the then Bundesthing. This change, like the following, was not initiated by a member's decision, but decided by the leadership of the Federation. Officially, it was said, among other things, that the color scheme of the previous gap had failed, and that, after being accepted into the World Scout Association, the company wanted to adapt its appearance to international conventions and correspond to “the healthy sense of time”. The new DPSG shirt was officially designated as sand-colored or khaki , the shorts made of tent fabric as smoke gray and the stockings as gray. The badges were also subject to radical changes. The rift was left in this form for a few years until 1964.
The 1964/1965 reform
In 1964 the Bundesthing decided to introduce an anthracite gray beret as headgear in addition to the boy scout hat . At that time - following Adenauer's political reconciliation course with France - they were Francophile , which was also reflected in the literature in the armory.
The change of the coming year was perceived by many tribes as an attack on their traditions, which is reflected in the letters to the editor of the federal magazines: The boy scout hat was in 1965 - so literally in "Große Fahrt" No. 7, 1965 - as "broad-brimmed (s) Piece of history from the time of the Boer War "abolished. Historically, this statement is incorrect. Instead, the hat originated in the USA and Canada. From there, Baden-Powell brought him to England. British troops never wore this hat during the Boer War. Only after the end of the war did Baden-Powell introduce him to the police force he had founded . This historical background was disregarded, the aim was to make a completely new chasm palatable to the scouts:
The shirt officially known as gray (actually sand-colored), which was introduced in 1965, had only a breast pocket on the right-hand side as a special feature and had an overlapping flap that could be closed with a gold-colored button. This shirt was rejected by many scouts because it was not only visually displeasing, but also did not meet the requirements in the camp. Instead of the hat there was now only the anthracite gray beret with an artificial leather headband as headgear; which also anthracite gray shorts were cut again, at the same time was one the first time a knee breeches , long pants and a sweater brownish gap (Cub Scouts: navy blue) to the full appearance of the Georg Scout. The knee socks were gray in color. Another innovation concerned the rovers, which were also badly received: They had to do without their own scarf for over 15 years, and from now until 1982 they no longer wore a scarf. From now on, the old driver's cords, which had been put around the neck and had different colors depending on the position, no longer belonged to the rift of the DPSG. These colored badges were now worn on the seam of the left shoulder flap in the form of loops. The outer loop marked the position in which the guide worked (rover or scout), the inner loop marked the plain (federal, state, district, tribe).
1971 to 1982
The dissatisfaction with the new chasm manifested itself after a few years, because at the beginning of the 1970s the foundation stone was laid for the appearance of the St. George's Scout, as it still exists today. A little different badges were used at that time and the shirt had epaulettes , otherwise the shirts of that time were almost identical to today's. In the 1970s, individualism among the Boy Scouts continued unbroken. Since then, the official shirt has mostly been part of the basic equipment of the DPSG groups. When it came to legwear, there were no longer any uniform rules: you wore what you liked and what was modern. Nevertheless, towards the end of the 1970s there were still official sand-colored long trousers, or an official 3/4 skirt made of sand-colored fabric. Official headgear was no longer provided.
Ladder Strips (1971 to 1982)
Ladders pushed the roughly 80 mm wide strips against the shoulder seam of the left epaulette. These ladder strips indicated the activity of the wearer:
- gray = activity at the tribal level
- black = activity at the district level
- violet = activity at the diocesan level
- gold = activity at federal level
The second strip that was pushed on provided information about the function of the carrier:
Stripes crossed with white stood for assistants (helpers).
The 1982 reform
In 1982 the Federal Assembly (formerly Bundesthing) abolished the epaulettes and the colored sliding loops (ladder strips). Proponents of this change in the divide stated that epaulets and stripes would remind unbiased viewers too much of military uniforms , while conservative tribes retained the criticized attributes for around a decade after the change. The badges for pack leaders (Akela) and their helpers (Baloo) were abolished. What was encouraging for the rovers about this change in the gap was that they again received their own scarf, this time in a rust-red color. At the end of the same decade, the color of the rovers was changed to a pure red shade in accordance with numerous requests.
Current appearance
The current outfit of the DPSG consists of a sand-colored shirt with two breast pockets, according to the rules of the division. Various badges in the form of patches are to be attached to the gap :
- Nationalities badges
- Level badge (wolf head for wolves or cloth lily in the corresponding color for the other levels and the ladder)
- Clan badge
- World Federation badge
- ICCS badge (since 2009)
- Annual campaign patch
The exact places where these badges are to be affixed are determined by the gap regulations. However, most of the rift carriers do not adhere fully to these guidelines. A majority of the members design the gap individually with additional patches, and some of the mandatory badges are often not sewn on or in the wrong place.
The gap also includes a scarf, the color of which shows the level of the wearer:
- Wolflings: orange scarf
- Young scout: blue scarf
- Boy Scout: green scarf
- Rover: red scarf
- Head: gray scarf or pink “ Woodbadge scarf” with McLaren tartan
There is also the group of beavers who wear a white scarf.
swell
- ↑ 82nd DPSG Federal Assembly from May 5 to 8, 2016 in Hardehausen; "Entity Report"
- ^ DPSG Bundesverband: Decision: Voluntary support group before the Wölflingsstufe. DPSG, accessed June 2, 2018 .
- ↑ DPSG Federal Association: Working aid beaver. DPSG, accessed June 2, 2018 .
- ^ The diocesan associations. Accessed May 31, 2020 .
- ^ DPSG, Land München, Landesthingprotokoll vom Landesthing, held on November 11th and 12th, 1961
- ^ DPSG, Land München, Landesthingprotokoll vom Landesthing, held on December 1 and 2, 1962
- ↑ DPSG, Land München, Landesthingprotokoll vom Landesthing, held on December 13 and 14, 1969
- ^ Günther Walter: KPE / DPSG differences . Pathfinder of Mary 2004/4, p. 5 f
- ↑ Hermann-Josef Frisch : Not church sheep, but courageous Christians. Patmos Publishing Group , August 26, 2014. ISBN 978-3-8436-0547-2
- ↑ Annka Meyer becomes the new federal chairwoman. Retrieved June 7, 2020 .
- ^ DPSG Bundesverband: Chronicle of the annual actions. Accessed May 31, 2020 .
- ^ Proposal to amend the statutes, paragraph Reasons
- ^ Office of the Federal Curate open
- ^ DPSG, Land Munich, circular 4/49 of April 28, 1949
- ↑ DPSG, Federal magazine Die große Fahrt No. 7-8, 1957, p. 3
- ↑ Resolutions of the 24th Bundestag. In: Georgspfadfinder , 4, 1964. pp. 118–119; here p. 118.
- ↑ DPSG, Federal magazine Die große Fahrt No. 9, 1965, pp. 12-13
- ↑ Federal management of the DPSG (ed.): The scout gear. In: Boy Scouts. Another way. Georgs-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1978, pp. 327–333.
- ^ Rules of the DPSG (with rules of division on page 96) (PDF; 2.0 MB), February 26, 2014
