Boys town Buchhof

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The boys' town of Buchhof was a youth welfare facility founded on May 27, 1947 at the suggestion of the US occupation forces and set up in Buchhof Castle near Starnberg . It was originally set up to care for male war orphans, who received professional training there and were to be specifically prepared for a life in a democratic society through self-administration structures . Therefore, in terms of the type of institution, it can also be called a children's republic . Conceptually, it was based on the Boys Town approach of the Catholic priest Edward Flanagan .

The institution was the then district association of workers welfare in Munich .

Self-government until 1950

Self-government around 1950 (after Zielinski 1950)

On the basis of a constitution that was largely drawn up by the residents themselves, the boys held regular mayoral elections. The mayors in turn appointed other boys as speakers for certain areas of responsibility (work, hygiene, sport, etc.) and together with them formed the boys' city council. The mayors also proposed boys to the boys' town court, which monitored compliance with the facility rules. In the so-called education committee, the boys' representatives also had the opportunity to discuss issues relating to the facility with the home management.

Self-government after 1950

Until 1950, contact persons of the US armed forces watched over the maintenance of the self-government structures. Soon after their departure, however, the options for self-government were severely limited. In the course of time, the facility was also increasingly open to boys who were not war orphans. The boys' city of Buchhof lost its unique character as a result. However, it kept its original name. In the mid-1950s the home was closed for financial reasons.

literature

  • Bernhard Babic: Boys Town Buchhof . In: City of Starnberg (Hrsg.): God for honor ', the children for teaching'. 200 years of school in Starnberg. Starnberger Stadtgeschichte, Volume 5. Starnberg: Kulturverlag Starnberg, pp. 184-195
  • Johannes-Martin Kamp: Children's Republics. History, practice and theory of radical self-government in children's and youth homes. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1995 (dissertation University of Essen 1994), ISBN 3-8100-1357-9 , chap. 22.6.2., Pp. 587–597, Die Jungsstadt Buchhof .
  • Johannes Zielinski : About self-administration as a means of upbringing in homes for uprooted young people damaged by war, presented and explained using the example of the youth self-help organization and youth center in Buchhof . Ludwig Maximilians University (unpublished dissertation), Munich 1950.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Johannes-Martin Kamp: Children's Republics. Opladen 1995; online (PDF): 2nd edition 2006 (Bildungsserver paed.com), p.597 .