Class reunion

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A class reunion (in Switzerland also a class reunion or class reunion, which is also the title of a film) is an organized meeting of former members of a school class after a variable period of time.

In the German-speaking countries, all types of schools that are organized according to class structures are affected. These are primarily elementary school , secondary school , secondary school and grammar school classes as well as vocational schools , while the Anglo-American educational path can also mean high school and college graduates, who tend to follow year-old structures and therefore more than the usual number of participants Class size (between 16 and 32 with deviations).

purpose

At a class reunion, also called Abitreffen ( Abitur meeting) or Matura meeting for high school graduates , former students of a school class come together to refresh their contacts and exchange memories. The reason is often curiosity about what happened to the former school companions.

Former teachers are sometimes invited to class reunions . You often meet in front of the old school building, inspect it and bring memories to life in conversations.

organization

Searching for people for class members turns out to be one of the most difficult tasks when organizing a class reunion, especially after several years. There are services that can help you find former classmates. An advertisement in the newspaper can also lead to success. In recent times, internet portals have also been offering appropriate assistance.

Class reunions in film, television and acting

cinemamovies

In the following films, a class reunion is an essential or at least an important part of the plot:

The following films are about the reunion of former college friends:

Television productions

play

  • In autumn 2002 the play “Class Meeting” premiered at the Stuttgart Theater Rampe. Text and direction: Klaus Chatten. The main roles were played by Nik Neureiter and Hans Piesbergen.

literature

In literature, too, class reunions are often the setting for dramatic events. Mainly in thrillers or in the crime genre, the meanwhile matured protagonists avenge school tortures by teachers / classmates or clarify old questions of guilt. A well-known literary example of such a class reunion after 25 years is the novella by Franz Werfel from 1928 entitled Der Abituriententag .

  • Franz Werfel , The high school graduation day. The story of a youth debt , Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 12th edition, 1999, ISBN 3-596-29455-X (novel)

Further examples are:

  • Klaus-Peter Wolf Murderous class reunion , Ueberreuter-Verlag.
  • Dorothea Dieckmann: Ladies & Gentlemen . 2002 (A novel based exclusively on a class reunion of the so-called Lost Single Generation .)
  • Hei Ma: The class reunion or a thousand miles of hardship , Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1998.
  • Evelyn Peters: class reunion. Novel . ISBN 3-548-20817-7
  • Robert Menasse : The Expulsion from Hell , Frankfurt am Main 2001 (protagonist Viktor confronts his former teachers with their Nazi past at a class reunion after 25 years.)
  • Jonathan Coe : Class reunion. Roman , Piper Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 9783492047494 (translation from English by Henning Ahrens)
  • Frank Goosen : So much time. Roman , Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 3821809205 (A-levels meeting after 20 years from the perspective of 5 in their mid-forties who start a rock band shortly before the meeting.)

Non-fiction book & guide to class reunions:

  • Sabine Maschke: Meeting class (es). On searching, rediscovering and discovering, Scoventa Verlag, 2013. ISBN 978-3-942073-14-1

Sabine Maschke deals with the class reunion scientifically and on an empirical basis:

  • Sabine Maschke: class reunion. An empirical study of biographical processes. Weinheim: Juventa, 2004. ISBN 3-7799-1673-8

Web links

Commons : Class reunions  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: class reunions  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations