German naturalists worry about future of lifestyle amid declining interest | Germany

A group promoting nudity and a more body confident approach in Germany has sounded the alarm about the future of naturism in the country.

The German Association for Free Physical Culture (DFK), an umbrella organisation for numerous naturist groups, told its members that it was cancelling celebrations of its anniversary planned for August due to lack of interest.

DFK’s membership has fallen from 65,000 25 years ago to fewer than 34,000 today, and many of the remaining members are said to have lost interest.

Germany is one of the most liberal countries in the world when it comes to indecency. Parks and beaches often have designated areas for nudists, and clothed and nude people are more likely to mix.

Adherents of the movement revel in the life-affirming freedom that comes from being naked together across generations, as well as the mental and other health benefits that come from shedding any sense of shame associated with nudity.

DFK president Alfred Sigloch said there were many reasons for the decline in interest, everything from generational conflict to the unwillingness of younger nudists in the clubs to abide by the strict rules of older members, such as designated afternoon nap times and quiet hours.

Sigloch told German media this week that the prevalence of digital technology was putting some people off, with some nude bathers fearing they would be secretly photographed by mobile phone or drone cameras and posted on social media.

“The rise of the cult of the perfect body on TikTok and Instagram has created more pressure to not take off your clothes,” Siglov added.

The origins of German free body culture (Freakkerpurculture Free body culture (German for “free body”, or FKK for short) dates back to the late 19th century as a social movement that criticized materialism and industrialization. In the early 20th century, free body culture spread further, offering a healthy alternative to the harmful and restrictive industrial life in towns and cities. FKKs became particularly popular in the lakeside resorts around liberal Berlin, and along Germany’s Baltic and North Sea coasts.

While nudity was generally frowned upon during the Nazi era, the trend was especially popular in Communist East Germany, due to the strong association of nudity with freedom. Citizens may have been restricted in everything from freedom of speech to freedom of travel, and even the right to take swim rings or lilos into the sea in an attempt to escape, but there was a strong sense of exercising free will when summer holidays came and people were allowed to strip off on beaches and campsites without legal restrictions.

Sigloch says the growing popularity of glamping has contributed to the closure of FKK-only holiday sites, as campsite owners could make more money from higher-paying campers looking for a more luxurious experience than from nudists.

He warned that individual clubs have suffered huge losses of members and some have been forced to close, but he vowed to rise to the challenge to revive the movement. “We will fight to keep all naked people who want to be with us,” he said. “FKK is an ancient culture that will never die.”

Siglov said he remains optimistic, in part because interest in many nudist clubs has increased during the coronavirus crisis: The Federal Society’s membership had fallen to as low as 30,000 five years ago, but has risen to nearly 34,000 since the pandemic.

“This is due, among other things, to the fact that the pandemic has led many people to seek alternative, healthy outdoor leisure activities,” he said.

Kerstin, a 65-year-old former confectioner, said she had practiced FKK “all her life” but did not belong to an official club, and that she would make regular trips to Germany’s Baltic coast and continue to bathe naked “until I die”.

“But I used to be just one of the crowd, I didn’t stand out at all, and now I feel like there are fewer and fewer of us,” she says. “I think some people are worried about skin cancer, and some people are just more clean freaks, which is a shame, because it has nothing to do with sex or sexuality, it’s to do with health and freedom. Now people point at me on the beach because they don’t like it, which didn’t happen before.”

In a heartbreaking message to members announcing the cancellation of the commemoration, DFK officials said: “Unfortunately, there were too few people registered for our ceremony and, with a heavy heart, we have been forced to make the decision to cancel. The costs for those who would have attended were simply too high.”

But supporters say all is not lost: Upcoming events for the FKK community include the 15th International Naturist Run on the Baltic Sea coast on July 27, the naturist mudflat hike “Nacht-Ins-Watt” in Dithmarschen on the North Sea coast on August 17, and the DFK’s FKK swimming championships across Germany later this month.