Formation November 6th, 1949 President Kurt Fischer | ||
Motto Verband für Familien-, Breitensport und Naturismus e.V. im Deutschen Sportbund Type Naturistic sports federation Membership about 50,000 members, either direct or in the 160 German naturist clubs | ||
The Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur (DFK; German Association for Free Body Culture) is an organization based in Hannover, Germany, founded on November 6, 1949 to promote the interests of naturists in Germany. Its 50,000 members are organized through in nine regional associations and 160 naturist clubs and direct members without a club.
The DFK sees itself as naturistic sports organization, promoting family and recreational sports. DFK is a member of the German Olympic Sport Federation (DOSB) the largest member of the International Naturist Federation (INF).
About 8000 young people are organized in the independent fkk-jugend e.V.
History
The DFK was established on 6 November 1949 as an umbrella organisation covering Germany's three former western occupation zones. It was entered in the register of associations at the district court of Hanover in 1953. Richard Ungewitter, one of the pioneers of the naturism movement, was awarded an honorary membership by the DFK in 1953, despite allegations of nationalist and anti-Semitic activities being levelled against him.
The DFK is one of the INF's major net contributors. However, for several years during the 2000s the DFK criticised the INF's alleged misuse of membership fees, among other complaints. In 2007 the DFK threatened to leave the INF, but after a personal meeting between the heads of the two associations on August 18, 2007 the DFK remained a member. The 60th anniversary celebrations of the DFK took place in Dresden in 2009.
By far the most extensive collection of historical and current information about nudism, the Internationale FKK-Bibliothek (the International Naturist Library, formerly the Damm-Baunatal collection), is located in the Niedersächsischen Institut für Sportgeschichte (Lower Saxony Institute for Sports History) in Hanover.