In 1903 the first large resort for nudists in Germany, the Freilichtpark, was opened near Hamburg. The world’s first nude beach was in Germany, too, on the North Frisian island of Sylt (1920). The Freikörperkultur (FKK) was at its most popular during the Weimar Republic, when a socialist branch of the FKK was also established. It was believed that nudism would ennoble the worker’s mind and make him more politically conscious (thereby leading him to socialism). The movement’s basic assumptions about workers were not especially flattering, and it was believed they needed educating in many respects. They were supposed to have primitive sexual urges and to be ignorant in matters of hygiene.
By the early 1930s, an estimated 75,000 working-class people enrolled in various social-democratic organizations practiced nudism. One of those organizations was the Adolf Koch School. Adolf Koch (1896-1970) was a social democrat with a mission:
“Durch Proletariernot und Proletarierberuf Verkrüppelte sollen auch freie Körperkultur treiben“ [Those, too, who are crippled by proletarian needs and working conditions must practice FKK]. In Koch’s thirteen schools, set up throughout the country, naked men, women, and children were taught “Swedish” gymnastics and dance together.
In Hitler’s Germany, the socialist FKK organizations were not surprisingly banned, but not because they promoted nudism. Hitler and Himmler actually thought naturism as such beneficial. During the Nazi years, right-wing elements within the movement came to the fore and gradually adopted more anti-Semitic and eugenicist traits. The title of the movement’s magazine Deutsche Leibeszucht [German Physical Breeding] speaks for itself.
The FKK experienced a revival after the Second World War, and Adolf Koch, who had survived the war in rather dubious circumstances, once again played a role.
During the 1970s the movement lost its ideological character. In East Germany, too, naturism had tens of thousands of followers, but nudism was restricted to certain areas, and private clubs were not permitted. A ban on nude bathing was short-lived (1954-1956); it was lifted following objections from the public.
John Alexander Williams, Turning to Nature in Germany. Hiking, Nudism, and Conservation, 1900-1940. (2007)