𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮
In “The Water Book: Culture, Religion, Society, Economy,” Frank Kürschner-Pelkmann writes the following on page 40:
“𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝙏𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮, 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢. […]
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴: 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘮ü𝘯𝘥𝘦, 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 1927. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 1914, 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘻 𝘒𝘢𝘧𝘬𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 “𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵.”
Officially, the prohibition of mixed-gender family beaches was lifted in 1902, and from 1918 onwards, bathing together was also allowed on these family beaches. However, there were 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. In 1932, under Interior Minister Dr. Bracht, there was a so-called “Zwickel decree,” which stipulated that ladies had to wear a proper bathing suit…
…𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘯𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴.”
And in an official German Baltic Sea bathing guide, one could still read the following in the year 1926:
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘭 (𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥-𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 1918): 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯-𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵…”
𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚
Although American imperialism is commonly linked to political and economic influence, the cultural impact, particularly through the worldwide dissemination of American ideals and values during this era, should not be overlooked. The proliferation of hippie culture and sexual freedom in Europe constituted a component of a broader cultural shift that surpassed national borders, influenced by a global exchange of ideas and attitudes.
At the beginning of the 20th century, FKK, i.e., Freikörperkultur, which translates to ‘Free Body Culture’, was advocated mainly by atheist and irreligious naturalists who insisted on exposing their private parts to others (including children) in their own colonies at beaches. The Third Reich under Hitler suppressed the FKK movement, but it was revived once Germany was defeated by the Allies in the Second World War, unleashing American liberalism in Germany through the media and every other means.
However, the decline of the first major traditional customs and moral beliefs coincided with the downfall of the Weimar Republic and the initiation of the first liberalist democratic experiment on German soil. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the vast majority of Germans undeniably adhered to a strong sense of modesty, constituting not a passing phase but a deeply ingrained societal norm. Post-World War II just made things worse and led to a surge in societal indecency with the rise of hippie culture and other immoral trends, propagated by America and exported worldwide, particularly from the 1960s onwards. This marked the advent of degeneracy on steroids, exemplified by the export of American liberalist ideas and media to Europe, including explicit content (porn), nudity, and other forms of open immorality.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙮𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣 ‘𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨’
The degeneration of moral and cultural elements not only went unchecked but also saw the churches not just incapable of combating them, but many succumbed to such ideas (like the alphabet gang/mafia) and openly propagated them. The impact of these cultural shifts has been profound, furthering the erosion of societal norms and values to the extent that the sexualisation and objectification of women are now pervasive and unimaginable to be curtailed in Western society, evident in various facets such as advertising, media, and beyond.
The decline of modest clothing has not come to an end and today aligns itself, in conjunction with pseudo-conservative and pseudo-traditional right-wing forces in Europe and the rest of the West, against Islam and Muslims. Ironically, Muslims symbolise the last bulwark against the moral decay that has morally bankrupted the West. Many of these anti-Islam/anti-Hijab demagogues not only demonise the Hijab—which, in a similar form, can still be observed in churches in portraits of Lady Mary (peace be upon her) and nuns—but go so far as to wage a psychological war against ‘modest’ swimsuits like the Burkini, as seen in France, the enemy of Islam and decency.
Today, a particular virtue that is largely absent in Germany and virtually all other Western societies is modesty. In the collective effort against burqas, headscarves (hijabs), and loose attire, even those who consider themselves traditionalists have transformed into champions of the modern zeitgeist. The preferred image of a woman involves skin-tight or semi-nude clothing, typically in pants; where the vulva and buttocks are made as conspicuously visible as possible, and the breasts are meticulously draped and uplifted for optimal visual impact. Nothing seems too sacred to shield from the eager gazes of the male population.
This spectacle reaches its zenith in the realm of swimming pools. Here, only the most diaphanous fabric shrouds the primary and secondary private parts, stretching elastically to their limits. The discerning observer is treated to a remarkably multifaceted panorama. There is something for everyone, spanning from heterosexual to homosexual, pedophilic to gerontophilic, and beyond.
Yet even here, the Westerner perceives the endangerment of the ‘Judeo-Christian tradition’ emerging, due to the rise of Muslim hijabs and burkinis—a rather misguided attempt to lure semi-modest Muslim women into urine-filled and chlorine-contaminated swimming pools. One level higher on the threat scale is the Muslim woman who completely refuses and does not want to participate in mixed-gender swimming activities at all. It’s a downright catastrophe.
In all this rhetoric of the fight against Islamification and for an allegedly Judeo-Christian leading culture, the traditional German notion of modesty is completely overlooked. Just as the headscarf is an integral part of Christian and Jewish tradition, there used to be a societal obligation to modesty, especially for the female gender. And we don’t even have to stray into the pre-industrial era to find examples, as has been proven.
The saddest aspect of this story is that, influenced by American and other Western propaganda, many in the Muslim world and individuals from once-conservative countries have embraced the misconception that revealing more skin equates to having more freedom and being progressive.