Publication details
Per Aspera ad Astra. Kultura svobodného těla v Německu před sto lety
| Title in English | Per Aspera ad Astra. Free Body Culture in Germany a hundred years ago |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Prostor Zlín |
| Citation | |
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| Description | The so-called “free body culture” is a celebrated phenomenon that accompanied the social atmosphere during the first decades of the 20th century. An extraordinary passion and diversity for this phenomenon manifested itself in Germany. Naturism (nudism), “Nacktkultur” or “Freikörperkultur” refers to the diverse range of individuals, associations and unorganised groups who promoted nudity as a way of associating the (modern) human to nature, to the rediscovery of a natural essence and an expression of individuality. The idea of a program that practices free movement without clothing in the modern context sprang up in the 1970’s and was closely linked to the preservation of animals, vegetarianism, natural healing, alternative ways of life and the all-round cultivation of personalities. Through an authentic, direct experience, nudity strongly resonated as a symbol of social egalitarianism, transformations of ideological settings and especially a general anticipation of the major changes that the new age was about to bring. Unraveling the intellectual hotbed of this wave is however more complicated than it may seem at first glance. It is a mixture of approaches and theories from various areas, such as hygiene, psychology, sexology, medicine, race theory and eugenics, as well as feminism, and the spiritual sphere of life and art. |