Talk:Strength Through Joy

Translated from German

The german version of the article has much more so I translated it from Google. If anyone could copy paste into the english version article but fix it accordingly, it would make the article better.

raft by joy from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Changes too: Navigation, search KdF meeting in gau the cure Hessen increase KdF meeting in gau the cure Hessen

The National Socialist community Kraft by joy (KdF) was a political organization with the task to arrange the spare time of the German population to supervise and synchronise. It existed from 1933 to 1945, whereby most operations with beginning of the Second World War were stopped 1939. Kraft by joy was a subsidiary organization of the German work front (DAF). With the office for journeys, moving and vacation, which organized land and sea voyages, KdF was the largest tour operator at the same time in the third realm. Table of contents [Verbergen]

   * 1 emergence
   * 2 ideological bases and goals
   * 3 activities
   * 4 organization
   * 5 financing
   * 6 see also
   * 7 literature
   * 8 Web on the left of

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Emergence

To the emergence of Kraft by joy two factors contributed. On the one hand in the time of the Weimar Republic the average number of days of holiday with workers and employees had already risen to eight to twelve days; nearly all workers had requirement on paid summer holidays. However it got usually only older employee so much vacation that they could actually have begun a longer journey.

The national socialists extended the vacation to two to three weeks per year (whereby it for this still no legal regulation gave). As the National Socialist government the employees promised a further expansion of the vacation and a Verkürzung of the work time, it knew a part that before times in a marxist manner or social-democratically gesinnten workers of its intentions to convince.

On the other hand fascist Italy under Mussolini already possessed a leisure organization, the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (national leisure work) since 1925. Robert Ley, the director/conductor of the German work front, had become acquainted with and suggested this 1929 on an Italy journey therefore after the seizure of power a comparable organization. The national socialists planned first, linguistically ajar against the Italian version, an end of workday work „according to the work “; the finally selected name „Kraft by joy “was however a propagandistically far more effective key word. At planning Robert Ley was considerably involved, which should lead the leisure work as directors/conductors of the DAF also.

On 14 November 1933 Hitler approved the plans for a leisure work. The official establishment of KdF took place two weeks later on 27 November 1933 on a special conference of the German work front, in presence of Rudolf Hess and Joseph Goebbels. The regulation on the German work front from 24 October 1934 intended the German work front for the Trägerin of the KdF. [Work on]

Ideological bases and goals The building ruin of the seaside resort Prora increase The building ruin of the seaside resort Prora

While in the Italian Dopolavoro work only employees were organized, the German leisure work employee should and employers under a roof to meet and prevent in such a way that a pure worker organization would develop, which could become politically dangerous possibly. The individual conditions and occupational groups should not form units, but the thought of the classless „community “was stressed.

Kraft by joy should thus primarily for the internal peace secure, by promising the workers, what up to then only the Oberschicht afford could: Journeys and a sufficient, filled out spare time. The “preservation of the work peace by pacification of the working” was the officially spent goal (Lit.: C. Selzner 1937, zit. n. Spode 1991).

One wanted to overtrump symbolically the Marxists, those before the seizure of power of the Nazis, so their propaganda, whom workers would have promised a fulfilled spare time - without its promises into practice to put. Actually different trade unions and other worker organizations had vergünstigte package tours for their members organized, although to small extent in the twenties.

The goal of the organization was it to lend to the German people (achievement) „Kraft “on the one hand, in order to set economical production in motion, on the other hand in addition, in order to make from the Germans a physically healthy, war-efficient people.

For the National Socialist ideologists spare time was not conceivable as self purpose, but had in the service of the state and the people. An official goal from KdF was

   „the creation of new German humans and a new German social order. The social-cultural re-organization of the German community " (Lit follows the political and the economical.: DAF news service from 20 November 1933, zit. n. Frommann 1992, P. 106).

   „The goal of the organization is the creation of the National Socialist community and the full coming and refinement of German humans “(Lit.: DAF news service from 26 January 1934, zit. n. Frommann 1992, P. 108)

Hitler is quoted by Ley with the following words:

   „I want that a sufficient vacation is granted to the worker and that everything happens, in order to let it this vacation as well as its remaining spare time become a true recovery. I wish that, because I want a nerve-strong people, because only alone with a people, who keeps its nerves, one can make trueful large policy. “(Lit.: Robert Ley, break-through of the social honour, P. 208, zit. n. Frommann 1992, P. 108)

One wanted to reach „a nerve-strong people “and „the refinement of German humans “, by offering an exactly measured and through-structured spare time to the working population. The work and productivity should be increased, the public health should improve. Not viceful, verweichlichendes „pleasure “, but recovers „to joy “should the worker „Kraft “give.

The philosophy of KdF was based on sociological realizations. The ever more efficiently becoming working sphere of the industrial company zermürbte the workers physically and psychologically (see Taylorismus, Fordism). Robert Leys ideological basic idea was it to give to the workers in its spare time the possibility for the recovery. The recovery should serve not the boredom and the Amüsement, but re-establish aimed the forces of the working population to fulfill it with energy and „Kraft “for the work.

Among the cultural goals the stabilization of the homeland feeling, national pride and the community feeling ranked. The German people should be welded together to other peoples superior community in the together spent spare time to a strong.

One expected from KdF also successes abroad: The German people should be self-confident its outward carry and at the same time on journeys abroad its own native country with other countries to compare be able - for the advantage of the own country naturally. The world should recover the impression and friedliebenden Germany to win.

On the other side also this office served the war readiness. A healthy and motivated people was considered to the national socialists also as particularly war efficient. The increased production, which one expected, benefitted the Rüstungsbetrieben. Before beginning of war these goals were also officially communicated only briefly. [Work on]

Activities

KdF organized multicolored evenings, gymnastic, swimming training courses, sewing courses, chess tournaments and concerts. Also adult education was promoted.

The largest division of KdF was the organization of trips and journeys. The for this responsible office for journeys, moving and vacation gained approximately four fifth of the conversion.

Well-known mechanisms and projects were:

   * the KdF car, which however never when such was delivered
   * the cruise ships William Gustloff and Robert Ley.
   * the seaside resort Prora on Rügen, never finished

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Organization

The community Kraft by joy was divided into several offices, which partly changed their designation in the course of the time or were restructured:

   * Office for training
   * Office for culture
   * Office for organization
   * Office for press and propaganda
   * Office for journeys, moving and vacation
   * Treasury
   * Office for beauty of the work
   * Office for self-help and settlement
   * Office for sport
   * Office nationality and homeland

Leader of KdF was Bodo Lafferentz. The regional arrangement of the KdF followed the political arrangement into 32 gaus with 771 circles and 15,051 local's groups. [Work on]

Financing

The members of the German work front, in which a majority the German of the employees, employer and civil servant were organized, were at the same time also members of Kraft by joy. They paid monthly membership dues of at least 50 realm Marks.

The large majority of the KdF coworkers worked honorary. That lowered the personnel expenditure of the program. 1937 had KdF of 106,000 honorary and 4,400 full-time coworkers.

The incomes of the DAF grew from 281 millions realm Mark in the year 1933 on 538 millions in the year 1939. The predominant part were membership dues. KdF was bezuschusst by the DAF with 8 millions RM in the year 1934, 14.3 million in the following year and already 1938 with 32,5 millions RM. Expectations, KdF by the incomes with journeys themselves would finance itself, would fulfill themselves not. [Work on]

See also

   * Language of the national socialism

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Literature

   * Wolf hard book wood: The National Socialist community “Kraft by joy”: Leisure activities and workers in the third realm. Diss. Munich 1976
   * Hasso Spode: Worker vacation in the third realm, in: Carola Sachse among other things: Fear, reward, breed and order. Rule mechanisms in the national socialism. Opladen 1982
   * Spode, Hasso: The LV community “Kraft by joy” - a people on journeys? in: ders. (Hrsg.): To the sun, to the liberty! Contributions to tourism history. Berlin 1991. ISBN 3-928077-10-4
   * Hasso Spode: Fordism, measure of Tourism and the Third realm. In: Journal OF Social History, Bd. 38, 2004.
   * Bruno Frommann: Journeys in the service of political objectives. Worker journeys and “Kraft by joy” - travels. Stuttgart 1992

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Web on the left of

   * Kraft by joy article of the German historical museum
   * Detailed information to KdF on Shoa.de

—Preceding unsigned comment added by VarunRajendran (talk • contribs)

Collapse

The eventual collapse of the programme is covered in a single short sentence; presumably it was obliterated by WW2, but what happened up until that point? Was it an unsustainable, uneconomical pyramid scheme, or was it wound up in favour of e.g. wartime production (as seems to have been the case for the VW Beetle). There is a persistent urban legend that the entire programme was a sneaky means of increasing taxation, and that most of the money went towards Panzer production, but was this the case? -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 18:00, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Seems their is a few inches of text in the Robert Ley ship, but no specifics. scope_creep (talk) 13:41, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

God I wish Germany never started that war, they never started the holocaust and Hitler was assassinated in 1938. We would still have a beautiful and innocent Germany —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.238.2.3 (talk) 03:16, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Strength Through Joy Cruise Ship

According to newly released pictures of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime released today in the The Telegraph 07/06/2009, their was a cruise ship called Strength Through Joy and other called Robert Ley which was named after Dr Robert Ley, the nazi politician and unionist. Seems that both these cruise liners, which according to the The Telegraph, they started the whole cruising for leisure holidays. There is seems to be zero information about them in wikipedia. scope_creep (talk) 13:40, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

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People's car financially unsound

What is the basis for the claim the Beetle "project was financially unsound". Furthermore, if it was unsound, how did "corruption and lack of accountability of the Nazi regime made it possible"? Corruption never makes a project save money, only cost more.Royalcourtier (talk) 03:24, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Nazi Germany

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 13 January 2022 and 25 April 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): ICWatter (article contribs).