The Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (DPSG, ''German Scout Association

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

'') is the largest of Germany's many Scouting organizations. The

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

association has about 95,000 members of both genders.http://www.dpsg.de/dpsg/zahlenundfakten.html accessed on 10 June 2006 Via the

Ring deutscher Pfadfinder*innenverbände The Ring deutscher Pfadfinder*innenverbände (rdp; ''German Guide and Scout Federation'') is the German national Scouting and Guiding organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the World Association of Girl Guid ...

it is a member of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

. The DPSG is also a member of the

International Catholic Conference of Scouting The International Catholic Conference of Scouting (ICCS) is an autonomous, international body committed to promoting and supporting Catholic Scout associations and to be a link between the Scout movement and the Catholic Church. Its headquarters ...

(ICCS) and of the

Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend The Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend (BDKJ) is the umbrella of Catholic youth organizations in Germany. Member organizations * Aktion West-Ost * Bund der St. Sebastianus Schützenjugend (BdSJ) * Christliche Arbeiterjugend (CAJ) * DJK-S ...

(BDKJ).

History

The DPSG was founded in 1929. In the preceding years only a few Catholic Scout groups were active, since most German bishops saw Scouting as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

or secular movement. In the beginning the DPSG did not count more than 800 members. After 1933 membership rose noticeably: Most competing youth organizations were disbanded by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-authorities or incorporated in the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

while the DPSG still enjoyed some degree of protection under the

Reichskonkordat The ''Reichskonkordat'' ("Concordat between the ... between the Holy See"> ... between the Holy See and the German Reich") is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany">Holy See and the German Reich">Holy See"> .. ...

. In 1935 membership stood by 16,000 boys in 457 local groups. This development lasted until 1938 when all religious youth organizations were banned. Catholic Scouting was restarted as soon as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was over, thanks to underground networks still existing in some places. The first local groups were reorganized in 1945, mainly in the American occupied zone. In 1946 the national association was restored. When the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderbünde was founded in 1949 the DPSG had about 20,000 members. The number of members of the association rose also in the following years - with some temporary set-backs - until it reached 100,000 in the early 1980s. Since then membership has stagnated. In 1971, the DPSG did open to girls. Today, nearly all local groups are coeducational but there is also a parallel Guiding organization with strong ties to the DPSG: the

Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg The Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg (PSG) is a German Roman Catholic Girl Scout regionally coed association with about 10,000 members. offline The national association is a full member of the Ring deutscher Pfadfinder*innenverbände and the Wo ...

Program

The Scout emblem is a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

symbol, a combination of the Scouting

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

with a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

Sections

The DPSG is divided in four sections according to age: * Wölflinge (

Cub Scouts Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scouting, Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a gro ...

) - aged 7 to 10; orange

scarf A scarf (: scarves or scarfs) is a long piece of fabric that is worn on or around the neck, shoulders, or head. A scarf is used for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or to show support for a sports club or team. ...

* Jungpfadfinder (cubs) - aged 10 to 13; blue scarf * Pfadfinder (Venture Scouts) - aged 13 to 16; green scarf * Rover (

Rover Scouts Rovers or Rovering is a programme associated with some Scout organizations for adults, originated by The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1918 to provide a programme for young men who had grown up beyond the age range of the Boy ...

) - aged 16 to 20; red scarf All leaders in the DPSG are supposed to be 18 or older; they wear a grey scarf or, if they are Gilwell educated, the

Woodbadge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...

scarf and insignia. Unlike most German Scout associations, the association does not practise youth leadership.

Promise

The DPSG does not know a common

Scout Promise The Scout Promise (or Oath) is a declaration made by a person joining the Scout movement. Since the publication of ''Scouting for Boys'' in 1908, all Scouts and Girl Guides around the world have taken a Scout (or Guide) promise or oath to live up ...

. The promise shall be formulated individually by the respective group and for the respective advancement. Nevertheless some local groups have regular wordings that are in use since the 1960s.

Scout Law

In 2005, the DPSG reintroduced a common

Scout Law Scout Law is a set of codes in the Scout movement. Since the publication of '' Scouting for Boys'' in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout Promise or oath to live up to the ideals of the movement and have subscribed to ...

for the whole association. In the years before, four guidelines were used instead of a Scout Law. :Als Pfadfinderin .../Als Pfadfinder ...
''As a Girl Scout/Boy Scout ...'' :* ... begegne ich allen Menschen mit Respekt und habe alle Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen als Geschwister.
''... I'll meet everybody with respect. All Scouts and Guides are my brothers and sisters.'' :* ... gehe ich zuversichtlich und mit wachen Augen durch die Welt.
'' ... I'll meet the world confident and with open eyes.'' :* ... bin ich höflich und helfe da, wo es notwendig ist.
'' ... I will be courteous and will help where needed.'' :* ... mache ich nichts halb und gebe auch in Schwierigkeiten nicht auf.
'' ... I'll finish my task; I won't give up even if it is difficult.'' :* ... entwickle ich eine eigene Meinung und stehe für diese ein.
'' ... I'll develop my own opinion and stand by it.'' :* ... sage ich, was ich denke, und tue, was ich sage.
'' ... I'll say what I'm thinking and do what I say.'' :* ... lebe ich einfach und umweltbewusst.
'' ... I'll live simply and environmentally aware.'' :* ... stehe ich zu meiner Herkunft und zu meinem Glauben.
'' ... I'm aware of my origin,and faith.''

International partners

The DPSG strongly emphasizes its international partnerships. Since the late 1940s, it is twinned with the

Scouts et Guides de France Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (fo ...

and the

Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani The ''Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani'' (, AGESCI) is a Catholic Scouting and Guiding association in Italy. It is coeducational and, as of 2024, has 182,000 members, including 33,454 leaders (of whom 1,947 priests), 1,885 local ...

. More recently a number of development partnerships were started. These partners include the Scouts de Bénin, the Asociación de Scouts de Bolivia, the Lebanese Scouting Federation, the

Rwanda Scouts Association The Rwanda Scouts Association (RSA; formerly in French ''Association des Scouts du Rwanda'') is the national Scouting organization of Rwanda. Scouting in Rwanda was founded in 1940 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Moveme ...

and the

Association Scoute du Togo The Association Scoute du Togo (A.S.T.), the national Scouting organization of Togo, was founded in 1920, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1977. The coeducational Association Scoute du Togo has 9,727 members ...

Organization

The DPSG is divided in 25 councils (''Diözesanverbände'') corresponding to the Catholic

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s of Germany. Only two dioceses in the former

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

are without own structures ( Dresden-Meissen and

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

), they are served by the neighbouring councils. Most of the councils are divided in districts (total: 137 districts) and on local level more than 1,400 groups (''Stämme'', "tribes") are active. Regularly, a local group consists of four troops - one of each section.

References

External links

Official homepage
{{Authority control Scouting and Guiding in Germany World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations Youth organizations established in 1929