The Spaßguerilla (fun guerrilla) was a grouping within the student protest movement of the 1960s in Germany that agitated for social change, in particular for a more

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

, less authoritarian, and less materialistic society, using tactics characterized by disrespectful humour and provocative and disruptive actions of a minimally violent nature. Events organized by the groups included actions such as attacking politicians or the police with custard pies. One of the main proponents was Fritz Teufel, sometimes referred to as the political clown of the Extra-parliamentary Opposition ('' Außerparlamentarische Opposition''). The lack of respect for traditional, "

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

," "repressive" forms of authority and ritual, countered by irony and humour, was typified by Fritz Teufel's reply when told to stand for the judge at a trial: "If it helps the search for the truth" (''Wenn's der Wahrheitsfindung dient''). Wolfgang Lefèvre (1968)

The tactics of the Spaßguerilla were characterized by

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...

, symbolic (rather than real) violence, provocation of authority, using actions of the "authoritarian" state, such as trials, as opportunities for "unmasking" outdated traditions. These tactics and attitudes were in contrast to the more serious, revolutionary rhetoric and actions of other groups centred on the SDS and figures like Rudi Dutschke. While Dutschke spoke of a "Stadtguerilla" ( urban guerrilla), Teufel spoke of a "Spaßguerilla" (fun guerrilla). It was Wolfgang Lefèvre who said that every event or demonstration should be planned so as to be fun for the participants. The forms of provocative and disruptive protest invented by the Spaßguerilla were later adopted by the peace movement of the 1980s and later by youth protest movements in the reunified Germany. Similar forms of disruption have also been adopted by hacktivists.

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Fritz Teufel used the word "Spaßgerilja". Though the normal German spelling is ''Spaßguerilla'', Teufel's spelling became known as the "teuflische Schreibweise" (a pun meaning either "Teufelian" spelling or "diabolical spelling"; ''Teufel'' in German means devil). This spelling is retained by some, including academics (see references).

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