The Deutsche Pfadfinderverband (DPV; approximate translation: ''German Scout Association'') is an umbrella federation of sixteen

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

non-denominational

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

associations. It was founded in 1970 and serves about 29,000 members.

History

The DPV was founded in 1970 under the name ''Deutsche Pfadfinder'' by a number of regional organizations which had left the Bund Deutscher Pfadfinder (BDP) due to the perceived loss of political neutrality within the latter. In 1971, the

Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Deutscher is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alma Deutscher, British musician and composer *Drafi Deutscher, German singer and composer *Guy Deutscher (linguist) *Guy Deutscher (physicist) *Isaac Deutscher, British jou ...

joined the ''Deutsche Pfadfinder'' and the federation was renamed to ''Deutscher Pfadfinderverband''. However, the Deutscher Pfadfinderbund left the federation after some years. In 1977, the DPV was amongst the founding members of the Deutscher Pfadfinderring (DPR); this

traditional Scouting Traditional Scouting is "old-fashioned" or "back to basics" Scouting in some form, often with an emphasis on woodcraft and scoutcraft activities. As a pluralist movement, there is no one set definition for the term, but most traditionalists share ...

federation tried to form a counterweight to the

Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände The Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände (RdP; ''German Scout Federation'') is the German national Scouting organization within the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It serves 115,944 members (as of 2011). The RdP was founded as Ri ...

and the

Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände The Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderinnenverbände (RDP; ''German Guide Federation'') is the German national Guiding organization within the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). It serves 47,688 members (as of 2008). The RDP was f ...

. The DPR was disbanded in 1995. An application for membership in the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände in May 1985 was rejected. The member organizations of the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände requested a merger of the DPV and the

Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder The Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder (BdP) (German Association of Guides and Scouts) is the largest non-denominational, co-educational Scout and Guide association in Germany. Through its membership in the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbän ...

prior to an integration in its ranks. Negotiations between the DPV and the Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder were closed unsuccessfully in 1989. At the 2007 annual general meeting in Berlin, the Europa-Scouts resigned from membership in the DPV due to permanently low membership figures. At the same meeting, the Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nordlicht was accepted as an associate member. The 52nd anniversary was celebrated in September 2022 as DPV GoLd (L as 50 in

roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

) at

Ludwigstein Castle Ludwigstein Castle (german: Burg Ludwigstein) is a 15th-century castle overlooking the river Werra and surrounded by woodland. It stands southwest of the town of Witzenhausen in North Hesse. Founded in 1415 the castle's buildings today were built in ...

. The original plans for celebrating the 50th anniversary in 2020 had to be postponed due to the corona pandemic. It was celebrated as a radio show instead.

Member associations

The DPV has a total of sixteen member associations. With the exceptions of

Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Mosaik The Deutsche Pfadfinderbund Mosaik (DPBM) is the largest member of the Deutscher Pfadfinderverband (DPV). Like all Scout associations in DPV, it is interdenominational and politically independent. Its legal entity is the registered association ' ...

and

Pfadfinderbund Weltenbummler The Pfadfinderbund Weltenbummler e.V. ''(Scouts' Association Globetrotter)'' is an inter-confessional and apolitical German Scout association founded in 1981. It has about 2000 members and is part of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WF ...

, all members are regional organizations. The membership numbers of the component organizations vary widely between 100 and 8,000 Scouts. ;Full members: * Bund Europäischer Pfadfinder, member of the Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme * Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Hamburg *

* Deutscher Pfadfinderbund Nordland * Jomsburg – freier Pfadfinderbund * Pfadfinderbund Boreas (since 2010) * Pfadfinderbund Horizonte * Pfadfinderbund Mecklenburg-Vorpommern *

, member of the

World Federation of Independent Scouts The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) is a non-governmental international Scouting organization with over 7 million members in 151 affiliated Scout organizations in 65 countries. WFIS was formed in Laubach, Germany Germany ...

* Pfadfinderschaft Grenzland * Pfadfinderschaft Nordmark * Pfadfinderschaft Süddeutschland * Pfadfinder- und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nord * Verband Deutscher Pfadfinder ;Associate members: * Freie Pfadfinderschaft * Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnenbund Nordlicht ;Former members: * Deutsche Pfadfinder Landesmark Westfalen (...–2010) *

* Deutscher Pfadfinderverband Gau Westland (...–2010) * Europa-Scouts * Pfadfinderbund Nordbaden * Pfadfinderbund Süd (1970–1981) * Pfadfinderschaft Phoenix (...–2010)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Scouting and Guiding in Germany Non-aligned Scouting organizations Youth organizations established in 1970

History

Member associations

Further reading

References

External links