The Sauerländer Heimatbund (English: Sauerland Home Federation) Heimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate centuries of German consciousness and the thousands of connections this quintessential aspect of German identity carries with it. is a non-profit

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Their purpose is to adhere to and honour the cultural roots, heritage and traditions the Sauerland area. It was founded in 1921 in

Meschede Meschede () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis. Education One of the five branches of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences (also: Fachh ...

History

The organisation was founded by the Roman Catholic priest

Franz Hoffmeister Franz Hoffmeister (22 March 1898 – 27 March 1943) was a German Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Sauerländer Heimatbund and Festspiele Balver Höhle. Life Hoffmeister was born in Ramsbeck. He was consecrated to a Roman Catholic p ...

as a community of traditional students. Like similar organisations in Germany, it was founded because of the experiences of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

activities were interrupted. Specific aspects of ''Heimat'' — love and attachment to homeland and the rejection of anything foreign — left the idea vulnerable to easy assimilation into the fascist "blood and soil" literature of the

National Socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Bylaws

The registered voluntary association has over 3,000 members. As in all other German associations of this type, an annual meeting is compulsory. In the 21st century annual meetings were held in

Balve Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in ''Hönnetal'', a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpe Dam, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sau ...

(2004),

(2005),

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hoch ...

(2006) and Allendorf (2007),Sauerländer Heimatbund wurde in Allendorf erstklassig aufgenommen
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Notable members

Theodor Pröpper Theodor Pröpper (26 May 1896 – 31 July 1979) was a German church organist and composer. Pröpper was born in Balve and spent most of his career there as an organist at Saint Blasius church. Career Pröpper studied at the church music schoo ...

(1896–1979), composer * Franz Lenze (1910–2005), politician * Friedhelm Ackermann (1934–2006), photographer * Werner Ahrens, designer

Chairman

* Elmar Reuter

Literature

* Landeskundliche Schriftenreihe für das kurkölnische Sauerland. Darin u.a.: ** Helmut Müller (Bearb.): Die Urkunden des Klosters Bredelar. Fredeburg, 1994. ** Manfred Wolf (Bearb.) : Die Urkunden des Klosters Oelinghausen : Regesten. Fredeburg, 1992 * Sauerland : Zeitschrift des Sauerländer Heimatbundes * Erika Richter: 75 Jahre Sauerländer Heimatbund. In: Sauerland 29/1996. S.123-159 * Dieter Wurm: 85 Jahre Sauerländer Heimatbund. In: Sauerland 3/2006. S.107 * Sauerland, Zeitschrift des Sauerländer Heimatbundes, Publisher: Sauerländer Heimatbund

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauerlander Heimatbund Non-profit organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia Westphalia culture Organizations established in 1921 Sauerland 1921 establishments in Germany