Modern naturism originated in Germany in the nineteenth century. In a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization, some felt the need to distance themselves from modern society. With new diets, hiking and sports clubs, and by giving up meat, tobacco and alcohol, people tried to escape society and get closer to nature. Artists and writers of the time describe their experiences of being naked in the garden or in nature, and feeling wind and water on their skin.
As part of this reformation movement, the nudist or naturist lifestyle also made its first appearance in Europe. In 1893, 50 Germans founded the world’s first nudist association in Essen, and in 1903, the first naturist site was set up in Lübeck. The nudist culture soon spread to other countries in Europe. While the Lebensreform movement idealized life in the countryside, it was especially popular in the big cities, especially in and around Berlin.
Naturism in Germany
After the First World War, naturist culture grew into a large movement in Germany. In 1925, the term Freikörperkultur was first used, and in 1930, almost 25,000 Germans were members of an official FKK organization. Nowhere else was naturism so widespread.
The Nazis were initially hostile to the rapidly growing and immoral Freikörperkultur. However, the movement was left relatively alone during the twelve years of Nazi rule. The emphasis on the strength and beauty of the healthy body fitted in with Nazi ideology. In 1936, SS leader Heinrich Himmler decided by decree to no longer hinder Freikörperkultur. In 1942, the ‘Polizeiverordnung zur Regelung des Badewesens’ regulated how and where people were allowed to swim in the Third Reich. The regulation stipulated that nudists were allowed to sunbathe where others could not see.
After 1945, Freikörperkultur became very popular, especially east of the Iron Curtain; the beaches of the Baltic Sea were littered with people sunbathing nude. The communist regime of the GDR tolerated the nudist lifestyle, and after the accession of Erich Honecker in 1971, Freikörperkultur was officially permitted in East Germany. In order to gain a better reputation at home and abroad, Honecker wanted to give the GDR a more open character. Allowing nudism was an excellent opportunity to prove to the outside world that the GDR was a free society.
In West Germany, FKK played a role in the left-wing movements of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, which preferred to see the body as natural as possible, including hair and without a bra, swimming trunks or bikini.
Freikörperkultur has lost popularity throughout Germany since the fall of the Wall. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were still hundreds of thousands of nudists on German campsites, beaches and parks. Since 1990 the nudist lifestyle has become less popular, possibly due to the “pornographic gaze” of West Germans. Today, fewer and fewer Germans are members of a nudist association. In 2019, the German Association for Freikörperkultur (DFK) had only 30,000 members, most of whom are 50 years or older.
Times have become more prudish. Experts point to the role of social media. Young people in particular no longer feel attracted to the Freikörperkultur; platforms such as Facebook and Instagram would cause younger generations to grow up with more shame about their own bodies. The internet mainly shows bodies that are seen as perfect.
Naturism in The Netherlands
In the then conservative Netherlands, organized naturism did not arise until the 1930s. The first Dutch naturists sought out beautiful spots in nature, practiced sports there naked, swam there or lay in the sun. Later, people bought land together, which they made suitable for day recreation and later for camping. The first Dutch naturist association was “Zon en Leven”. For the members of this association, the philosophy of naturism went beyond being naked together and being connected to nature. The harmonious way of life was further reinforced by a healthy lifestyle, which meant: no tobacco, no drugs, no alcohol and no meat. Until the beginning of the 21st century, tobacco and alcohol were therefore forbidden on the Zon en Leven grounds.
Not everyone supported this extreme form of naturism and so in the 1950s the first light associations were founded as a reaction, where people were not vegetarian but did smoke and drink.
People met, usually on Sundays, on their own naturist grounds. Zon en Leven remained the largest association with multiple grounds. The light associations usually had and have one ground. The number of association grounds in the Netherlands has remained approximately the same since the end of the 1970s: in 2005 some 45 grounds, 9 of which belong to “Zon en Leven”. On the other hand, some fifteen campsites, mini-campsites or grounds for day recreation have been added. As well as the many possibilities for indoor swimming (outside the outdoor season).
Up until the 1970s, naturism was characterized by a great seclusion. Naturism was far from socially accepted and naturists were looked down upon. The early naturists had difficulty finding each other, finding areas and of course promoting naturism was also difficult. The outside world was therefore not allowed to know where there were naturist areas. In order to prevent any possible view from outside, naturist areas were often screened off by walls and reed mats. Incidentally, this also often happened at the request of the municipality concerned, which wanted to prevent complaints about “offensive nudity”. Nor was the outside world allowed to know who was a naturist. Some people – for example teachers or people who worked with children in other ways – were convinced that they would lose their jobs if it became known that they could be found at a naturist site during the weekend. At naturist sites where the parking lot could be seen from the public road, some even went so far as to cover their license plates. Naturists usually only knew each other by their first names and in minutes of board meetings surnames were always omitted. New members could count on a serious selection and then on a one-year associate membership. They wanted to prevent people with dubious intentions from simply becoming members and therefore only married couples (with or without children) were admitted as members.
At the end of the 70s, more and more people discovered the pleasures of naturism. More and more members spend their weekends in their caravan on the site. The era of day trippers is over. Naturists are not unfamiliar with a certain arrogance. They do not think that a naturist site is comparable to a “normal” campsite. Textile campsites, as they are often called by naturists, are noisy with shouting people and blaring radios. Naturists are quiet, honest people who never leave a mess behind. Naturist sites were and are often located in beautiful places, never close to the road, almost always sheltered. Naturists may feel less superior to other camping visitors these days, the differences in atmosphere and appearance between naturist and textile campsites are still valid.
In 1973, the first public nudist beach was opened in Callantsoog. The Netherlands slowly got used to nudity. In addition to people with a membership card, there were now also nudists who were not affiliated with an association. This slowly led to discussions about what distinguished a naturist from a nudist. Naturism was said to be more than just nudity, naturism was said to be “Nude + 1”. See also the above definitions of naturism. A clear answer to this question has never been given. For the Naturist Federation of the Netherlands, the distinction is also not relevant today. The federation stands for the promotion and advancement of the possibilities for nude recreation for everyone who needs it.
From the end of the seventies, more and more people also want to lie naked on the beach. Fighters from the first hour fight for the first nude beach at Callantsoog, where the NFN flag is raised in 1973. Behind the scenes, the NFN lobbies in political The Hague for the legalization of nude beaches. This comes at the end of the eighties! From then on, nude recreation is allowed in the Netherlands at any location that is designated for this purpose by the municipality or that is reasonably suitable for this (article 430a of the Criminal Code). Many municipalities have designated places as nude beaches. The atmosphere on a nude beach is also more relaxed, people are more environmentally conscious and the visitor has more space than on the textile beach.
In addition to camping sites and beaches, other opportunities for naturism have also emerged. For example, naturists can also go to swimming pools throughout the country.
Between 1975 and 2005, the number of members of the Dutch Naturist Federation increased tenfold from 6,500 to 72,000. Research commissioned by the NFN in 2005 showed that 1.9 million Dutch people regularly recreate naked on nude beaches, in saunas, in the wild or in their own backyards.
Naturism in Belgium
In Belgium, there have been several associations for decades, of which Athena is also the largest worldwide. Some do not have a terrain but organize activities such as nude swimming or sauna on a regular basis. A public nudist beach, which was already widely available in the Netherlands, has not existed for that long. Since 2000, Belgium has had a nudist beach (in Bredene).
Naturism in Other countries
In France, in addition to association grounds, there are also many commercial grounds. In total, one can go to about 200 large and small grounds. Since 2005, a membership card is no longer required on about 40 grounds in France. The largest and oldest naturist centres in the world are in France.
The nudist beaches in former Yugoslavia were famous in the 70s. Now, after the Balkan war, the beaches in Croatia are attracting many tourists again.
Naturism and Italy are a somewhat difficult combination. One reason for this could be that Italian men like to seek out places where -mostly feminine- beauty can be seen, preferably in as undressed a form as possible. Naturist sites are then an easy ‘hunting ground’. Municipal authorities are therefore not very enthusiastic when someone wants to start a naturist site. At the moment there are about seven commercial naturist campsites spread throughout the country. Naturism is also not really common on the beach. Incidentally, Cattolica Eraclea, together with the neighbouring municipality of Ribera, will probably have the first official naturist beach in Sicily in 2008. That beach lies like a narrow strip of sand between the regional nature reserve of the mouth of the river Platani and the sea.
Many beaches in Greece now offer nudist recreation, but it is advisable to stay away from Greek families: they almost never really appreciate nudist recreation. The islands in the Aegean Sea sometimes have beautiful nudist beaches. Greece has a few nudist resorts, including on Crete.
In the Czech Republic, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, nudity is permitted on every beach. However, even there, it is more common on certain beaches than on others.
In Scandinavia, the summers are very suitable for nude recreation. However, in those countries, where people have traditionally been familiar with the sauna, there are surprisingly few nudist areas. Sweden, for example, has only five.
In Poland, the number of public nudist beaches is small, in stark contrast to the Czech Republic. Perhaps the Catholic Church has an influence on this.
In the United Kingdom too, despite the slightly less favourable climate, there are a number of club grounds.
Organized naturism is primarily a European phenomenon. It also exists in the United States, Canada and Australia. In the US, people are much more prudish than in Europe. A scandal can arise if a little girl only wears a swimsuit, or if a naked woman’s breast is shown during a live broadcast of a popular television program, supposedly by accident. There are only a few nudist beaches and in some states, the closed naturist areas are officially considered sex clubs. The latter means that the authorities tolerate a naturist area as long as no minors are admitted, while children are more than welcome on European naturist areas.