Portal:Scouting/Selected article/June

Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg (Saint George German Scout Association, the DPSG) is the largest of many German Scouting organizations. This Roman Catholic association has about 95,000 members of both sexes. Through the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände, the DPSG is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. It is also a member of the International Catholic Conference of Scouting (ICCS) and of the Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend (BDKJ). There is also a parallel Guiding organization with strong ties to the DPSG, the Pfadfinderinnenschaft Sankt Georg.

The DPSG was founded in 1929. Few Catholic Scout groups were active in the years before its founding, for most German bishops saw Scouting as a Protestant or nonreligious movement. After 1933, membership rose massively: most competing youth organizations were disbanded by the Nazi authorities or incorporated into the Hitler Youth. In 1935, membership stood at 16,000 boys in 457 local groups. Growth continued until 1938, when all religious youth organizations were banned.

Roman Catholic Scouting resumed as soon as World War II was over. The first local groups were reorganized in 1945, mainly in the American-occupied zone of Germany. The national association was restored in 1946. When the Ring deutscher Pfadfinderbünde was founded in 1949, the DPSG had about 20,000 members.