Lilith
08-11-2004, 07:07 AM
(submitted by gekkogecko)
By Erik Kirschbaum
WARNEMUENDE, Germany (Reuters) - Susanne Koch was
wearing nothing but a friendly smile as she defended
the merits of nude sunbathing on eastern German
beaches.
"I grew up being naked at the beach and it's the only
way to spend the summer here," said Koch, 31. "Being
nude on the beach feels completely normal. Sticky,
sweaty bathing suits are revolting. It's unfortunate
we're being squeezed off."
Nowhere has the tradition of nude sunbathing, or the
Free Body Culture (FKK) as it's known in Germany, been
more prevalent than on its Baltic Sea beaches. In the
heyday before the Berlin Wall fell, East German
beaches were dominated by nude bathers.
But in the 15 years since, the naked sunbathers have
been pushed off the main beaches in resorts like
Warnemuende to the fringes as local hotels and
businesses have taken action to mollify western
Germans who complain about too much nudity.
"Western tourists are ruining the atmosphere," said
Koch, a blonde woman with a seamless tan who works at
a watch making firm. "The tensions are unfortunate.
They don't know what they're missing. It's a shame
westerners are so intolerant."
Warnemuende, a resort of 7,000 heavily dependent on
tourism, has become a battleground pitting locals
raised in communist East Germany eager to keep their
au naturel traditions alive against western German
tourists demanding a modicum of modesty.
To appease conservative western sensibilities, tourism
officials have marked beaches where nude bathing is
forbidden. Yet the signs in the lovingly restored
resort town 150 miles north of Berlin are frequently
ignored.
TENSIONS BETWEEN PRUDES AND NUDES
Even on carefree hot summer days the tension between
those on the "textile" sections of the Warnemuende
shore and the "FKK" sections is palpable. Local
newspapers have said some angry westerners have gone
so far as to hurl sand at nudists to chase them from
the "fabric" sections.
"I can't understand why the 'Wessies' get so worked up
about nudists being on the beach," said Maron Mock,
25, a stark naked local primary school teacher, using
the derogatory term for west Germans. "What's the big
deal?"
Mock said she's spent every summer of her life nude on
the beach but worries nudists are becoming an
endangered species.
"In the communist era, about 90 percent of the people
here were nude," said Mock. "Now, only about 30
percent are. It's not fair. We're being pushed off our
own beach into a crummy little zone on the edge. Being
nude is not a crime."
Local tourism officials have put up signs delineating
the shrinking nudist zones from the expanding fabric
areas and in some Baltic resorts, including
Warnemuende and Kuehlungsborn, beach wardens have even
been installed to patrol the shore to make sure naked
sunbathers stay in their marked zones.
"It's a definite improvement now that the nudists are
being kept off the main beach," said retired office
clerk Sina Hahn. "Aesthetically, it's not appealing.
It's scandalous the way these naked people would just
waltz around here everywhere."
Dirk Richter, 40, from the western city of Hanover,
said he was surprised there still was so much
uninhibited nudity in Warnemuende.
"I really don't want to see naked bodies all around
me," said Richter, a tool-maker, pointing to nearby
groups of nudists playing volleyball, paddleball,
soccer, and other games. "It's not for everyone and
it's often not a very attractive sight. It's tough
luck for the natives if that's the way it used to be.
Times change."
BATHING SUITS UNCOMFORTABLE
There are intriguing theories about why easterners
developed such a fondness for nude sunbathing during
the four decades of communist rule while the
westerners stayed buttoned up.
Easterners, raised in the atheist communist state, say
the influence of the Catholic and Protestant churches
are responsible for the comparatively prudish western
attitudes. Westerners respond saying the shoddy
workmanship of East German bathing suits made
easterners prefer being naked.
Some easterners admit that lying on the beach naked --
in the middle of the communist state that controlled
so much of their lives -- represented a cherished, if
limited, piece of freedom.
"Being naked on the beach in East Germany meant being
free," said Wolfgang Schumacher, 57, a teacher wearing
just a beard. "I've been naked my whole life. It's a
shame they keep trying to reduce the size of the FKK
area."
Schumacher said the only time he wears a swim suit is
when he's abroad. He spent his annual holiday in
Portugal.
"And now I've got this white stripe around my midriff
as a result," he said. "Fabric swim suits are so
terribly uncomfortable. How can anyone want to wear
them?"
By Erik Kirschbaum
WARNEMUENDE, Germany (Reuters) - Susanne Koch was
wearing nothing but a friendly smile as she defended
the merits of nude sunbathing on eastern German
beaches.
"I grew up being naked at the beach and it's the only
way to spend the summer here," said Koch, 31. "Being
nude on the beach feels completely normal. Sticky,
sweaty bathing suits are revolting. It's unfortunate
we're being squeezed off."
Nowhere has the tradition of nude sunbathing, or the
Free Body Culture (FKK) as it's known in Germany, been
more prevalent than on its Baltic Sea beaches. In the
heyday before the Berlin Wall fell, East German
beaches were dominated by nude bathers.
But in the 15 years since, the naked sunbathers have
been pushed off the main beaches in resorts like
Warnemuende to the fringes as local hotels and
businesses have taken action to mollify western
Germans who complain about too much nudity.
"Western tourists are ruining the atmosphere," said
Koch, a blonde woman with a seamless tan who works at
a watch making firm. "The tensions are unfortunate.
They don't know what they're missing. It's a shame
westerners are so intolerant."
Warnemuende, a resort of 7,000 heavily dependent on
tourism, has become a battleground pitting locals
raised in communist East Germany eager to keep their
au naturel traditions alive against western German
tourists demanding a modicum of modesty.
To appease conservative western sensibilities, tourism
officials have marked beaches where nude bathing is
forbidden. Yet the signs in the lovingly restored
resort town 150 miles north of Berlin are frequently
ignored.
TENSIONS BETWEEN PRUDES AND NUDES
Even on carefree hot summer days the tension between
those on the "textile" sections of the Warnemuende
shore and the "FKK" sections is palpable. Local
newspapers have said some angry westerners have gone
so far as to hurl sand at nudists to chase them from
the "fabric" sections.
"I can't understand why the 'Wessies' get so worked up
about nudists being on the beach," said Maron Mock,
25, a stark naked local primary school teacher, using
the derogatory term for west Germans. "What's the big
deal?"
Mock said she's spent every summer of her life nude on
the beach but worries nudists are becoming an
endangered species.
"In the communist era, about 90 percent of the people
here were nude," said Mock. "Now, only about 30
percent are. It's not fair. We're being pushed off our
own beach into a crummy little zone on the edge. Being
nude is not a crime."
Local tourism officials have put up signs delineating
the shrinking nudist zones from the expanding fabric
areas and in some Baltic resorts, including
Warnemuende and Kuehlungsborn, beach wardens have even
been installed to patrol the shore to make sure naked
sunbathers stay in their marked zones.
"It's a definite improvement now that the nudists are
being kept off the main beach," said retired office
clerk Sina Hahn. "Aesthetically, it's not appealing.
It's scandalous the way these naked people would just
waltz around here everywhere."
Dirk Richter, 40, from the western city of Hanover,
said he was surprised there still was so much
uninhibited nudity in Warnemuende.
"I really don't want to see naked bodies all around
me," said Richter, a tool-maker, pointing to nearby
groups of nudists playing volleyball, paddleball,
soccer, and other games. "It's not for everyone and
it's often not a very attractive sight. It's tough
luck for the natives if that's the way it used to be.
Times change."
BATHING SUITS UNCOMFORTABLE
There are intriguing theories about why easterners
developed such a fondness for nude sunbathing during
the four decades of communist rule while the
westerners stayed buttoned up.
Easterners, raised in the atheist communist state, say
the influence of the Catholic and Protestant churches
are responsible for the comparatively prudish western
attitudes. Westerners respond saying the shoddy
workmanship of East German bathing suits made
easterners prefer being naked.
Some easterners admit that lying on the beach naked --
in the middle of the communist state that controlled
so much of their lives -- represented a cherished, if
limited, piece of freedom.
"Being naked on the beach in East Germany meant being
free," said Wolfgang Schumacher, 57, a teacher wearing
just a beard. "I've been naked my whole life. It's a
shame they keep trying to reduce the size of the FKK
area."
Schumacher said the only time he wears a swim suit is
when he's abroad. He spent his annual holiday in
Portugal.
"And now I've got this white stripe around my midriff
as a result," he said. "Fabric swim suits are so
terribly uncomfortable. How can anyone want to wear
them?"