Physical Training in Germany The Board of Education has published
an interesting report on a visit to Germany by a delegation of education officials who studied methods of physical training there. The report makes curious reading, for the visitors are clearly divided between admiration for the high standard of physical fitness achieved by modern Germany, and a sense that in the effort to achieve it today the young perhaps undergo too great a mental and physical strain. The truth appears to be that the young German's desire to be physically fit, his delight in athletic and especially field exercises, the excellent oppor- tunities he has for satisfying these pleasures, are very largely the result of a movementwhich began spontaneously even before the War and was given every encouragement and material help under the Republic ; under the Hitler regime this healthiest of all instincts, while equally encouraged, has been drawn into the service of a political and cultural ideal which is far from being healthy. The new National Socialist schools, the Hitlerjugend and B.D.M. (Bund deutscher 'Nadel), with the exhausting route marches they demand, are examples of this tendency. The delegation's greatest praise is given to the Kraft durch Freude (strength through joy) move- ment, which gives opportunities for physical recreation after working hours. German workers themselves make varying comments on this organisation. On a purely voluntary basis, and dissociated from any political aim, it could be imitated with advantage and with even greater success by democratic countries.
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