opmentoftheindividualthroughsportswasessential.Duetohiswartimeexpe-
rience,hewasalsodrivenbysocialDarwinistconvictions,namely,thatonlythe
best-trainedpeoplecouldsurvivethestruggleoflife.¹⁹¹Inthelate 1920 s,Diem
continuedtocooperatewiththeGermanarmy,requestingthattheReichswehr
Ministry support his ‘daily physical exercise class’ campaign.¹⁹² General
Schleicherhadsentamemoranduminthisregardtothegovernmentalready
on 18 October 1930 .Schleicher pointed to socialhygienicmeasures as a
meansofstrengtheningpublichealth,educatingtheyouthtoobedienceand
thetrainingoffuturemilitaryreserves,sincethesizeofthearmywasrestricted
bytheVersaillesTreaty.TheGeneralalsomentionedthedailygymnasticslesson
inschool,aclearreferencetoDiem’sideas.Thememorandumofthearmyalso
containedotherfieldsofparamilitary‘sport’activities,suchasshooting,hiking,
horseriding,glidingandathletics.¹⁹³ItisthussafetosaythattheGermanarmy
envisionedarevivaloftheBundJungdeutschland.Thistime,thenewvolunteer
out-of-schoolorganizationshouldalsoincludeyoungermembersintheparami-
litaryassociationsofpoliticalright-winggroupssuchastheStahlhelmandthe
NationalSocialistSturmabteilung(SA).Intimesofeconomiccrisis,theGerman
armywantedtohaveyoungmenoccupiedinordertopreventtheirpoliticalrad-
icalization.Thisbeingthecase,theplanstocreateanationwide“Boardforthe
PhysicalTrainingoftheYouth”(ReichskuratoriumfürLeibesertüchtigung)failed
duetocivilianoppositionfromtheMinistryoftheInterior,similarlytothecase
oftheTurkishGeneralStaff’s“Greywolves”proposal.¹⁹⁴Nonethelss,thechosen
directionwasclearwhenHindenburgstatedinadecreeon 12 September 1932
that“Thestrengthening[Stählung]ofthebody,theeducationoftheyouthfor
orderanddiscipline,comradeshipandthereadinesstomakesacrificesforthe
communityaretasksthestatehasadutytoattendto.”¹⁹⁵
Cf.NoyanDinçkal,“ʻSportistdiekörperlicheundseelischeSelbsthygienedesarbeitenden
Volkesʼ:Arbeit,LeibesübungenundRationalisierungskulturinderWeimarerRepublik,”Body
Politics 1 – 1( 20 13), 71 – 97.
Diem’slettertotheReichswehrMinistry,4February 19 31.ReprintedinOlympischeFlamme
vol.3, 1233 – 1234.
JohannesHürter,WilhelmGroener:ReichswehrministeramEndederWeimarerRepublik,
1928 – 1932 (Munich:Oldenbourg, 20 09), 14 7.
FordetailsofthemilitaryvisionoftheReichswehrseealsoMichaelGeyer,“DerzurOrgan-
isationerhobeneBurgfrieden,”inMilitärundMilitarismusinderWeimarerRepublik,ed.Klaus-
JürgenMülleretal.(Düsseldorf:Droste, 1978 ), 50 – 51.
AsstatedinanewspaperarticleinHeinrichvonHoff’spapers,HStAStgtHStAStuttgartM
660 /1 15 Bü 26 .HoffhadretiredfromactivemilitaryserviceandresignedfromhisBJDpositions
inthe 1920 s.Hesubsequentlyjoinedright-wingofficersandsmallarmsassociations.Martin
142 3German-Ottoman/TurkishCooperationintheMobilizationofYouth