(1865–1928) in Germany, and Christmas Humphreys
(1901–1983) in England. The schools of Grimm and
Dahlke continued their work within small private cir-
cles during the Nazi period, when Buddhists were re-
garded with suspicion as pacifists and eccentrics. With
the exception of those who had abandoned Judaism
and become Buddhists, however, no official or open
persecution of Buddhism took place.
After World War II, small numbers of Buddhists re-
constructed former THERAVADA-oriented groups or
founded new ones. Beginning in the 1950s, Japanese
Buddhist traditions, such as Zen, Jodo Shinshu, and
SOKAGAKKAI, were brought to Europe. Zen became
especially popular during the 1960s and 1970s; many
local groups were established and Zen teachers began
touring Europe. The Zen boom was followed by a
sharp rise of interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Beginning
in the mid-1970s, high ranking Tibetan teachers con-
ducted preaching tours in Europe. Within two decades,
converts to Tibetan Buddhism outnumbered converts
to all other Buddhist traditions in many countries.
This rapid increase in the numbers of European
Buddhists, accompanied by an expansion of already ex-
isting institutions, led to a considerable rise in the num-
ber of Buddhist groups and centers. In Britain, for ex-
ample, the number of Buddhist organizations increased
from seventy-four to some four hundred between 1979
and 2000. In Germany, interest in Buddhism resulted
in an increase in the number of Buddhist institutions
from around forty in 1975 to more than five hundred
meditation circles, groups, centers, and societies by- Comparable growth rates occurred in other Eu-
ropean countries, such as Italy, Austria, Switzerland,
France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Eastern Euro-
pean countries also witnessed a growing interest in
Buddhism following the political changes of 1989. Nu-
merous Buddhist groups, Tibetan and Zen in particu-
lar, were founded in Poland, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, and western Russia. Visits by European and
North American Buddhist teachers, as well as a long-
ing for spiritual alternatives to the established Roman
Catholic and Orthodox churches, brought about a
steady growth of Buddhism in Eastern Europe.
In addition to Western convert Buddhists, consid-
erable numbers of Asian Buddhists have immigrated
to Europe since the 1960s (see Table 1). In France, es-
pecially in Paris, large communities of refugees from
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have emerged. In GreatEUROPEThe Dharmapala Center, Kandersteg, Switzerland. Courtesy of Dr. Martin Baumann, University of Lucerne. Reproduced by permission.