„Reichsbündler“, „Marienkinder“ und Bauernburschen

Politischer Katholizismus und Jugend auf dem Dorfe in der Zwischenkriegszeit

Abstract

The article deals with the emergence of Catholic organisations destined for young village people in the context of the development of the political camps (Lager). As a field of research a 900-person village in the northeast of Lower Austria has been chosen. Besides the discussion concerning the origins of political Catholicism in local contexts, the main part of the article addresses the analysis of purposes and functions of these new church associations for young village people. The organisations were split according to gender. Male juveniles joined the Reichsbund of the Catholic-German Youth (Reichsbund der katholisch-deutschen Jugend), girls attended the Marian Congregation of Virgins (Marianische Jungfrauenkongregation). Moreover, there were also traditional associations of the rural village youth related with them. The examination focuses on the attempts of establishing new symbolic orders for the village youth on the one hand. On the other hand, it deals with the construction and fixing of community designs by the local youth.