Formation and Development of Youth Hostels in Germany during the Period 1919–1932

This article is a continuation of research dedicated to the emergence of youth hostels in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. While the previous study focused on the socio-economic prerequisites and the formation of the hostel concept, this paper analyzes the transition from experimental to practical implementation, with an emphasis on the architectural and planning evolution of hostels during the Weimar Republic period. The study examines the first purpose-built hostels, spatial solutions, and key principles that shaped the architectural image of the typical youth hostel. In 1914, two years after the opening of the youth hostel in Altena, World War I began, and the development of youth hostels was halted. Richard Schirrmann and Wilhelm Münker enlisted in the German army. Despite being on different fronts — Schirrmann on the Western Front and Münker on the Eastern — primary sources indicate that they actively continued to work on the youth hostel idea, explored prospects for the development of hostels after the war, and planned to return to this work immediately. However, the war, which lasted more than four years, ended in Germany's defeat. After the November Revolution, the Kaiser abdicated, and the Weimar Republic was established. The difficult living conditions of the lower and middle classes during the peak of the German Empire, urbanization, and industrialization in the second half of the 19th century no longer seemed negative to the population: now, after a long war, the economy was paralyzed, mass unemployment began, and inflation and prices for essential goods were rising rapidly. The state no longer controlled the processes taking place in the country, panic and social tension increased. Germany was gripped by armed clashes, strikes, and attempted uprisings. All this had a demoralizing effect on millions of veterans who returned from the war to civilian life but had no prospects or comfortable living conditions. Schirrmann and Münker, having returned from the front, realized that now, due to the catastrophic situation in the economy and politics, their idea of the youth hostel — which had only just begun to be implemented in the early 1910s — was now at risk of disappearing entirely after a long interruption.