Yacht-Club von Deutschland

The Yacht-Club von Deutschland (YCvD), "Yacht Club of Germany", was a yacht club established in 1937 [ [http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/media/general_inf_dates_and_events.htm Kieler Woche dates & events] ] during Nazi rule in Germany. It originated with the Yacht Club of Kiel's forceful merger with local smaller clubs, like "Kieler Segelvereinigung" (KSV) and HDK kayak club (Hochschulring Deutscher Kajakfahrer) [ [http://www.hdk-kiel.de/Media/paddelblatt/paddelblatt.htm Paddelblatt - Hochschulring Deutscher Kajakfahrer] ] . This was followed by the "incorporation" ("Einverleibung") with other German yacht clubs, foremost of which were the Yacht Club of Bavaria (Bayerischer Yacht-Club) and the Württembergischer Yacht Club, [ [http://www.wyc-fn.de/historie/index.html Württembergischer Yacht Club - History] ] to form a massive entity, the "Yacht-Club von Deutschland".

Hitler's National Socialist propaganda machine made wide use of sports in order to harden the German spirit by means of the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen (NSRL). The main purpose in the creation of the Yacht-Club von Deutschland was to instill unity among German youth. The YCvD's aim was to "bring into line" the scattered yachting and sailing clubs of North Germany's former Hanseatic League cities under a central command along with yacht clubs elsewhere in Germany. The Yacht Club of Kiel's name "Kaiserlicher Yacht Club", deemed by the Nazis not to be in tune with "the spirit of the times" ("zeitgemäß"), soon fell into oblivion and the honorary commodore's title was withdrawn from old former Emperor William, who withered in exile in Doorn, the Netherlands.

After successfully organizing the 1937 Kiel Week, the Yacht-Club von Deutschland supported the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) in the organization of the Star Class European Championship in the same year.

Upon the 1938 annexation of Austria ("Anschluss"), half of the Austrian yacht clubs were brought under the wing of the Yacht-Club von Deutschland. In 1939 many of the sailing competitions and other planned events in preparation for the 1940 Helsinki Summer Olympics were carried out in Germany, especially in Kiel, despite of the imminence of the war.

The last significant activity of the Yacht-Club von Deutschland right before the outbreak of WW2 was the organization of the Star World Championship, together with the NRV. [ [http://www.starclass.org/history/worlds.htm International Star Class Yacht Racing Association - World Championship Results 1923-1944] ] YCvD Kiel members Dr. Peter Hansohm and Christian Blankenburg ended up third in the general classification. On September 1st, participants belonging mainly to nations that had become hostile were brought safely across the border into Denmark together with their boats. This operation was carried out with the assistance of the Kriegsmarine.

World War Two radically altered the role of the Yacht-Club von Deutschland in the country. Even though it continued its sailing school activities among the youth for a few years, yachting was discouraged. In the last years of the war many members of the yacht club, among them young teenagers, had to go to fight to the fronts. A figure of the casualties is not known.The Yacht-Club von Deutschland's short life ended with the capitulation of the Nazi government in 1945. [ [http://www.kyc.de/geschichte.html Yacht Club of Kiel] ]

The Yacht-Club von Deutschland should not be confused with the Motor-Yacht-Club von Deutschland.

Publications

*Mitteilungsblatt des Yacht-Club von Deutschland. — Kiel: NS.-Gauverl. Schleswig-Holstein. (Newsletter)
*Monatsschrift des Yacht-Clubs von Deutschland e.V. (Monthly). [ [http://www.polunbi.de/bibliothek/1946-nslit-zeit.html Deutsche Verwaltung für Volksbildung in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone - Liste der auszusondernden Literatur] ]

References

* [http://www.kyc.de/kyc.html Kieler Yacht-Club's site]
* [http://library.mysticseaport.org/manuscripts/coll/coll208.cfm Records of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association/Correspondence]
* [http://www.starclass.org/history/boats1057-2116.pdf International Star Class Yacht Register numbers 1057 – 2116]
* [http://www.kiel.de/kultur/stadtarchiv/erinnerungstage1.php?id=72 Kiel City Archives - The Kiel Week in Nazi Propaganda (de)]