Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Is German Naturism on the Decline?


According to this article, two fifths of nude beaches in Germany have become clothed since the reunification of East and West in 1990. Although 12 million Germans visit a nude beach at least once a year, Baltic resorts are attracting more tourists with more money who do not want to see naked bodies.
Gudrun Krah, 63, donning a bathing suit under protest, bemoaned the loss of a beach life that was more liberal in the communist era, saying today's mixture of nude and clothed bathers on a beach ``robs it of some of the panache.'' While Krah said West Germans are responsible, Wagner is less willing to assign blame, even as his cherished pastime goes the way of East German entitlements such as cheap housing and full employment that have been lost. ``I just want to continue to go naked into the sunset,'' said Wagner, before wading into the Baltic and disappearing under the dappled surface.

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