Nudism is traditionally popular in Germany, a country considered buttoned up and conservative compared with, let's say, Italy.
In Germany, nudism is known as Freikoerperkultur (FKK), Free Body Culture. When you travel there, you'll see that baring all is normal in saunas, swimming pools, the park and on the beach.
Summer in the parks of Berlin and Munich brings the chance of encountering a middle-aged, bronzed German wearing only a hat and the BILD-Zeitung, Germany's favorite tabloid.
Forget sausages and beer, the sign of true German-ness is publicly disrobing with absolutely zero self-consciousness. For me, it's often just quicker and easier to do a clean strip at the pool or sauna than frantically trying to hide the bits that everyone else is already displaying without batting an eyelid.
Divided by the Iron Curtain, united by nudity
Germany's passion for clotheslessness finds its origins in late-19th-century health drives when stripping off was seen as part of a route to fitness and sunbathing a possible cure for TB and rheumatism.
In 1920, while the rest of Europe was still getting feverish over the sight an exposed ankle, Germany established its first nude beach on the island of Sylt. Barely a decade later, the Berlin School of Nudism, founded to encourage mixed sex open-air exercises, hosted the first international nudity congress.
The Nazi era brought mixed fortunes for nudism, its ongoing popularity tempered by a moral clampdown. Laws passed in 1933 limited mixed-sex nudism as "a reaction to the increased immorality of the Weimar state." More restrictions followed amid claims the scene was a "breeding ground for Marxists and homosexuals."
Nevertheless, it remained popular, enjoying support among members of the paramilitary SS.
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Rules were softened in 1942 but still subject to Nazi prejudices that predictably focused on Jews and other "undesirables." But war didn't dampen Germany's enthusiasm for stripping off, even when the country was divided by the Iron Curtain.
After the war, nudism was equally popular in both German states. Even as the country was being split asunder in 1949, some in the West were busy founding the Association for Free Body Culture -- an organization that today is part of the German Olympic Sport Federation and the largest member of the International Naturist Federation.
Naked proletariat
Germany's largest Baltic island, Ruegen has five dedicated nudist beaches.
Tourism Rügen
Nudism was particularly popular in East Germany, or German Democratic Republic as it was known. It was secretly considered a form of escape from the uniforms, marches and conformity of the communist state.
East Germans were free to practice nudism and did so wherever possible: at lakes, sea beaches and large FKK camping grounds. There was also, of course, an official socialist institution with a long, uninspiring name.
The "Proletarische Freikoerperkulturbewegung" or Proletarian Free Body Movement had 60,000 members.
Nude scenes in GDR movies appeared long before the first naked people appeared in Hollywood films. The fondness for getting naked on both sides of the Iron Curtain also led to some curious incidents.
GDR border guards were tasked with training their binoculars on the FKK beach just over the border to observe the behavior of naked capitalists.
Where to bare it all
The first nude beach in Germany was established in 1920 on the island of Sylt.
Keystone/Getty Images
Today, there are about 600,000 Germans registered in more than 300 private nudist/FKK clubs and a further 14 affiliated clubs in Austria.
Members visit these clubs to sunbathe nude or indulge in a spot of nacktjoggen or nacktwandern -- naked jogging or rambling through the countryside wearing only backpacks, boots or running shoes.
A list of FKK clubs is available on the German-language homepage of the German Federation of Naturist Clubs (warning: images of nudes all over). The heartland of public nakedness also still has a plethora of designated FKK beaches and nudist zones in public parks and on beaches.
How to get naked in Germany
Tiergarten Park is another public park in Berlin with designated areas to go nude.
Wolfgang Scholvien/Visit Berlin
The easiest way to bare it all in Deutschland is to visit one of the aforementioned public FKK areas.
As these are mostly located in areas with a mixed dressed/undressed crowd, there's no problem with partially disrobing until you feel comfortable. There are no changing rooms, so undressing takes place in public -- but again, not one German is going to be offended by this.