Rote Falken (Bern)

Rote Falken Bern describes itself as a children's and youth group. It invites children aged between 6 and 15 to its programme, and people older than 15 can take part as helpers. Meetings take place at 13:30 in the courtyard of the Generationenhaus at Bern railway station, with return at 17:00. The group states that play, fun and solidarity are important to it, that it wants to engage with its surroundings and take responsibility for itself and its environment, and that decisions are made together regardless of age. It is currently looking for new helpers, who are presently between 15 and 25 years old.

According to the page on the history of the Rote Falken in Switzerland, the first Kinderfreunde organisation was founded in 1908 by Anton Afritsch in Graz (A), and the idea of such children's organisations spread quickly, first in Austria and later across much of Europe. For children aged 12 to 14 in these groups, Anton Tesarek (1896-1977) created the name "Rote Falken" in 1925. In Bern, Anny Klawa-Morf, together with Karl Geissbühler, founded the first Kinderfreunde group in 1922, and shortly afterwards further groups were founded in Zurich, Basel and Burgdorf. In 1927 Dr. Max Winter was invited to Switzerland, and following his talk in Bern, Jenny Grimm, Eugen Münch and John Klawa took up the founding of a Swiss national association. The first conference of the LASKO was held in Bern in 1928. A hallmark of the Falken movement were the large tent camps ("Kinderrepublik"), which served as a practice ground for democratic education according to socialist values, with children and young people (up to 3000) organising themselves in camp councils and parliaments.

1. 1Rote Falken Bern – Spiel, Spass und Solidaritätbern.rotefalken.ch
2. 2Geschichte der Roten Falken in der Schweiz – Rote Falken Bernbern.rotefalken.ch