German Student Corps Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Corps ("das ~" (n), [koːr];[ (s.), ]koːrs (pl.)) are the oldest still-existing kind of Studentenverbindung, Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the end of the 18th century.
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2 History 3 A Selection of Famous Corps Students 4 External links |
Corpsstudenten (corps students) wear couleur (colored stripes and caps) and practice mensuren, academic fencing with razor-sharp blades that can result in bleeding face wounds, the so-called Schmisse (smites). The corps are organized in two federations, the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband (KSCV) and the Weinheimer Senioren-Convent (WSC). Together, they comprise roughly 170 corps throughout Germany and Austria. The corps usually bear names that reflect their former origin from certain German regions, such as Saxonia (Saxony) or Guestphalia (Westphalia). In times, where a distance of a few hundred kilometres between a student's home town and his university meant weeks of travel, students from the same part of Germany traveled together and formed some kind of "new family". This distance, the money for a complete semester carried with them in a bag, might also be a reason that students began fencing, simply for self defence, especially as students and aristocrats where the only people that where allowed to carry arms with them.
Like all studentenverbindungen, corps consist of two bodies: The active part contains all members, that still study and have duties for the corps, and are not part of the Altherrenschaft, those who graduated. An important idea is, that older students help their younger fellows, and this principle dominates the relationship between the two bodies. The former keeps the everyday business of the corps alive, organizes gatherings, keeps the Corpshaus (Corps House) in order. The Altherrenschaft, graduated students with regular income, provides a financial background. This usually means quite cheap housing for the younger members among other things. The Altherrenschaft has the power to intervene in the business of the active members, typically to ensure the principles and spirit of their corps.
The active body is headed by a panel of three chargierte (charged persons), who are elected by all active, full members at the beginning of each semester (or at the end of the former one). Their functions are called senior, consenior and drittchargierter (meaning third charged person, also named subsenior in most corps).:
Even with the principle of tolerance being a central aspect in each corps' self-image, every corps student is urged to develop his own viewpoints and stand for them and to strongly participate in society, be it in politics, economy or social affairs. This encouragement for an ethical and self-confident behaviour on one side and the absence of a limitation to certain views on the other side let corps students often show up as the leading figures of the most diverse political directions. The emphasis on individuality brought many corps students in opposition to totalitarian regimes, such as the Third Reich. But, like any other student corporation, a corps breathes the people that join it. When the air was full of nazis, nazi sympathisants or oportunists, the corps were not a real threat to the regime (though the regime prohibited all of them).
This is an Article on German Student Corps. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About German Student Corps Characterization
Corps are built upon the principle of tolerance: No corps may endorse a certain political, scientific or religious viewpoint; additionally, all members are solely chosen by their personal character - neither national, ethnic or social provenance play a role.
Being the oldest and noblest of their kind, the corps tend to treat all other forms of German studentenverbindung with contempt; corps despise all mannerism and affectedness (e.g. the overly use of latinisms) that other kinds of studentenverbindung, esp. catholic corporations and burschenschafts show. This does not mean, that they understand other corporations as their natural-born enemies. This might happen occasionally, but also vice versa.History
A Selection of Famous Corps Students
Politics
Sciences
Economy and Engineering
Fine Arts and Culture
External links
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In German