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The treatment of juvenile delinquency in Germany

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The treatment of juvenile delinquency in Germany

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Content THE
TREATMENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
IN
GERMANY
-----
A Thesis
Presented to th Department of Sociology
University of Southern California
-.-.---
In partial fulfillment
Of the
Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts
-----
By
Alma Holzschuh
August 3 , 1932
'
This thesis, written under the direction of the
candidate's Faculty Committee and approved by
all its members, has been presented to and ac
cepted by the Council on Graduate Study and
Research in partial fulfillment of the require
ments for the degree of
llclas.tar ... of ... Ar.ts ................................................................. .
. . .... ....... .......... .... . . . . .. t!??.:.~
, ' Secretary
Dean
Date ... ~~:p.t~m'R.~.r.,..193.2 ........... .
Faculty Committee
.P.:r.Qf. ~§.f$.QA ... X .o.~ .................. .
Chairman
.l?r.o.f.ea.so,r. .. Uan .oJ.4 ............. .
. Pr.a.f.es.s.or .. .Maunt .................. .
i
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
Page
I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1
I I • THE Ii.AW • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ., • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 8
III• THE COURT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 14
IV.
v.
VI.
Nature of jurisdiction•••••••·•··•·••••••·•• 14
Pre- delinquent care · ••••••••••••••••••·•••••• 17
Arrest of child ove~ 14
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
19
Detention •••••••······•···•·•·····•••·•••••• 20
Hearing process ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 28
Disposition
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Volume of work
Girls ' Cases
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Judges
ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL ORK
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
38
39
40
42
44
Set- up • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 44
Methods of work
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
INSTITUTIONS
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Types of juvenile institutions
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
47
56
56
Erziehungsheime ••••••••••••••••••••••••••·•• 60
Jugendgefaengnisse
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
75
PRINCIPLES AND TRENDS
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
. 101
GLO SSARY
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
.107
BIBLIOGRA PHY ••••••••••••••••••·••••••·••••••••••• 109
11
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study is to show the method of
treatment given the delinquent child in Germany at the pres ent time.
Delinquency as here defined includes children aged
fourteen to eighteen. These are the age limitations of the
juvenile court's jurisdiction in Germany .
The method used in the study was one of observation.
The presentation aims but to clearly note the observation.
The field of the treatment of juvenile delinquency contains
much debatable material, therefore each reader through his
individual understanding and viewpoint must arrive at his
own conclusions.
Eight weeks were spent in Germany . The time period was
April 7 to June 1, 1932.
Judges were interviewed in Munich, Nurnberg, Oppenheim,
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Altona, and Hamburg . Juvenile
court sessions were attended in Munich, Frankfurt am Main,
and Berlin.
Contacts were made with prosecuting attorney, Berlin;
police women, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin; child welfare
bureau and other social workers, Munich, Nurnberg, W iesbaden,
Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, and Hamburg; psychiatrists, Munich
and Hamburg .
Jails used for juvenile det ntion visited were Oppen
heim and Alt Moabit Str. Berlin.
111
Detention homes visited were Clemens Maria Kinderheim,
Munich; Steinmuehle, Gonzenheim; Jugendbleibe, Frankfurt am
Main; Pflegeamt Heim, Berlin; Schutzhaftheim, Berlin;
Valdfrieden, Berlin; Maedschen Heim, Hamburg.
Erziehungsheime for boys visited were St. Georgheim,
Hallbergmoos; restendheim, Frankfurt am Main; Geisberg,
Wiesbaden.
Girls' Erziehungsheime visited were Schafhof, Nurnberg;
St. Johannesstift, iesba.den; Tanneneck, Berlin; and Ohlsdorf,
near Hamburg.
Women's jails receiving delinquent girls visited were
Frauengefaengnis, Berlin, and Lauerhof, Lubeck.
Jugendgefaengnisse for boys visited were at Butzbach in
st ate of Hesse; Neuminster in North Prussia; and Eisenach in
state of Thuringen.
National organizations dealing with problems of delin
quency that were contacted were the Deutsches Archiv fuer
Jugendwohlfahrt, with offices in Berlin, and the Jeutscher
V~rein fuer Oeffentliche und Private Fuersorge with head
quarters in Frankfurt am M ain.
Throughout the whole of Germany all portals opened
easily; all resources were put at the disposal of the writer.
The finest kind of cooperation was everywhere encountered.
No attempt was made to s how but one side of any situation;
strengths and eaknesses were equally bare, the writer being
left to make her own evaluation.
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1
1
The old German law protected the pre- adolescent child
who was delinquent from the jailer and the hangman. The
punishment of the child. was left to the parent or guardian.
If a money payment was to be made for restitution this was to
be taken out of the child•s inheritance . The earliest age at
which the child was considered responsible under the law was
puberty. The various states differed somewhat in what they
considered the ag e of pubescence , arrl thus we find the age
of responsibility varying from the end of the twelfth to the
beginning of the fifteenth year .
Until the beginni · of the sixteenth century the whole
care of the child was left to parents or guardian. The
father did not have the Roman right to kill his child, but
when there was real need the child might b sold, but this
could no t involve panderage of the daughter .
During the disturbance of the fifteenth century, family
ties were l oosened and there was much wandering about and
begging so that parents could no longer be held responsible
for the right upbringin of their children . The free cities
1
All of the material of this chapter up to the period
of 1871 is free translation from parts of Dr . jur . Krohne ,
Erziehungsanstalten fuer die verlassene, gefaehrdete und
verwahrloste Jugend In Preussen. The period after 1871
consists of translations from Herbert Ruscheweyh, Die
Entwicklu~ des deutschen Jugendgerichts , and a pamphlet by
Elsa von L szt, Grundriss zum Vortras ueber "Die Fuersorse
fuer die straffaellige Jugend durch die Jugendgerichtshilfe . "
2
were the first to look after these wandering beggar children.
A Nurnberg ordinance of 1478 decreed that children over eight
years of age should be taken from these wandering fam111ss
and placed in service in the city or country. In 1500
Augsburg passed a similar law ordering that such children be
placed where they could learn a handicraft or domestic work
so that they need not be dependent on begging, and as Dr.
Krohne says, this was the first child welfare law of Germany.
At about this time the state also felt that it could not
leave the care of the delinquent child to the arents, and
in 1532 a law was passed which allowed a delinquent child
under fifteen years of age to come before the court. The law
established some safeguards, but little attention was paid to
these. For example, the court was to decide it the child
could be held responsible for the offense, also it was
decreed that a child under fourteen should not be sentenced
to death for stealing, but if the child were nearly fourteen
or the propensity to steal great, the child might be punished
with death, and this was done in cases of boys twelve and
thirteen years of age. It was a period during which it was
believed that delinquency must be suppressed through punish
ment.
From Amsterdam in 1596 crune the idea of the use of
prisons where through hard work and discipline people were to
be brought back to orderly living. At the beginning of the
seventeenth century Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeck, and Danzig
opened prisons with special divisions for juveniles. It was
3
not long before the other large cities followed in setting
aside divisions in their prisons and almshouses for juveniles.
The pestilence which swept through Europe brought about
the need of special care for orphans. This problem was largely
taken over by the cmrch.
The wars of the seventeenth century destroyed much that
had been started. During the middle of the century when the
wars abated attention was again directed to children, many of
whom through the distress of the times had become neglec~ed
and delinquent. Orphans were placed in orphanages, beggars
and wandering children in prisons , workhouses and almshouses;
but the delinquent children were proceeded against without
much consideration of age with all the harshness of the law
of the time.
Times were so hard that both dependent and delinquent
children were confined with adults in prisons ani almshouses
under very bad conditions. Thousands of young vagabonds and
thieves were whipped and chased over the borders. These
methods brought no i mprovements, but rather those children
who had J assed through the hands of the law became more anti
social and . often joined bands of robbers and murderers.
In many countries men began to realize that the methods
in vogue brought no results and that children could not be
handled through harsh punishments but must be car ed for and
educated.
During the middle of the eighteenth century, when a new
order was being striven for, the care of children was given
4
consideration. The law at this time laid upon parents the
duty of raising their children so that they should be of value
to society and protected children against the abuse of their
parents. The laws of guardianship were definitely regulated
and it was the duty of guardians to educate their wards to be
upright and useful citizens. But the laws dealing with
delin uent children still did not contain the idea of the
need of the right education for these children instead of
punishment.
The French code of 1810 influenced the German, ,md the
French ideas of "Discernement" and the milder punishment of
juveniles was gradually taken over into the German law. The
movement started in Bavaria in 1813, spread to other states,
and finally was incorporated into the law of the Empire.
"Discernement" through lack of proper definition and
scientific understanding by the judges led to difficulties,
however, and children were still proceeded against by the
courts in great numbers . The courts lessened the sentences
given children, but the sentences imposed served no correction
al purpose. The sentences were short periods in jails in
which conditions were not good .
It was not through the state that real advance in child
welfare was made but through the vision and striving of
privat e individuals throughout the world.
ichern accomplished much in Germany through the
establishment of the Rauhen Haus in Horn near Hamburg in
1833. It opened up a new path to correctional work. King
5
Frederick Wilhelm IV was a believer and supporter of Wichern•s
work, and in December, 1846, he ordered that juveniles brought
before courts in whose districts there were industrial schools
might be committed to these instead of being punished. That
was the first step which the state took to substitute educa
tion by the state for punishment.
The law of the Empire passed in 1871 placed the lower
age of responsibility at twelve years of age so that no
criminal action could be started against a child before that
age was reached.
The upper age of juvenile delinquency was placed at
eighteen, and under the law of 1871 this twelve to eighteen
year group was in certain respects treated differently from
adults coming before the court. There were no s pecial
judges nor separate sessions, but the sentences imposed were
milder; the death penalty and confinement in a convict prison
were not allowed; the longest jail term which could be imposed
was fifteen years.
In 1876 a law was passed dealing with delinquent children
from the age of six to twelve. These children could not come
before the ·regular court but through the court of guardianship
measures could be adopted which looked to the child's better
ment through educative means.
Criminal statistics were published in Germany since
1882. These statistics showed a steady increase in the number
of juveniles coming before the courts from 1889 to 1912, and
also showed that there were a large number of repeaters.
6
These facts played an important part in the movement for
juvenile courts in Germany for it was realized that the
methods in vogue were not bringing the desired results.
The German group meeting at the International Prison
Congress in Halle in 1891 considered the problem of improv
ing the laws dealing with delinquent children and appointed
a committee to further look into this matter.
The German movement received a great impetus through
the creation of juvenile courts in .America.
An organization which did much to further the juvenile
court movement in Germany was the Deutsche Zentrale fuer
Jugendfuersorge which called the first juvenile court confer
ence, Jugendgerichtstag, in Charlottenburg, March 15 to
19, 1909.
The plan was to h ave jud es and all those working with
children in the courts meet and personally discuss the prob
lems confronting them every two years. The second confer
ence was held in M unich, September 29-0ctober 1, 1910; the
tbird in Frankfurt am Main, October 10-12, 1912. The war
interrupted these conferences, and it was almost five years
before the fourth convened in Berlin, April 12-14, 1917.
The wish of these conferences was not only to change the
law, but the aim was to gather togetmr the experience of
judges, educators, and doctors so that there would be a
scientific foundat i on for the l aw, and also that the whole
auxilliary juvenile court work would be furthered.
The great r se in j uvenile delinquency during th war
7
and the days of unrest which followed brought new pressure
for a change in the law.
In January, 1920, a draft for a juvenile code was laid
before the Reichsrat. On February 16, 1923 these laws were
passed.
Although the juvenile court law tor the country was not
passed until 1923, many cities established courts before this.
The first juvenile courts were established in 1908 in Koln,
Breslau, Frankfurt am Main, and Berlin.
1n June 1908 the Prussian inistry of Justice decreed
that in Prussia juvenile cases should be heard separately
from adults; that the judge hearing children's cases should
be a person of experience; that an investigation of the
family history should be made; that there was to be an
avoidance of pre-hearing detention; and that the help of
social agencies was to be made use of. Other states followed
with somewhat similar decrees.
CHAPTER II
THE LAW
8
In a study of the laws concerning children in Germany
two codes must be considered, the Jugendgerichtsgesetz, the
Juvenile Court law, and the Reichsjugendwohlfahrtsgesetz,
the Child elfare law. The former deals with delinquent
children, the latter with dependent and neglected children.
The Child Welfare law was passed in 1922 and became
law in April , 1924.
The Juvenile Court law passed by the Reichstag on the
16th of February, 1923, became law the first of July of the
same year. One provision of the law, however, went into
effect immediately, namely, that the age at which a child
was considered able to commit an offense against the law
was raised from twelve years to fourteen years.
Although latitude is allowed the various states of
Germany in the organization of their child elfare work,
there is but one law for the whole country .
The Child felfare law opens with the statement,
"Jedes deutsche Kind hat ein Recht auf Erziehung zur
leiblichen, seelischen und gesellschaftlichen Tuechtigkeit . "
(Every German child has the right to training for physical ,
spiritual and social fitness .)
This part of the law considers such matters as
illegitamacy, guardianship , dependency, neglect , and also
the care of children presentin behavior problems who do not
fall into the scope of the German legal definition of delin-
9
quency.
In the treatment of delinquent children the principles
and provisions of the Child Welfare law are called into
active play, for the courts may use the methods of character
education set forth in this code as well as punishment .
The main points of the Jugendgerichtsgesetz (Juvenile
Court law) are : l
Section 1
The law pertains only to children between the ages of
fourteen and eighteen.
Section 2
A child under fourteen years of age committing an
offense is not delinquent .
Section 3
A child who has committed an offense, but who at the
time of the commission was not mentally or emotionally
responsible, cannot be punished .
Section 5
1928
When a child has committed an of fense the court must
decide if treatment throu h e ducative methods can be
used with advantag . If the court decides tm t such
treatment can advantageously be used, it may so order ,
but the form of the treatment and the carrying into
effect of it must be left to the Vormun schaftsgericht,
1
Jugendgerichtsgeset z Te tausgabe , Heymann•s Verlag
10
that 1s, the Court of Guardianship.
Section 6
When the court feels that educative treatment suffices,
there is to be no punishment.
Section 9
Punishment of a delinquent child is limited by the
following:
Instead of the death sentence or life sentence in a
convict prison a delinquent child can only receive a
jail sentence of from one to ten years.
In other sentences, the tennis to be fixed between the
minimum and half of the maximum term. If the offense
is punishable by confinement in prison, this shall be
changed to confinement in a jail.
In very minor matters there need be no punishment .
A child cannot lose any rights of citizenship through
his delinquency, nor can he be turned over to the
police or left to police surveillance.
Section 10
The court may suspend the jail sentence and place the
child on probation.
Section 12
The minimum period for probation is two years, the
maximum five years.
Section 16
The sentence imposed on a juvenile should always aim
at character education.
11
In confinement juveniles must be kept entirely sep rated
from adults.
Sentences that exceed thirty days should be served in
distinct juvenile institutions or separate juvenile
divisions of adult institutions.
In the handling of a juvenile case the cooperation of
the Child telfare Bureau (Jugendamt) is to be asked.
Section 17
The juvenile courts are district courts (Amsgerichte).
The judge sits 1th two lay aids ( Schoeffen). In serious
felony cases the court sits with two udges and three
aids.
Section 19
In districts where ~here is more than one jud e, the
same judge shall serve as juvenile court judge and as
judge of guardianship. (Vormundschaftsrichter)
Ther shall be separate hearings for juveniles.
Section 20
The juvenile court aids (Schoeffen) are selected from
names proposed by the Child lelfare Bureau . The s e aids
are chosen for a year, but no one person woul have to
serve at more than ten hearings .
Section 21
The state 's attorneys are to delegate the juvenile
court work to special staff members .
Section 22
Throughout the whole process of arrest and hearing the
12
cooperation of social agencies (Jugendgeriohtsbilfe)
shall be made use or.
Section 23
The juvenile court hearings are private.
Section 27
The State's Attorney must notify the Judge of Guardian
ship and the Child elfare Board when complaint is made
against a juvenile.
Section 28
Pre-hearing detention is only to be made use of when
absolutely necessary.
The Child W elfare Board must have access to a juvenile
in detention the same as if it were the attorney repre
senting the juvenile.
Section 29
In s erious cases where the juvenile comes before the
enlarged court, (Grosses Jugendgericht) the court is to
appoint an attorney for the defense if the juvenile has
no one to defend him. Also in other involved cases the
court may appoint a efender for the juvenile.
Section 31
As early as po ssible the court should have a social
history to help in the proper disposition of the case.
In special cases juveniles should be given a medical
examination.
Th e parents of the juvenile are to be heard if possible.
At the session they have the right to ask for hearing.
13
The Child Welfare Bureau is to be notified of the time
and place of he ring. At the hearing the worker repre
senting this department has the right to be heard .
When juveniles have been under the supervision of a
public agency for social care called Fuersorgeerziehuqs,
this department has the right to be heard .
Section 32
The state's attorney cannot file the complaint stating
that the juvenile was not mentally responsible without
the consent of the Juvenile Court judge. Before this is
done the Child elfare Board must also be heard.
In cases where eaucative methods of treatment h ve been
ordered, or where the court does not feel punishment 1s
necessary, the state's attorney may file the complaint
with the consent of the judge . The Judge of Guardian
ship, the Chil elfare Bureau , as well as the complain
ant must be notified of this process .
Section 36
There is an appeal from the decision of the Juvenile
Court.
CHAPTER III
THE COURT
14
Although there are two types of courts dealing with
children's cases in Germany, courts of guardianship
(Vormundschaftsgericht) and the juvenile courts, the two
functions of the law are generally vested in the same judge.
But where this 1s not so, as for example in Berlin where there
is a large volume of business and dependency cases and delin
quency cases are handled by different judges, the judge deal ing with the delinquency cases has the power to turn into a
Judge of Guardianship when he f els that criminal action is
not warranted in the case of the juvenile up before him . In
Munich where the volume of juvenile work requires three judges,
the division of the work is not by type of case but alpha
betical, so that each judge handles all matters pertaining
to any particular child.
Court Jurisdiction
The present juvenile court age extends to eighteen, but
.
there is a strong belief very general throughout Germany
that it should be extended to twenty-one. In the sixth
conference dealing with juvenile court matters (Jugend
gerichtstag) held in Heidelberg in 1924 it was decided that
the next problem must be the inclusion of the eighteen to
twenty-one year group under the juvenile court. Another
conference was held in Potsdam in 1927 to further consider
this problem and a draft was prepared and presented to the
15
Reichsjustiz,ministerium (The Federal Department of Justice)
in August, 1927.
Although this law is still awa.iting action in the
Reichstag, a number of cities have made separate provision
for these cases.
In Berlin as early as January, 1925, some of the courts
separated this age group from adults.
The child welfare laws (Jugendwohlfahrtgesetz) include
responsibility for minors u p to twenty-one years of age.
Thus the court may make use of provisions of this law, such
as industrial schools under Fuersorgeerziehung (a form of
public c are) for these cases.
The provision usually made is that these eighteen to
twenty-one year cases, boys and girls, are assigned to the
juvenile court judge~ H e handles them sitting without aids
(Schoeffen), or as tn Frankfurt am Main where there were aids
(Schoeffen) at the session attended, these were not the juven
ile court aids. In Berlin at one he aring the cases of the
eighteen to twenty-one group were heard after the juvenile
cases were finished; on another morning the whole hearing
was given over to the eighte en to twenty-one year group. In
the cases heard the procedure of hearing was exactly the same
for the ol er group as for tltn.e juvenile. The same room was
used for hearing as for the juvenile cases, and very few
people outside of L hose i nt er es t ed in the cases were present.
The same laws do not apply as to disposition, and the he aring
of the older group is not private.
16
In actual practice then in many of the courts for the
full period of minority the child is under the jurisdiction
of but one judge, are the matters to be considered those of
dependency, neglect, behavior problems , or serious delinquency.
The German law dealing with juvenile delinquency does not
have the loopholes which are to be found in many of the laws
of our states, for example, the many exceptions in America
whereby children when they really commit serious offenses
and are in need of the greatest understanding do not come
under the care and protection of the juvenile courts but are
handled as adults.
In Germany no child under fourteen years of age whatever
offense he commits can be brought before the juvenile court,
and no juvenile under eighteen, however serious a felony he
commits can be brought before any court but the juvenile
court. In serious felony cases, however, the juvenile court
is enlarged and consists of two judges and three aids .
One exception to this rule is in cases where juveniles
are involved with adults. Here the law states that the
children s cases should not be heard with those of adults
but it does not forbid the joint hearing . It was said that
in practice to avoid a double hearing of cases, the cases were
frequently heard together, the judge acting as a juvenile
judg e and being governed by juvenile court laws in the case
of the child . One justification for this practice is the
fact that the child would have to appear in the adult session
anyway as a witness . For example, a girl of seventeen involved
17
in a murder case with two adults was tried at the same time
in the adult court. Three reasons were given, one being that
she must appear as a witness in the court, and if she appeared
only as witness and was not tried the whole process would have
to be gone through again; secondly, she was spoken of as a
nhardened" type whom the process would not affect as it might
a more innnature girl ; and thirdly, she was pregnant and the
court wished to avoid the delay of a second hearing.
Care of Pre-delinquents
When a child under fourteen years of age is suspected of
connnitting an act of delinquency, such as stealing, the
police make an investigation. This is in or er to establish
the fact that the act was really committed and to know if an
adult were involved in the offense and thus contributing to
the delinquency of the child . In cities studied where there
were police women t he investig tions of children•s cases were
in their hands . For example , in Berlin the police women
handled cases of all boys under fourteen, except some homo sexual cases, and all girls under eighteen; in Frankfurt am
Main the police omen handled all boys under sixteen an all
girls under eighteen. If a police officer on his beat finds
a child in the act of committing an offense, he coul only
take the child to. the nearest station where the p lice women
would be notified, and all quest oning left to them. In all
murder cases in Berlin a speci 1 division of the police
department, called the Mord Kommission makes the investiga-
18
tions. If a juvenile were involved in such a case, this
Konnnissl.on would make the investigation, but a police woman
would always be present.
fuen the police have established the fact that a child
under fourteen years of age has committed an act, hich would
be an offense against the law if committed by an older person,
they must notify the Ju ge of Guardianship and the Child W el
fare Bureau. 1'he police could in no case detain the child
in a police station or jail. Generally the child would be
allowed home, but if for some reason it was felt inadvisable
to have the child in his own home during the time of the
investigation, the Ju ge of Guardianship could order the child
placed in some children's institution, public or private.
The whole method of handling the child under fourteen
would be that of a child caring agency, not of a court.
The Child elfare Bureau would obtain a social istory of the
family so that there could be understanding of the problems
confronting the child. The judge , acting in his capacity of
g~ardianship , would only talk to child and parents informally
in his chambers. A plan would be worked out for the child
which would aim at prevention and prope r training for the
child, but no element of punishment would enter in. The
child might be supervised by the Child Welfare Bureau in his
own home, placed in a foster home or in a chil ren•s institu
tion.
A few years ago a boy of eight attempted to drown two
younger children; one chi l d died , the life of the othe r was
19
saved. The boy was studied in a children's psychiatric
clinic, carefully observed for a time in the small observation
home run by this clinic, and then placed in a small institu
tion for children in the country.
Arrest of child over 14
If the child connnitting an act of delin uency is over
fourteen years of age, the police lay the complaint before
the state's attorney. Only if the state's attorney finds
that there is not enough evidence on which to base a case,
can he dismiss the matter; if he feels that the child has
committed the act but for some reason does not wish to have
him brought to court, the case can only be dismisse or filed
with the consent of the juvenile court judge. In more serious
cases the state's attorney might personally interview the
chlld before hearing , but ln minor matters he would not take
time to do this.
The law aims to have all the juvenile cases in each
judicial district assigned to one prosecuting attorney, so
tliat this person may understand the spirit underlying juvenile
court work.
It is felt that juvenile cases shoul not be hurried
but that there must be ample time for gathering of a complete
social history . Thus the time set for hearing is generally
at least a month after the complaint is brought. At a
preliminary hearing the judge decides regarding detention
and sizes up the child from the standpoint of mental respons-
20
i bility and amenability to educative treatment .
Detenti on
The police may hold a juvenile over fourteen in police
detention, but this could not be longer than a twenty-four
hour period , after which the child must be brought before
the judge who would then decide if pre- hearing detention
were necessary . The law expressly states (Section 28) that
a juvenile shall only be detained when other measures will
not suffice . ("Untersuchungshaf't is nur zu vollziehen,
wenn ihr zweck nicht durch andere assregeln, ••• erreicht
warden kann . ")
When a juvenile is detained he is supposed to be kept
separated from adults; if this is not entirely possible , at
least every precaution is to be taken that he is not harmed
through this association .
It was not possible to obtain statistics on the number
of juveniles actually detained in jails or police stations ,
but everywhere it was said that the number of cases ere few ,
and observations in court would bear this out .
In cities visited it was said that whenever a juvenile
was detained in a police station or jail he was kept in a
s - eparate cell , where he had no contact with anyone els e .
As German jails do not have the open barred type of cell door,
but a closed door , isol tion would be mor complete than in
most American jails . Generally too the cells used for
juveniles are in a section away from the adults . For example ,
21
in the small town of Oppenheim on the Rhine where the same
building is used for pre-hearing detention and serving of
short sentences by adults , juveniles to be detained would be
put in cells on the third floor which is the woman's section.
If the jail were crowded , three boys mi ht be put in a cell
together , but n ver two . Cells are of good size and have
good windov space . On the day of visit there were no
juveniles under eighteen ye rs of age in detention .
Although ermany has no juven le detention homes of
exrotly the same ty e as those found in America, most judges
have institutions at th ir disposal which cans rve the same
purpose and a j venile can be de ained without bei held in
a j 11 .
Some districts have so-c lled Durchga!?:S or Beobachtungs heime where juveniles ar ent for periods of observ tion
and study before definite disposition is made . The province
of Nassau has especially developed this type of home . These
homes are used not only for court cases but for problem chil
dren under care of the Child elfare Bureau . The court may
also make use of the Erziehungsheime (Industrial Homes) in
its districts, by ordering t e child placed temporarily under
this form of treatment, or it may make use of juvenile shelters .
In Frankfurt am Main there is a Jugendbleibe maintained
by the Child · elfare Bureau as a night lodging for boy
wanderers, of which there are a good many in Germany . Police ,
however, also make use of the shelter for vagrants and runa-
ays and the court for some detention cases . Many t . es of
22
boys who would be pl ced in detention home s in America are
c ared for in this institution. Every night a t one A. M. the
director makes a round of the ne arby railro ad depot and all
beys found hangin around there are picked up swell as all
boys found in parks and on the streets late at night by police .
The director stated t hat the police cooperated very well , and
that it was a r re thing for boys t o be held a t the police
station. The police have no ri ht to come into the institu tion to que s tion suspects, but can only notify the director
of such cases and he arranges to bring the boy to the station
or sets a suitable time for interview at the in3titu:1.on
office . · This shelter is an entirely open institution, and
as its main purpose is to gi v e night lodgi ng to boys f r om
fourteen to t ren t y - one years of age , it has only maintenance
work and would not , therefore, serve well for long detention .
The: institution is loc ted fairly near to the main rail road depot . It i s a t10 story cement building faci on the
street . The entrance is on the side and opens onto a small
g~rden . On the first floor there is an office , a dressing
room with s howers , a gener a l living room with wooden tables
and benches which serves also for a dining room , a kitchen,
and a s hoe repair shop . On the second floor there i s a 1 r ge
dormi t ory , containing about seventy bed s , a clinic room, a
hospital ward with a small porch and a wa shroom . The dormi tory wa s clean and airy.
Boys are fed on their admission in the e v eni ng . This
me a l enerally consists of a heavy soup and bread . They are
23
given a shower and looked over physically to see if they
have vermin and any skin or venereal disease . fa boy is
found to need medic 1 attention, he is seen by the physician
who comes to the institution each morning . Venereal cases
would not be kept but would be sent to hospit 1 for care .
The director is a firm believer in thE, need of the boy
keeping up his appearance for his own self- respect . In addi tion to the shower boys have the opportunity to have a shave
and hair cut , to wash their clothes, and to repair their shoes .
The evening is spent in re ding , games , such as chess ,
listenin to the radio , and op en forum discussion of vital
topics led by the director .
The shelter not only harbo r s these boy wanderers but
tries to act as preventive a ent . The identification
papers of each boy are looked over-- and Germany is a land of
identific ation papers- - and if any question arises , the
director has a special interview with the boy . He feels that
he can size up the boys quite r eadily n d seems to have good
influence over them . If the director thinks that the boy
.
should not be allowed to wander , th the is too young , that
he is a runaway , etc., he detains the boy , either contacts
the home himself or asks tha t the Child elfare Bureau worker
of his district make an investigation . The proper disposi tion of the case is then made by the director or thro h the
Child elfare Bureau . The aim of the director is always to
obtain the boy ' s cooperation in the plan and to get him to
see the isdom of it instead of tryi to force him into it .
24
Boys detained for the court would be held without my
restraint but that of person 1 influence .
1
Berlin in addition to an overnight shelter has a so called chutzhaftheim which is a partially closed institution.
It is under the department of welfare and has a corps of
social investigators in addition to the institution workers .
It ia near the main police headquarters and is located in a
building formerly used as a jail . All wandering boys coming
to Berlin who are in need of help are referred to this depart ment . Arran ements are made for these boys at an open shelter ,
o r if there is any auestion about the advisability of thei r
wandering on they are detained in the closed institution .
he police , other divisions of the welfare department , and
the court also make use of the institution for detention pur poses . It is not for the definitely delinquent , however, but
rather for those who seem on the verge of getting into trouble .
During 1931 , thirty boys were referred by the courts of Berlin
for pre-hearing detention.
The capacity of the institution is forty- five boys; the
age admitted , fourteen to twenty-one years . The average length
of stay dur-ing 1931 .was six days . There was an average of
about ten admissions and ten discharges daily .
1
The director thought that it w s better on the whole
for the adolescent unemployed boy of Germany to wander than
to loaf around home . He felt the boy kept up throu h his
walking, he occasionally p eked up some work, h enl rged
his experience by seeing the country, and he did not take the
food at home needed by you er brothers and sisters . Not all
social workers in Germany agreed with this viewpoint .
25
The boys sleep in small dormitories and have a connnunity
room which is used for living and work purposes .
A physician comes to the instit tion daily, and all boys
are given a physical examination. No routine psychiatric or
psychological examinations are given, but special cases might
be taken for such examination. It was said this would approx
imate about three per cent of the yearly admissions.
The daily schedule is as follows :
7 A. M . Arise
8 :30 A. M . Breakfast
9 - 10:30 A. M . Clean-up of institution
10:30 - 11:30 A. M . Class work, consisting of
11:30 - 1:30 P . M .
1:30 - 4:30 P . M .
4:30
-
5 P . M .
5
-
6 P . M .
6 . - 7 P. M .
7 P. M.
7:30
-
9 P. Mo
9 P. M .
discussion of the problems of
life .
Dinn rand free time spent in
reading and games
Craft work, such as bead work
and making of brushes .
Outdoor play
Continuance of craft work
Free time
Supper
upervised play time end smoking
Bed
The food is not prepared at the institution but is ob-
tained from a nearby jail.
It was said it w s necessary to have th institution a
26
locked institution in order to have the police consent to
make use of it for runaways and suspicious cases. The aim of
the institution as expressed by the worker in charge is to do
personal work with the boys and to have friendly contact with
them. Workers classed as soc al workers are n charge of the
boys.
Boys in Berlin who are arrested on the more serious
charges may be detained in the Untersuchungsgefaangnis or the
Zellengefaengnis .
The Untersuchu~sgefaengnis is the large house of deten-
tion connected with the criminal court building. xcept that
enough convicted prisoners are kept for the maintenance work,
that Catholic women prison rs serve their time in the women's
division, and that the hospital serves all the Prussian jails ,
the whole institution is given over to detention.
On May 21 , 1932, th population was:
1192
100
100
men
women
hospital cases
Of this number there were said to be about ten boys
between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. There were no
girl s under -eighteen years of a e. There were about 200 boys
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. This number was
unusually large as the transport had not left with the con
victed boys on its regular schedule. Generally transports
make weekly trips to all institutions to which prisoners ,re
to be sent. A transport may meet another transport at some
central place so that all institutions could be covered. It
27
was said that a week would be about the longest time a con
victed prisoner ould have to wait before beginning to serve
his sentence.
In this institution juveniles are kept separated from
adults. Each inmate has his own cell.
In girls ' cases the police women of Berlin are evolv
ing a somewhat raduated detention system. Usually a girl
arrested on a delin uency ch r ge is allowed to go home to
await hearing, but here this is not advisable she may be
kept in the police stat· on, or she may be placed in a room
in the small institution maintaine for irls by the
Pflegeamt of the department of welfare, or she may be placed
in the roup life of this institution. A case in which the
girl is not frank and wh re serious elinquenc is involved
woul be the type placed in police station or jail detention .
Although the Durchgangsheime and Baobachtungsheime may
be u s ed by the courts for detention this is not a eneral
pre- haring policy in juvenile court delin uency cases.
Rather these homes are used for the study of problem children
who are thought to need ~rziehung (training) not Strafe
(punishment). For example, at· aldfrieden the one
Durchgangsheim for girls of Berlin, with a capacity of sixty,
only about one per cent of the cases were sent by the court.
fuen a juvenile has been placed in a jail for detention
by th court, the Child elfare Bureau may act as check
against long detention . Often this Bureau has a worker
assigned to 1nvest1 ate all juveniles held in jail. For
28
example, at Frankfurt am Main a social worker of the Child
Welfare Bureau receives notice of all boys under twenty-one
years of age detained in or committed to jail. A ~oman
worker is notified of ill girls ' cases.
During the year 1930-31 the man worker handled the
cases of 245 boys. Of these only 40 or 16% fell in the
14 to 18 year age group. The ages of others were :
18 to 19 years 49
19 to 20 years 70
20 to 21 years 86
From March 31, 1931 to April 1, 1932, 275 boys were handled.
The social worker makes an investigation looking toward
a plan for the boy . If the boy is from out of town, he writes
to the boy's home, school , etc., for information regarding
him .
Although the Child elfare Bureau has no power to release
a juvenile detained or committed by the court , yet it is in
no way overstepping its prerogatives in making these investi
gations . Its function is to work closely with the court in
the interests of the child •
.
Court Hearing
The impression one is left with after visiting juvenile
courts in America is one of speed, of hurry to get through;
in Germany just the opposite is true . The detail, the delib
eration, the opportunity iven defendants and parents to
speak is most striking . But with this careful going into
facts and considered thou ht in arriving at the plan for
disposition, a truely scientific base is generally lacking .
29
The use of the psychiatri s t by the juvenile courts is not
at all g eneral except for the very special case. One reason
for this which must be given weight is the lack of money to
provide sufficient facilities, but on the other hand there
seemed to be no great consciousness of the need. Two cases
heard come readily to mind; neither gave evidence of definite
mental disease, but deep conflicts were involved; on each
much time was spent; the case of one boy co-defendant with
three others lasted three hours; all the social facts were
analyzed and weighed, but the deeper issues which needed the
guidance of the trained expert were not reached . Mb.en one
considers the court of a Miriam Van ' aters in Los Angeles,
or of a Judge Cabot in Boston, the favorable balance is all
on the American side, but detailed investigation and careful
hearing were characteristics of all courts visited in Germany,
so that perhaps it can be said that there 1s a better average
of work.
The sessions of the juvenile courts of Germany are not
in~ormal conferences, for about them still cling some of the
traditional formalities. The judge may see child and parent
informally before hearing in his chambers, and he may have
informal conferences with social workers as to methods of
carrying out disposition after hearing, but in all sessions
attended a similarity of set procedure was followed.
The room used for the hearing might be the regular court
room as in the small town of Oppenheim; a smaller court room
in a building of social work offices having all the court
30
accoutrements, including a ceiling painting of blindfolded
Justice, velvet draped judge's table on raised dais, and
enclosure separating listeners from participants as in
Munich; a very small court room as in Frankfurt am Main, and
Berlin-Mitte, with judge's table on a platform about ten inches
from the floor and with just seating room for a small number
of people; or it may be an attractive conference office as
in Nurnberg's new municipal building.
The judge in black robe sits at the middle of the long
table; on either side of him are the two aids, lay people
chosen for their special fitness to assist the judge. one of
the aids must be a man; the other may be a woman. At one end
of the table, generally to the right of the judge, sits the
prosecuting attorney. ~n some of the courts visited he was
aleo robed. Opposite the prosecuting attorney is the assistant
to the judge who acts as reporter. These assistants are
graduate lawyers who are completing a term of actual practice
in the court before they can become judges . Two of the courts
al~o had other students of law participating .
At one side of the court room th re is a table reserved
for social workers. A worker of the Child W elfare Bureau
was present at every session attended . ifuere other agencies
are interested in cases these workers also take places at this
table. At the door sits a uniformed ba111f . The bailif,
however, does not have police or militaristic appearance;
those seen were elderly men wl10 looked like our office
building doormen.
31
Cases are set for a definite time , and a schedule is
poste outsi de of the court room. Sessions sometimes start
as early as eight i n the morning , and they may continue long
past the noon hour .
The complainant in Germany in criminal cases i s always
the states attorney. The police , or a private individual
may start the action by bringing it to the attention of the
state ' s attorney; but when the case goes to court , the per son originally setting the procedure in motion is no longer
complainant but a itness . itnesses are sworn, but never
defendants , either adult or juvenile.
At the sessions visited, all witnesses , the parents , and
defendant ere called into the room. The judge asked the
witnesses if they sere willing to take the oath and if they
realized hat it meant . ' l'he witnesses were then asked to
withdraw; the oath was not administered until they again
entere to give testimony . The child stood directly in front
of the judge; the parents were asked to sit in the back of
the room. Judges al ays made a ~oint of seeing if parents
were present and who they were . Judges all seemed to feel
that parents should be at the hearing; this applied to the
eighteen to twenty- one year old group as well as to those
of regular juvenile court age . In Frankfurt neither parent
had come with a boy a ed nineteen or twenty years , and the
judge made a very strong point of this at the hearing . This
is quite different from the viewpoint of some of our American
courts dealing with minors beyond the juvenile court age .
32
·1·he policy of the courts is to have the Child elfa.re
Bureau obtain a family history on the case before hearing .
The prosecuting attorney obtains the previous court
record of the juvenile. Germany has no central bureau of
identification, but records are registered in the defendants
birthplace .
The judges had folders with material on the cases before
them . The hearing proper opene with the judge reading aloud
some of the salient facts of the case from the record and
checking over face sh et facts with the defendant, such as
correct name , address, age , parents• names , school attended,
work, etc . No direct plea of guilty or not guilty was taken,
but in a less formal way the juvenile was asked if he had
committed the offense; for example , in reading the complaint
charged the judge might say to the child , "Did you do that?"
After this preliminary survey of the case the child was given
the chance to tell his side of the story. 'l'his was usually
first left to a spontaneous recital , and only later to
clarify or bring out points was the question and answer method
used. The prosecuting attorney was allowed by the judge to
question the child .
After the child ' s side of the matter had been gone into
very fully , the witnesses were called. itnesses came in
singly and were sworn. The oath was administered by the
judge, the witness raising his right hand and repeating the
words of the oath after the judge . All present in the court
room stood during the administering of the oath. One of the
33
judges put on a skull cap as he administered the oath. Police
officers appearing as witnesses were in uniform.
When the witness had given his testimony and been ques
tioned by judge and prosecuting attorney, the juvenile was
given the opportunity to question.
After all the witnesses were heard the parents were
allowed to speak. The judges• questions of parents generally
dealt with the child's behavior at home.
Although the Child Welfare Bureau nad made a written
report on the cases, the worker present was always asked if
he had anything to say . ometimes the worker would comment,
perhaps stressing some special point in the family situation.
If other social workers were interested in the family, they
~ere also called upon. 'rhe division of Fuersorgeerziehung
generally made quite a full report. These cases might be
children who had been placed temporarily in institutions
pending the final decision on the case, or children who had
previously been under institutional care. The worker would
g~ve a report on the child's behavior and progress in the
institution and would make reconnnendation regarding ne d of
further institutional care .
After everyone had been heard, the judge asked the
prosecuting attorney for a -summary and his recommendations .
The prosecuting attorney stood, reading from notes he had made
during the hearing . His summary dealt with the offense and
evidence presented. Definite recommendation for disposition
was made; if there was more than one offense, each was
34
considered separately . In all the cases heard the prosecuting
attorney's summary was an unimpassioned statement of fact ,
and although his reconnnendations were on the whole more severe
than the decision of the judge , 1here was no hard blind drive
for punishment . On one case while the judge and aids delib
erated , the prosecuting attorney phoned the boy ' s former
employer to see if he could get his job back for him.
After the prosecuting attorney had given his summary and
recommendations the defendant was again asked if he wished to
say anything . Thereafter the judge and the two aids withdrew
t o the judge ' s chambers to deliberate .
The decision and disposition is not left to the judge;
the aids have equal voice with him in the matter . The delib erations lasted ten to fifteen minutes . In a session attended
in Munich the children stood during the whole time the judge
and aids were out of the room; in other courts the children
generally sat down, although no one seemed to make a point
of telling them to do so .
Returning to the court room the judge gave a formal
reading of the decision . This included not only the disposi
tion but was a general summary . One of the Berlin judges
gave very fine summaries in which he marshalled all the social
factors which might have been causal in the delinquency of the
child . Another of the Berlin judges started the reading of
ea.ch decision with, "In the name of the people"--he also put
on his skull cap for this reading .
Often the judge repeated to the child in more simple
35
language what he had read; always the child was asked if he
understood.
There is right of appeal from the decision of the
juvenile court, and the child was asked if he wished to appeal ,
and was told that he had eight days in which to do this. The
parent was also told of this privilege , but the first suggestion
was to the child. This practice is similar to that of Boston
where the child is always told of his right of appeal , although
he may be altogether too young to know what it is all about .
It is not customary to have juveniles represented by
private counsel. In serious felony cases heard by the en
larged court, the judge is supposed to appoint a defendant
for the juvenile.
The child may be e xcluded from the court room while
certain testimony, for example such as may relate to family
history, is given. This was only done once in cases heard .
At all othe r times the child heard whatever parent , guardian,
or social worker had to say about him or the family relation
ships. However, none of the testimony given was especially
.
When two or more juveniles are involved in the same
offense, they are heard together.
It i s the policy in Germany to return all juveniles to
their home town for court handling . The court in the city in
which the juvenile was art•ested might detain him temporarily
and give him any innnediate care necessary, but his home town
would be notified, and he would be returned there for handling .
36
The double function of the judge , as judge of guardian ship and juvenile court judge, sometimes raises interesting
fine different! tions . If the juvenile is handled by the
judge as juvenile court judge, the action is crimi nal and the
juvenile has a record against him, which although it cannot
take away any of his rights of citizenship , nevertheless is
on record for a certain number of years . If on the other
hand the judge acts in his capacity of guar ianship , there is
no official record and the proce&s is considered one of
educative treatment, that is , Erzj Jhung and not Strafe
(punishment) . In Berlin there wa~ an int resting case of
this typ e . Two boys ~ere before the court for p sting up
communist posters which h d not been o . K. ed by the police ,
and one of the boys had also dra n a toy pistol when an offi
cer in civil clothing had attempted to arrest him . The boys
h d no previous records an were not considered problems at
h ome . Thus t he judge g ave both boys an Erziehung ~ arnung
(educative warning) instead of a Strafe darnung (punitive
warning), and the boy who pulled the pistol also had to pay
a Geld Busse (money penance) instead of a Geld Strafe (fine)
of ten Mark . The judge to spare the boys a trip to his
chambers to receive the warnings id he would give it to them
in the court room, but this would be in his capacity of
judge of guardianship .
Another judge asked boy to come to his chambers on a
set day for th warning . This jud e felt that the warning
did not have much effect if iven right aft r the hearing,
37
for he thought the child was upset and worn out by the pro cess and had assimilated all that he was able to for one day,
In Altona the judge tried to keep as many children as
possible from coming before the court . He saw all cases
first in his chambers informally and made disposition of the
case as judge ~f guardianship if possible . Only about one
fourth of the cases he contacted were brought up for regular
court action.
It is a usual practice for the judge to have had an inter view in his chambers with the child sometime before hearing .
These interviews are to become acquainte with the child as a
social being , not a going into the evidence of guilt or inno cence of the offense . As one Berlin judge said, he just talked
to the child about his interests and daily life and did not
g o into the case at all; the Frankfurt am Main judge expressed
himself as wantin to talk to the child alone, "unter vier
Augen . "
Thus from the time of the offense to the date of hearing
which is g enerally about a month, the court has had some con tact with the case, the Ghil felfare Bure u has made its
investigation, and the whole process is seasoned and there
is no need of uick impressions or snap judgment . Perhaps
this explains the quiet procedure of the sessions . Judge
and prosecuting ttorney never showed emotion or excitement;
ther ere no bombastic explosions, but r ather the child had
a chance to pour himself out to those who were ready and able
to listen. Ther as al ays courtesy, consideration, and
38
patience. One of the judges heard on an involved gang case
of older boys seemed with his sweet gentleness of manner more
like a pastor hearing confessions from his flock than a judge.
The whole German mind and attitude as well as the
historical development of their law must be considered in
order to understand both their distinctions and combinations
of Erziehung and Strafe. W e must lay aside our idea of a
parental ~ourt in which treatment and not punishment is the
watchword . he German believes in educative treatment, but
at times he feels that punishment is educative or that the
threat of punishment is of value .
Disposition
The most fre uent disposition made in the sessions
attended was probation of two or three years. This was not
a straight robation but followed as a suspended jail sentence.
The jail sentences were v ery short, perhaps two weeks, a
month, rarely more than three months . Even in the eighteen
to twenty-one year old g roup this was true . Four boys who
belonged to a notorious gang , the older members of which were
suspected of some sixty-five crimes, were dealt with most
leniently, although they were involved in more than one
offence . One of the boys admitted ten breaks in the se ssion,
yet for the charges he was betng tried for at th t time he
was given only an eight months term. He was already serving
a seven months term on an earlier charge . The three other
boys were iven six months or less , and even then the judge
39
considered suspension but stated that that could not be
decided upon until 11 ~ending cases had been settled . When
one considers the commonness of five, ten, fifteen, or twenty
year terms given by our judges for similar offences we see
why , in comparison, our jails and prisons are packed and an
ever increasing building program brings no relief .
Volume of Court W ork
The 1929 figures , the Statistik des Deutschen Reichs ,
are the latest published for the whole country . The total
number of juveniles, fourteen to eighteen years of age, com ing before the juvenile courts in Germany for this year was
25, 673 :
Boys
Girls
22 , 011
3 , 662
The population figures of 1925
1
show for the fourte en
through eighteen year group a total of 6, 555, 229; thus the
ratio of delin uency would be about . 3 of one per cent .
The 192 figures were:
Boys
Girls
Total
23,177
3,927
27, 104
The of·fenses for 1929 were classified as follows:
.Against Public Order
Against the Person
Against Property
Miscellaneous
3,672
4,210
17,778
13
25,673
he most frequent offense was petit larceny, occurring
1
Statistisches Jahrbuch fuer d s eutsche tteich, Hobbing,
1931, p .
40
9885 times; the next in order was grand larceny, 2739.
In Hamburg for the year 1931 there were 732 juveniles
before the court . Of these 642 were boys , 90 were girls .
The ages were :
Boys Girls
14 years of age 77 3
15 years of age 124 11
16 years of age 198 37
17 years of age 243 39
Frankfurt am Main for the year 1930-31 had 228 cases in the
fourteen to eighteen year roup . Of th se 202 were boys,
26 were girls .
Age groups :
14 years of age
13
15 ye rs of 50
16 y ars of 80
17 y ars of e 85
Girls ' Cases
One reason for the very few girls comi ~ before the
court is th t sex del n uencies are not , sually b1•ought be fore the juvenile court . ,uc h delin uencies would be handled
through the Child "el are Bureau, the Pfleg arnt,( Social
Hygiene Bureau) , or other social
enc es . Girls sexually
delinquent rould b likely to be placed in institutions fo r
care , but such commitment would be throu h the jud e in his
capacity of jud e of uardianship , not of th juvenile court .
Since 1927
1
prostitution is not a punishabl offense in
1
Das Gesetz zur Bekaempfun der Geschlechtskrankheiten -
Son erdurck aus der Zeitschrift Volks ohlfahrt" 1927 , No . 17,
Berlin .
41
Germany. There are certain regulations , relating to the
safeguardin of chi ldren, community standards , and health,
but i f these are adhered to no criminal action c n be started.
Thi s idea of the law c rries over into juvenile c ourt
practi ce , and we find very few irls before the court . The
g i rls , ho ev er , are looked after , for the r are many insti t u t i ons fo r this purpose .
In Berlin the municipal Pflegeamt ( ·ocial Hygiene Bureau)
handle all girls fourteen to twenty- one years of age picked
up by police or travelers' aid . The Pfleg amt is open t enty four hours a day nd conducts a seventy- two bed nstitution
as well as soci 1 service offices . A social worker takes the
hist ory of the girl and works out a p l n for her . 'ac h girl
is i v en a medical examination . The policy of the organiza tion is not to make t he girl feel she i s being forced into
anything , and she is "advised" to have a physical examin tion.
It was said t hat the irls readily fell into the routin of
the institution and that there was little , if any , difficulty
on thi s score •
.
The building used is part of a former jail , the same as
that in which t h e boys ' Schutzhaftheim is housed . All
vestiges of jai l have isappeared from t his portion of the
b ilding , h owever , and it is cheerful and attract i ve . The
capacity is seventy- two; there are two dormitories and a
number of separate rooms . Girls are divided into two g roups ,
each g r oup 1aving its own living room which also serves as a
dinin room . The girls d o the maintenance work of the nsti -
42
tution as well as sewing and fancy work . They wear blue
checked uniforms .
Th re are enerally about fift en new admissions a day;
the aver e length of stay is about four or five days . If a
irl is found to have ven real disease she is not kept but
placed in a hospital .
he Pfleg amt does not carry on the future work with the
girl ; it but makes the investigation, gives the irl temporary
care , and t hen turns her over to the proper agency for super
vi ion.
Judges
Ju es in ermany are appointed; appointments are for
life . A three and on -h lf year university course in law
and overnment is required, fter hich anoth r three years
must be sp nt in actual practice in the courts . 'l'he student
during this t m works in all br nches of the court ; he sits
in at hearings , writes out documents for the p residing judge ,
and enerally familiarizes himself with all phases of the
w~rk . Duri this three year period he receives no pay,
except at times there is a small stipend like a scholarship .
At the end of the three year period he must successfully pass
an examination to become a so- called "assessor" or assist ant
judge . Further advance depends upon ability and vacancies .
The juvenile court judges receive no specialized train ing . Attempt is made to place men in these positions who are
interested in them . But as the juvenile court belon s to the
43
lower branch of the courts rise in position means usually
change to another division of the court. One fine exception
to this 1 in Berlin where one of the juvenile court judges,
who is very interested and especi lly fitted for the work, has
remained as juvenile jud e, although he has become head of
the provincial court, Landgericht-direktor .
On account of this lack of special training of judges
it was felt that the aids were of value to the courts. The
aids are to be people with experience or training in social
welfare work and their understanding of the p roblems is to
help lift the court from the purely legal viewpoint to one of
social vision. It was thought that they were especially
helpful in the small districts where there was no choice of
juvenile udge but where the same person must serve in all
the various branches .
The court has no probation officers directly under its
control or as a part of its organization, but it must turn to
the Child elfare Bureau, the various juvenile court
auxilliaries (Jugendgerichtshilfe) , and other social agencies
for the carrying out of its program .
CHAPTER IV
ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL ~ORK
44
Although the whole of Germany is governed by one law ,
the set- up for carrying into effect the mandates of its courts
differs in the various communities . The Child W elfare law
only lays down general principles; the more detailed working
of these is left to the provinces (Landesgesetzen) .
It is decreed , however , that everywhere the child welfare
work must be a cooperative movement , a working together of
public officials , private social agencies , and those in the
c ommunity who have understandi ng and vision - for the work . in
Ger many it has alw ys been felt that if the juvenile court
is to solve its problems even in the smallest degree it must
have the assistance of the various community agencies .
Bav a r ia early saw the importance of havin her court cooperate
with social ag encies and already in her law of 1910 this fact
was stressed .
When the public child welfare bureaus were s e t up the
idea was not that they transplant the private work , but they
were to encourage it and develop it . They were only to be
the agency responsible for seeing that the work was done .
The growth of the industrial era, the war , the increase
in crime , disease , employment of children and their negl ect
made it necessary that some d efinite public rganization be
iven the responsibility for the whole field of child elfare .
In the fall of 1919 rurtt mberg introduced the first
45
Jugendamt , that is , child lfare board . Before the child
welfare law went into effect in 1924 a number of the large
cities had organized child welfare boards .
All of Germany is covered by these boards; either the
division is that of on locality or a number of local units
are united under one board . In the indivi ual states the
Ministerium determines the boundaries of the district . In
general the board is under the connnunity, but in Bavaria it
is under the state .
In the rural districts the child w .lfare boards have not
many agencies to call upon, but in the large cities they are
surrounded with the help o divervified agencies .
Although the law is general in leaving the d etailed work
ing to the communities , it is inclusive in that it definitely
states the roblems with which it is to concern itself . In
Section 4 of the law
1
six fields of work are named.
1 . The holding of conferences in regard to child welfare
matters .
2 . Maternity care, pre-natal and post-natal .
3 . Infancy
4 . Pre- school child
5 . School children; this not to include the academic
problem.
6 . The child beyond school age .
In Section 7 the l w makes the child welfare board
1
Reichjugendwohlfahrts )esetz, Textaus abe, eymann's
Verl , 1929, p . 2
46
responsili4) for all minors living within its district, thus
extending the work beyond the juvenile court age.
This important work of the care of its children Germany
wishes to place in the hands of those especially trained for
the task, for in Section 9 it is stated that as a general rule
the chief positions in these boards should only be filled by
people who have had ample training and have had at least one
year of practical experience in child welfare work.
Germany has a number of schools of social work which give
courses that include both theory and practical field work.
The Soziale Frauenschule of Munich, for example, gives a two
year course. The first year is theoretical; the first five
months of the second year are spent in field work in both
public and private agencies; the remainder of the second year
is again given over to class work at the school. The require
ments of admission are that the student must be over twenty
years of age and have graduated from a Lyzeum or a higher
girls ' school. omen who do not hold such a diploma may at
t;mes be admitted when past training is nearly equivalent or
when employment has been had in a social agency. Such women
are on probation during the first three months of the course.
The tendency in Germa~y is to extend and diversify the
training as effort is made to consolidate and district social
work. Workers interviewed felt that it was much better to
have but one worker go into a family than to have the work
broken up into specialities which always necessitated some
overlapping and as apt to make confusion, at least in the
47
mind of the family if not in the plan of the case treatment
its elf. A few specialties , however , are adhered to ; for
example, an older boy referred by the court for delinquency
would generally e handled by am n worker of the depart ment in tead of the woman worker of the district .
In Hambur g all the wom n workers in addition to the two
year course in social work must have had a year•s hospital
course in child care to enable them to carry on the infancy
work .
Ln each community visited one must know something of the
history , of the resources, an of the ~ersonalities working
in order to understand the differences in organization set-up .
A universal p roblem , however , confronts all today, and
that is lack of money to carry on the work as t he woul ish.
Heavy loads make intensive case work impossible .
In Berlin one of th distr ict areas of the Jugendamt
contained a population of about 350 , 000 . This istrict office
employed twenty-eight social workers, twenty- on women and
seven men . There were 9000 active cases at the time of study,
.
making the aver e case load over 300. One of the men workers
carrie ove r 400 at the time of intervie .
In H~nburg the whole Jugan amt had seventy- seven workers ,
fifty-six omen an tw nty-one men . During April, 1932 , the
women workers made 6263 investig tions . The average case
load of each worker was from 250 to 300 active cases .
The Jugendamt does not i ve relief ; that i s administered
by the ohlfahrtsamt (Departmentof Public 1 lfare) .
48
o complete use of a Confidential Exchange was found in
cities studied . The child welfare boards made card indexes of
all their cases, and at times other agencies made use of these.
In Berlin if a family active with the Jugenda.mt moves,
the case history record is sent to the new district . If the
case had been closed and later became active in a new district,
this would not be known to the new worker unless she elicited
it by questioning or took the trouble to look in the file of
the districts in which the family formerly lived.
The sources for cases of the Jugend amt are most varied.
Parents, relatives, neighbors , school, police , social agencies,
judge of guardianship or juvenile court, may all refer cases .
Every type of p roblem that may affect a child during the
whole of minority is the concern of the Jugendamt.
Schools have no truant officers or visiting teachers but
refer these cases to the Jugendamt . In Hamburg when a child
is truant, the school Hausmann {janitor custo ian) makes a
call at the home. He notifies the family that if the child
d9es not atten a report will be made to the Jugendamt. Social
workers from the Jugendamt visit the schools once a week when
problems are reported. Eve r y two months there is a confer
ence between school and Jugendamt . Ei ght days before the
conference the school notifies the Jugendamt which cases it
wishes to discuss and the Jugendamt gives the school the list
of cases on which it woul d like school help and information.
All teachers attend this conference and general problems of
the work are discussed as well as individual cases taken up .
49
In Berlin the Jugendamt has special social workers ,
called Verbindung F1:1ersorger , which the school contacts when
there is need .
Juvenile court or police would have nothing to do with
a child under fourteen years of age who was truanting . Thi s
would be entirely a problem of the Jugendamt and school to
work out together . In continuation school cases where the
child is over fourteen, the police may be called to h ndle
the situation . In Berlin in the district studied it was · said
that these cases, however, were als o referred to the Jugendamt .
The Jugendamt may supervise the child referred in its
own home , place it in a foster home , have it admitted to an
institution either public or private , and if the child is
over fourteen years of age and has been delinquent , refer it
to the juvenile court for more stringent treatment , In its
handling of the child the Jugendamt works closely with the
judge of guardianship . He has the risht to sit in and be
heard at all meetings of the Ju endrunt .
For young dependent children use is made of foster home
placement , but for the older delinquent children, that is,
children who have been before the juvenile court, this is
very rare. Various reasons were advanced for this, such as
expense , inability to find proper homes , and difficulties
arising from class distinction, it not being possible to
place chil ren from one class into the home of a lower class .
Altho gh it was sometimes said that foster home placement
for a delinouent child might be helpful, there se med to be
50
ho great belief that this was a method which needed active
furtherance.
If the child's own home offered possibilities of super vised care, he would be placed under Schutzaufsicht , which
lit erally means protected care, but is used in the sense of
our probation. This may be informal , not directly referred
b y the court, or it m·y be a direct court order .
Formal probation can never be a short period of a few
months as it frequently is in America . action 12 of the
Juvenile Court law sets the minimum probation time at two
years , the maximum at five years . Probation does not extend
beyond the twenty- first birthaay.
As stated before , in the cases observed probation was
given a s a suspended sentence for a short jail term; this ,
however , need not be so . This threat hangi over the
juvenile was felt by most of the workers interviewed as an
aid to successful probation . The fact that prop , r treatment
or Erziehung had been carried on to terminate the probation
p~riod successfully was generally not conceded the only
reason; the suspended ail sentence must also be iven due
credit .
The judge of the court still continues his int rest in
the child placed on formal r robation; the matter is not
entirely left to the Jugendamt . For example , in Frankfurt
am Main on the day foll owing the court hearing the judge
meets with the social workers interesteu in the cases he rd .
At this time cases are discussed and pl n for probation
51
worked out . In Altona the judge said he kept his finger very
closely on probation cases until such time s everything was
running smo thly . This judge has regular office hours when
he personally sees the children an discusses their problems
with them . In one of the B rlin courts the jud e reviews
prob tion cases at st ted times .
11th conditions in Germany as they are the social worker
ho is to carry out the probation treatment is confronted
with a hard problem . First of all is case load is so he vy
th the cannot o the intensiv ork on any on c se th the
,ould like, and secon ly with th unemployment it is almost
impos sibl for him to fin work for his pro tion rs . He
cannot , as in America, urge the unemploy d boy or girl to
continue his schooling, for in erm ny th free academic
p riod stops with the Volksschule which is complet d no ally
at the fourteenth ye r . The poorer families are not able to
send their children beyond this . 'l o be sure the children mus t
attend continuation school fo three ears, but this takes
up only a few hours out of the week . Formerly the boy having
finished the Volksschule would be placed in a Lehrstelle, a
workshop iri which he would le arn a c hosen trade .
1
1
1
hat is, he
would be apprenticed to a Meister (master; for perhaps a three
year period for his vocational training . {1th the economic
depression so acute the opportunities for this traini ng have
also d i minished , and t he probationer is left with little chance
of learning a trade or of getting anythi to do to keep him
busy . Sitting in at court, here boy after boy had no work,
52
where many had passed through th whole adolescent period
without th steadying influence of re ular work or training ,
the acuteness of the whole situation was indelibly impressed
on one . On probation officer who gave great deal of
thought to his problems felt that the serious plight of the
country ould show u when this present adolescent roup
would hav raced the thirties and b need as am i nstay,
fo th n t ei utter lack of wok h bits and the purposeless
years of i leness i ght sell isast e r .
Th re re plans afoot to op n possibil ties for further
aca emic tr in ng or those 1th bility to profit by it .
The prob tion o fleer tri s to connect up t e boy or
i rl un er s c re with rec e tional activities .
Ge ans a e rat believes in sports and lovers of the
out oors . On Sun ays and holidays it seems as f everyone
were startin o t 1th kn ps ck on back to spend the day in
t e open. Th com aratively few automobiles on th highways
is very noticeabl to one used to thA heavy Sunday traffic
on American roads . In Germany t e people walk, bicycle , or
make use of the cheap weekend train excursions . From earliest
school ays the German boy and girl has been used to W anderen;
it is part of the school curriculum, and a cert ain number of
days out of the ye ar , seven in one city, for example , must
be s µent in field trips of some sort . This develops whole some interests , and gives an outlet for the spi rit of adven ture . Each community has its Herberge , where school or
club groups who go on long r trips may for a few cents receive
53
night lodging.
The probation officer tries to utilize this national
trend, and one feels that for the probationer as well as the
rest of the country this outdoor interest has been a great
aid in keeping up morale.
Some cities have opened up workrooms where the adolescent
who is unemployed may profitably spend his time. If there are
such in the community, the probation officer trie to have
the boy or girl attend. In one court case heard, the attendance
at such a workroom was one of the prescribed probation condi
tions. But this again cannot be used in all cases, for the
number of workrooms has not been able to keep up with the
unemployment .
Personal work, the guidance and leadership so necessary
to the probationer, the probation officer cannot himself
give in the measure he would like, so he calls upon the
community to help him.
This may take the form of asking the cooperation of one
o~ the specialized private agencies, such as one belonging to
a church; it may be interesting the school teacher more
personally ·in the child; or it may be using volunteer workers
in forming clubs, etc.
Although the probation officer may thus perhaps turn
over much of the actual contact with the child to someone
else, h e is still responsible for the case and must give
enough supervision so tha t he knows what conditions are .
W hen it is found that the child does not get along on
54
probation, when erhaps his ho1ne is such that constructive
tre tment cannot b carried out , the Jugen amt can refer the
child back to the judge with the recommendation that
Fuersorgeerziehung is nee · ed .
Section 62 of the Chil Welfare law defines
Fuersorgeerziehung as follows : Fuersorgeerziehung is for the
purpose of preventing and removi elin uency and is carried
on in a su.itable family or in an institution of educational
character under public supervision and at public expense .
The Fuersorseerziehun& is not a function of the Jugen amt
but is under another public department called the Fuersorge erziehungsbehoerde. The Jugen amt and the Fuersorgeerziehung
may , however , be parts of one larger organization, the Landes jugenda.mt .
The power of placing a child u nder Fuersorgeerziehung
belongs to the judge of guardianship . rhe juvenile court
judge may make use of the measure when he feels e ucational
methods will suffice .
A child under the juvenile court age , that is , under
fourteen , mby be placed in Fuersorgeerziehung by the judge of
guardianship . Children over ei hteen , when "prospect of
success would warrant it," may also be so placed . This form
of supervision ends "ith the twenty-first year .
The Fuersorgeerziehung takes the child away from the
control of his on parents . The parents or guardi an must
be notified of the order of the ju g e .
As pr ctically no use is made of foster home placement
55
for the delinquent child of juvenile court ag e t his typ e of
training means placement in an in titution . These institu-
t ons mi ht , from g en r 1st n point , be compar d to our
state industrial or correctional schools for t hose of juvenile
court e .
CHAPTER V
INSTITUTION
56
The courts of Germany may commit children to private or
public institutions that re educational in type , or to
juvenile jails , Jugendgefaengnisse , where the aim is Strafe ,
(punishment) , but punishment in th sense of training . "So
muss die Erziehung den vorherrschenden Zweck der Strafe
darstellen. Das Recht des Staates , einen Jugendlichen zu
strafen, er ibt sich aus seiner Pflicht , ihn zu erziehen . "
1
Under no circumstanc s could the court commit the child
under ei hteen years of age to an adult convict prison.
There are re a t m ny private institutions in Germany,
many of them denomin tional . Parents or uardi ns may place
children in these institut ons directly, or they may be com mitted through the judge of guardianship or by the juvenile
court . The institution is paid ,or each ch ld committed by
the judges from public funds .
The institutions both public and private are of diverse
.
types . There is gener lly an age division at fourteen ,
chil ren below t his a e bein in sep rate institutions from
those older • . ometimes there are three age divisions as
Kl ein- Kind er Heime , for children below school e , Heime
fue r 0chul inder , that is , of the school age , and Heime fuer
Schulentlassene , for those over fourteen who have finished
1
Curt Bondy, Paedago~ische Probleme im Jugend Strafvollzug , Mannheim, 19 5, p . 10
57
the elementary school . An institution may accept b oth boys
and girls , housing the older groups separately, but having
the one administration. Some institutions as mentioned under
the study of detention are Durchgangs o r Beobachtungsheime ,
where children are kept for short periods for study or for
development of a plan.
No uniformity as to type from the standpoint of treat ment vas found , althou h two rough divisions might be drawn
of open and closed institutions . Often institutions included
both ty es of care, the idea being on of pro ression from the
more closed to a freer t yp e of living .
Th re are no distinguishing marks between the public
and private ~rziehungsheime (institutions for training) ; both
are under public cont rol from th standpoint of being inspected
and visited by those in authority, as the officials of the
Landesj endamt . At pres ent the fact that the private homes
need the money which they receive from the public for the
committed child ren makes them more willing to come up to
the standards set .
In these institutions then e find dependent chil dren
n eg l cted children, child ren who are behavior roblems but
w o have co.mitted no offense to brin them before the court ,
and those children who are delin uent and have been committed
by the cour t . There are no separate Erziehungsheime where
only court committed children are sent . 'l'here is a cert ain
classification, however, fort ere are the more closed and
the more open institutions, most of which again have subdivi-
58
sions within the larger unit .
The Jugendgefaengnisse (juvenile jails) are of three types
considered from the housing standpoint . There are those run
as a separate institution for the younger group ; this would
not include just the juvenile court age , but all minors, or
might extend to the age of twenty- five as at Eisenach . The
institution in which the juvenile division is part of the
~inistration of a larger unit including adults , but is
housed separately , and the type in which the juveniles are
housed in a separate wing or division of an adult institution,
are the two other types . There is no separate juvenile jail
for girls in Germany; only a few are so confined; they are
always housed in part of a women ' s institution .
The total number of juveniles both boys and girls con fined in these Jugendgefaengnisse is very small . It is a method
of treatment that the court only makes use of as a last resort .
In all Prussian jails during the year of 1931 there was
a daily average of 200 boys and of one girl under eighteen
y ~ars of age .
1
During six months of 1929 there were confined a total
of 437 juv~niles 14 to 18 years of age in the j ails of
Prussia . Age and length of terms were as follows :
Boys Girls
14 -
16 years of age 45 4
16
-
18 years of age 357 31
402 35
1
These figures received in letter form from Dr . K.
Mende, Deutsches Archiv fuer Jugendwohlfahrt . The 1929 fi gure
does not designate which six months period was used .
Held only
14 -
16 -
Term less
14
-
16 -
Term from
14 -
16 -
Term over
14 -
16 -
for detention
.
16 years
18 years
than 3 months
16 years
18 years
3 months to 1
16 years
18 years
1 year
16 years
18 years
year
Boys
35
195
7
133
3
23
0
6
59
Girls
l
11
3
19
0
1
0
0
Prussia represents about two-thirds of all Germany; thus
these figures fairly well guage the whol e situation.
As every institution breathes the personality of those
working within it, and as each is a living thing with its own
individual pattern, no generalized picture or description
can be given. Field notes jotted down after visits to the
institutions seem,therefore, the most vital method of presenta
tion.
The institutions selected for presentation out of those
visited represent varied types of Erziehungsheim e and
Jugendge:ftlEngnisse; all of the Erziehungsheime are t hose used
for children over fourteen years of age, therefore are
resources for the courts in their treatment of delinquency.
ERZIEHUNGSHEIME
Boys Institutions
St . Georgsheim - Birkeneck - Hallbergmoos
60
st . Georgsheim is a private inst tution for boys ranging
i n age from fourteen to twenty-one years . The total capacity
is 175 . The institution is urrler the direction of the
brothers of the M ission of the Sacred Heart . Although origin
ally started in 1919 as an institution for dependent boys ,
during the last two years it has received practically only
boys who have been elinquent or who present problems . This
is said to be due to the shortage of funds of cities and
state so that much ork formerly thought necessary from a
preventive standpoint must be left undone .
The attitude of those working in the institution is th t
whatever the boy ' s problem, ho ever serious an offense he may
have committed , it is their job to accept him. For example,
one boy who was before the court for attempt ed murder was
admitted.
The municipality from which the boy comes pays a daily
per capita .charge for him. The amount would be un:ler fifty
cents a day in American money . The actual cost of maintain ing the boy is gre ter , but much that is used is produc ed
by the institution.
The institution is located in a rural section of southern
Germany, about an hour by bus from the city of unich. It has
much land, and the nucleus of the main building is an old
61
hunting castle . Somewhat back of the main building is a
rectangle formed by the workshops and barns. To the front
of the main building is a large play space, a running track,
and a natural swinnning pool. This pool was made by piping
water from a nearby stream into an old sand pit .
A very nice aspect of the institution is the fact th t
nuns as well as th priests and brothers work with the boys
and that there are also lay masters who live on the grounds
1th their families, using the u per floors of th shop
buildings for th ir residences . Having women an ch11 ran
about tends to create a normal atmosphere .
The boys in their living arrangements are divided into
five groups . E ch roup is und r a Pater and has its own
living room and dormitory . There is one central kitchen,but
each group eats in its own livi ~ room. The Pater has his
room int , r p division . The door leading to each ivision
1s locked at night , but otherwise the institution is an
entirely open one . One of the group living rooms was fixed
up attractively with pictures, banners, and vases with pussy willows. Theathers lacked these extra touches but from the
standpoint ·of light and building arrangement had good possi bilities and were by no means cheerless . E ch group living
room had a radio.
One method of control is through group classification.
On admission all new boys are put into the same group .
Theoretically these boys are supposed to be more restrained
and to advance only when it is felt they are ready for greater
62
freedom. The Pater in charge of this group has good relation
ship with his boys and is very interested in them, and the
spirit and life seemed no different than the three middle
groups. The boys who have been in the institution the longest
and have a good record are placed in the fifth or honor group .
This group has no dormitory, but rooms housing four boys each.
These boys enjoy certain privileges which the other groups
are not allowed, as,for example, smoking in their rooms.
The institution has a chapel, an auditorium, and one
academic school room.
Only the boys from fourteen to sixteen years of age
att,nd academic cl sses. Such classes are held twice a week
from 7:30 to 10 A.
•
All boys have vocational or farm training. The shops
include print ng , blacksmith, wagon making , tailor, baking,
and shoe making . The wagon making shop formerly made bodies
for the Ford Company, but at the time of visit there was no
work. Boys do all the maintenance work of the institution,
and this with the vocational training gives them an eight
.
hour work day . The aim of the vocational training is to fit
the boy for some certain line of work.
The Sisters are in charge of such departments as the
kitchen, sewing room, and laundry.
There are no uniforms. Boys may wear their own clothing.
If they are in need of clothes, the institution provides them.
outdoor activities play an important part in the life of
the boys. They have teams for the various athletic games
63
and play outside groups, thus having some community contact .
Discipline is maintained by an active diversified program,
a friendly relationship between staff and boys, and through
the granting of privileges .
Privileges consist of taking part in the recreational
activities such as sports , institution movies and entertain
ments, and leaves of abs ence . After the boy h as been in the
institution six months if his behavior has been good, he may
be granted an eight ay leave . In some cases where the boy
1
s
family or relatives did not have room for him, the institution
has arranged to have the boy sleep in some Home in the town
where his family lived so that he could have this outside
contact .
No routine psycholo ical or psychiatric study is made
of the boys, but a psychiatrist comes to the institution twice
a year when all special cases are referred to him.
The staff hold weekly conferences at which time the
cases of the boys presenting problems are discussed . Some
of the Paters interviewed did not seem to feel that a great
deal was gained by these discussions .
Connnitments to the institution are always for an indefin
ite term, the time of discharge being left to the institution.
The institution makes some effort to get places for boys to
work when they are ready to leave , but has no regular p arole
system under its supervision. Boys needing follow-up would
be referred to the Jugendamt or some other agency in their
home connnunity.
64
The atmosphere of the institution was very fine . ' he
boys were natural an spontaneous; no dead institution march
ing nor ex ressionless institution faces were seen . Boys
moved about freely , p erhaps whistling or boun ing up the
entrance stairs as adolescents would in their own homes .
As boys were met on the roun s or in the buildings they
al ays g ve the friendly
11
Gruess Gott" greetin of Bavaria.
estendheim - Frankfurt am Main
estendheim located within the city of Frankfurt is a
private institution, but the director is also a public
official, belonging to the Behoerde or group having the super vision of juvenile institutions . The institution formerly
had private funds, but lost evcrythin durin the inflation
period . At present it must maintain itself through the small
daily per rata paid for each boy by the community or agency
responsible for him .
Boys range in age from fourteen to twenty- one; the
pppulation at time of visit was eighty . The average ag e of
boys now in the institution is about nineteen . This is older
than formerly , but boys must be kept longer as work cannot
be found for them .
·1
1
he plan of the institution is to have a free and open
home from which boys go into the community for work, for
vocation 1 training , either in a trade school or from an
individual Meister , and for part of their recre ational activities .
Outside clubs are asked to come into the institution to help
65
with the recreational life. Girls from the community are
allowed in for some of these club activi t ies.
Boys admitted to the institution fall largely into the
group which the German calls "Ver ahrlost." This term is more
inclusive than our "neglect." The neglected boy in danger
of becoming delinquent and the boy who already has committed
some act of delinquency may both be admitted.
Two different slants or viewpoints were expressed in
regard to the admissions. The director stated that the
institution received many boys ho ha.d been at other insti
tutions where they could not get along. One of the staff
members, who acted as guide , stated that most of the boys had
been in other institut ions which were away from the city and
which were not as free and that W estendheim served as a stepping
stone back into the community.
The institution is housed in an old hospital. There are
two buildings. The structure and arrangements are very
simple. There is a central kitchen and one dining room.
BQys sleep in dormitories. Beds have radio connection with
earphones so that boys may listen in after the retiring hour
which is g ·p. M. Dormitory windows have limited opening,
and outer doors are locked.
Boys are examined physically on admission and every four
weeks thereafter. •1•hese subsequent examinations are as a
venereal precaution as the boys s pend a good d eal of time in
the community. No psychiatric examinations are made.
At the time of study t h institution was finding it very
66
difficult to get either employment or Lehrstellen (apprentice ship places} for the boys . Sixty- five of the eighty had to
be kept busy at the institution. The work consisted of
maintenance , care of a small garden, r pairs , and tailoring .
Outside orders for tailor work were taken, but there
was no great demand . Effort was made to keep the boys as
busy as po sible with repair work in addition to the regular
daily routine jobs . Boys receive a small amount of money for
their work, about a quarter a week . This they may use ror
spending money.
Boys may wear their own clothes . There are no uniforms .
The institution has student self- government , but the
director stated it was at low ebb at present due to the fact
that there were not many boys in the group with high intelli gence . '1
1
he boys elect officers who have such jobs as over
sight in the dining room, dishing out the food , and bringing
complaints to the director. Formerly the boys conducted a
court to handle discipline cases .
Discipline consists of loss of money and privileges .
The institution need not keep the boy if he does not fit into
the group . ·
The institution has no special recreational director,
but staff members are young and take part in play activities .
with the boys. The institution has an outdoor playground,
but resources in the community are also made use of . There
is a river nearby in which the boys swim, and the Tanus
forest is accessible for walks . Boys are allowed to leave
67
the institution for hikes (Nanderen) . A boy crone i nto the
office to get an o. K. for such a trip when the director was
being i nterviewed .
The institution serves five meals a day , which is the
usual number of times most Germans eat . Two of the institu tion meals are just hand- outs . At 4 : 30 P . M . the boys were
seen forming in line by two ' s outdoors , and a larg rye bread
sandwich with am was given to them . They could eat here
they w nted . J ost of the boys sat around in the yard; a fe
went into the bull ings . Boys are allowed to smoke .
On acount of th unemployment conditions the institu tion cannot function as it would like . It must keep large
numbers busy at the ins t itution without being able to ive
them the community work contacts , which is one of its aims .
Girls Institutions
t . Johannesstift - W iesbaden
St . Johannesstift is unde r the direction of Catholic
Sisters , Augustinerinnen from Koln. It cares for all types
of problem girls from fourteen to twenty-one, inclu ing
unmarried mothers and venereal cases . It also has a depart
ment for the c re of infants and small chil ren.
Cases are generally sent to the institution by the
Landesjugendamt of Nassau . They could be sent privately,
but relativ s would th n be h ld res ponsible for payment .
68
The Jugendamt pays for all cases _which it sends .
The institution can accomodate about 120 girls and an
equal number of children. There were only sixty girls in the
institution when it was visited.
The institution has good quipment and a well built three
story structure, but it is of congregate institutional type.
It is situated within the city of W iesbaden.
The institution has its own obstetrical delivery room
and has a separate wing for its venereal cases .
In addition to the routine maintenance work girls do
commercial laundering and sewing; this is to add to the in
come of the home .
The only schooling that is carried on are continuation
classes for girls under eighteen, which are held three times
a week from 6 to 7 P. M .
Although the Siste1" in charge was willirg to show all
of the material side of the institution, it was very hard
to draw from her much that was vital in regard to spirit or
method of treatment . The whole atmosphere was most
repressive ; no young joyousness of life was visible anywhere .
Schafhof - Nurnberg
Schafhof is a protestant home for girls under the
management of a Lutheran Sisterhood.
The institution is very nicely situated on the edge of
Nurnberg. The home was founded in 1913 and the present
building3 erected at that time . There re two connected
69
buildings. The main building is a large three story concrete
structure which is not in itself institutional looking. There
is much open space about the buildings. The land near the
buildings is enclosed by a wooden fence about ten or twelve
feet high, topped by barbed wire. The gates were open, how-
the
ever, when/ home was visited , and some girls were outside of
the enclosure. A large police dog was chained near the
entrance.
The grounds include a very nice pine woods in which there
are picnic tables. In back of the buildings there is also a
large playground.
The capacity of chafhof is 65 girls . On April 19, 1932
there were 60 girls in residence. Girls range in age from
fourteen t o twenty-one . Sometimes a girl of thirteen will
be admitted; only infrequently are girls over ei ghteen on
admission. The home is for problem girls; both pregnant and
venereally deseased girls are admitted. The home is not,
however , principally for maternity cases; only a few of these
are s ent to the home , and delivery would be arranged for else
where . The irl and her baby would be r eturned to the home .
There is a · small nursery for the babies . There were two
young chil ren of former girls at the institution. Thes e
girls were not able to care for their children in the
connnunity so the Sisters were looking after them.
Girls are not committed to the home for any d efinite
term, but girls sent by the court cannot be released without
the consent of the court . Girls are generally kept one and
70
a half years . The home arranges for placement ofthe girl
on discharge and does the follow-up . The plan for the girl
is talked ove~• with the Jugendamt . There is no definite parole
period ; the girl must not acquiesce to supervision. It i s
considered a friendly relationship , a contact which the girls
want . The director st ted th t most of the girls had a feel ing or home for the institution and often came back after
release . A special room is kept so that former girls may
come to spend their vacation or stay hen out of work.
1e girls have single rooms as do girls who present
special problems . The other girls are generally four in a
room . One room had seven beds , but this was the largest
number . The room of one of the ~1sters was next to this
dormitory and had a little window opening into it .
Each single room has a l arge win ow . Girls have comfort able looking beds and may put up sone personal pictures , etc.,
in their rooms . The rooms have no runni water, but each
girl has her own bowl ~ and pitcher with water, and washes in
her own room. Clothes are kept in l ockers in the hallway
or in a special clothes room .
The living room for t he whole group is a large many
windowed room on the first floor . The windows have iron
grill work over them . The director explains that this is to
keep people out , not the girls in. None of the other rooms
have bars of any kind . Girls ' doors are l ocked at night .
The living room is filled with long tables and straight
back chairs and is not at all homelike . It contains a r adio
71
and a piano . It is also used as a chapel and a gymnasium.
Girls spend their evening free time in this room, reading ,
sewing , being read to , or listenin to the radio .
An outside teacher comes to the home once a week and
teaches the girls folk dancing .
There is on dining room . Staff do not eat with the
girls , but the director 1s pre sent to sup rvise the girls .
Five me ls a day ar s rved . Girls are allowed to talk dur ing meals .
The girls do not ear uniforms . Dresses ar made of
different styles and materials . any of the afternoon dresses
have nice handwork on them which makes them attractive . The
work cloths have littl v riety so that th first impression
is one of a uniformed group .
The city pays a small amount of money for each girl sent
to the institution, and some money is earned through laundry
work and sewing .
The institution employs a man farmer , but the girls
help with the outside work . The farm has an orchard , berries ,
vegetable garden, cows , chickens , and pigs . The girls do not
milk the c·ows •
There is no definite routine as to work; the director
does not believe in this . Each day the necessary work is
done ; the maxi mum any girl would work would be eight hours .
Girls who need to be built up physically and often girls who
present h rd problems are given outdoor jobs . The indoor
jobs are changed frequently, but a girl who shows sane special
72
ability or aptitude may be given specialiJed training along
one line .
Girls who have not finished continuation school have
this academic work once a week . The time given to this
equals that required in the community . A special teacher
comes to the home to give individual girls instruction in
1nusic .
A psychiatrist employed by the city comes to the home
every two eeks . The director stated th t many feebleminded
girls as ell as many having psychopathic tendencies re
connnitted to them . he feels that she has gotten much help
from the advice and discussion with the psychiatrist . Her
attitude is very fine in that she feels all problems are
hers to be de lt with and not to be passed on to another
agency or institution.
One is impressed with her earnest seeking to find the
best way to help her girls . Although she realizes that be-
.
havior does not change overnight , it is evident th t she
worries when girls continue to present problems . She uses
no punishments as such. She tries to handle each problem
individually as it comes up and not to have emotional tension
in the situation on her part . She never takes any Frechheit
(misbehavior) personally; her attitude is that she as an indi
vidual is not insulted . She finds it difficult to always
have her staff members hold this viewpoint .
The girls looked healthy and well cared for ; their
faces on the whole were alight , but they often displayed a
73
very bashful manne r when the director spoke . to them.
Tanneneck and ~ aldfrieden - Berlin
Tanneneck is a public institution for problem girls of
the city of Berlin. The di r ector is responsible to the
division of Fuersorgeerziehung.
Under the same administration and on the same grounds
is aldfrieden, the girls• detention and obs ervation home for
Berlin.
A girl would firs t be admitt .d to \ aldfrieden where she
wou l d ce studied and e xamined . The period of observation
would generally b e six weeks . Girls are receive d from
parents, from t h e Jugendamt , and from the juvenile court .
Only about one per cent of the admissions , however , are from
the juvenil e court. About 75 per cent of the girls received
are venereally deseased .
W aldfrieden has a c ap aci t y of sixty; ages range from
fourteen to twenty-one. Girls are divided into thre e divi-
.
sions; venereal cases, older girls, and girls without sex
experience . This l atter g roup is kep t uite separate from
the other girls .
If after t he period of observation it is felt that the
irl n e e d s longer institutional c are, s h e may be transferred
to Tanneneck, or p r ovision may be made for her in some private
insti t ution by t he h ead of t h e Fuersorgeerziehupg.
Tannenec k has a capacity of sixty in its main division ,
but it also has a s mall separ te division for p sych opathic
74
girls , with room for t ~n. This divis on is in the same
building but in a separate wing .
Tanneneck prop r is ag in divided into several small
groups , each having its own living room, and more or less
separate group life . The ·1iving rooms are qu te cheerful
with bright curtains and painted furniture .
One of the groups is much freer than the rest, for the
girls in it may go out into the community to work or for
vocational training .
The aim is to do individu 1 ~ork 1th the g~rls , and the
discipline is controlled lar ely through talks with t~1e girl
and through a loss of privilege.
School work is of the continuation school type and
stresses domestic science . This is not only taught through
doing the maintenance work of the institution, but there
are special class rooms . Gymnasium classes are held once a
week . Girls go on hikes off of the institution grounds .
The first impression of the two inst tutions was not
very good . There is a low fence around the institution with
locked gates in front of each building . The building s are
back from ·the road an someone must come from the building to
unlock the gate . The girl ho had this job then the institu tion was visited was most disgruntled and was most discourteous
in her attitude of acting that it was just too much work to
open gat e s and doo s . A numbe r of boys were hangin around
the outskirts of the institution and were seemingly race ving
some attention from i~s de .
75
Mithin Tanneneck the atmosphere seemed free ; there was
talking and laughing in the social hour , and the girls ' faces
wore open expressions .
Girls are ull owe to smoke at certain times .
JUG NDGEFAtNGNIS E
Institutions receiving girls
Frauengefaengnis - Berlin
The Frauengefaengnis is located within the city of Berlin.
It is in a part business and poor res dential section. It is
a large s tone building faci di ctly onto the street . The
building was originally built between 1859 and 1860 , but a
new addition was added in 1912 .
For the last tw nty years a woman has been head of the
institution.
The Frauengefaengnis serves all of Prussia, and is under
the direction of the Strafvollzugsamt (State Department of
Correctio~) . It is the only jail in Prussia in which there
are only women . Some men's institutions have divisions for
women .
The capro1ty of t he institution is 415 ; on May 21 , 1932
166 women were confined. Since 1923 the institution has never
been filled to capacity . Catholic women are not accepted.
Prussia is largely P otestant , so few Catholic women would
76
be committed . To eliminate the need of speci 1 services for
a few worn n , all Catholic women are confined in the
Unter suchungsgefaengnis of B rlin .
Girls from four teen t o eighteen could be committed t o
the institution, but it is rarely done . No girls under
ei hteen were in the institution when it was visited . There
were two irls betwee ·~ the ages of eighteen and t enty , but
of this age roup al s o very few are received .
If a girl between fourteen and eighteen wer committed,
she would b e kept separate from the re s t of t h group .
The terms for which women re received range f r om one
day to eight years . If girls fourteen to i hteen wer
admitte - , it wou l d b only for t h e more serious offenses ,
but the maximum t erm under t h e law , wh tever the offense ,
could only be ten ye a1s .
Except for t h e physician, t h e staff deali with t h e
inmat s a r e a l l women. The irector of th jail was origin a l ly t rained as a kinderg arten teacher . All staff are r equired
to a t tend a training school (Beamten 'chule} f or a few months
which is conducted by the Ministerium. Practical work must
then be d one in some insti t ution , the employee first serving
as a Hilf beamtin (assistant ). · en a worker is advanced t o
the Beamten rank, the appointment i s for life .
Th e jail building i s of the regular cell block type .
The r are five rows of cells with about fifty on a floor .
Except for t h e hospital division , women always have single
c lls . Cells a r e of good size . In the honor grade cells
77
there is a large window about four feet by three feet; in the
other grades windows are highe r and smaller . ~indows are
barred . vells have flush toilets , but no othe r running
water . They are heated , and e ach has a low electric light
which can be used for reading . Each cell as a closed type
of door . Doors l ock singly. omen are provided with iron
cots which are fol ed back against the wall during the day .
Mattresses are of sea weed; linen 1s changed every two weeks .
Each cell has a small table and wooden bench. W omen in the
honor or thir rade my decorate their cell s .
omen in the first to rades eat in their cells ;
omen in the honor r ade eat near their department of work .
For example, ne r the laundry there was a small room with
wooden tables and benches here honor women ate .
One of the cells has been fixed up into a living room
for hono r vomen. It was said that there were never many in
this group at one tie . The Sunday f re e time may be spent
here .
All women are given a routine me ical examination on ai
mission, n are weighed every four weeks t hereafter . The
physician -is a man . He also doesthe psychiatric work. This,
however, consists lar ely of examining special cases and
arra in for t heir transfer to a mental hos pit 1 . 'uch trans
fers are easily arranged for. A dentist come s to the institu-
tion one day r ek . All emer ent and re tly neen ed work i s
done .
The institution c res for its obstetrical cases. A nur se
78
who has had special training is employed to help with the care
of this type of patient.
Nursing babies are admitte · to the jail with their mothers .
Mothers with babies have large cells, about twelve by fourteen
feet. These cells have a south exposure and have large win
d ows . The mother cares for the baby in her c ell; for example,
these cells had little tubs for use of the babies . Babies
spend time outdoors in the jail yard . No baby would be kept
over one and one-half years . If the mother's term were -longer,
some plan would be made for the baby through relatives or
the Jugendamt .
All women under twenty must attend school classes . V ith
older women it is voluntary. Classes are not straight academic,
but arealong lines of child care , stenography, and domestic
science . There is one school teacher; classes are held two
evenings a week . A woman might attend one or both evenings .
Gymnasium classes are held trice a week . These classes
are compulsory for those under thirty . W omen wear special
gymnasium suits , and must take a shower after the class . On
the days when women have no gymnasium, they take an hour ' s
walk in the morni ng . W omen in the lowest gra e walk alone ,
keeping two feet apart. They may talk together . Vomen in
second and third grade walk by two •s .
The work of the institution consists or maintenance ,
laundry work for other institutions , sewing curtains for the
railroad , and some contract work such as pasting up samples .
In Prussia accordi to the order of th Strafvollz:ue;
79
in ·tufen of June , 1929 , in the lowest class the inmate is
supposed to spend a certain part of his confinement in almost
s ol i tar y living . The work during this time would be done in
the cell.
The women earn a small sum for all their work . The work
per i o d i s from 9 A. M. to 5 P . M . with thirty minutes off
f or the noon meal .
The women wear uniforms design ting rades .
The ins ti tut ion its elf does no oarole work . ~ ,-.'hen a woman
i s paroled she must keep the court notified where she lives .
Social workers from private organizations come to the institu tion , and when a plan for a womants discharge is to be made
or follow- up done it is left to one of these agencies .
The director believes stro ly in the value of cheerful
pleasant surroundings . She has m de hr office into a very
pleasant pl ce with curtains , pictures, flowers , etc . She
interviews each ne i woman , and s h e : nts the womens first
impression to b e not one of conf ne ent . Already n the
little waiting room which the woman first enters on dmission
there is a cheerful note and selected reading m terial of
magazines .and p a pers so that as the woman waits to have her
history t aken , she will not feel entirely shut off from the
world . The woman when she is interviewed by the director
stands at one end of a long table .
Throu hout the whole buil ding the director h s carried
out her idea of cheerful surrounding s . 11 cells and rooms
hav e light painted w lls , some with esigns in them, an the
80
whole place has a fr sh, kept-up appearance about it .
The director is a v ery appro c hable frien ly person who
tries toe tablish goo rel· tionship with t he women under
her care . er disciplin i handled lar ely through the
gr de system with it raising privileges, and throu h the
good contact she has with the women . W omen ma be lock d
ir/'punishment ell in ~hich ther is no furniture if t h y
do not r espond to othe r methods of discipline .
Lauerhof, rauengefaengnis - Lb ck
The F uengefaengn s s t uate in Lub ck unde he
man ement of the city of Hamburg , but lso accepts wom n from
Lubeck, Bremen , Oldenburg , Braunsch ei , nd th northe n pro
vinces of Prussia . i t has all typ e of institutio ivisions
wi t hin its walls : Zuchthaus (convict pri son) - Gefa n nis
(ja 1) - Jugendgef engni ( venile jail) - Arbeitshaus
(work house - amburg has a se_arate one) - nd confines
omen political prisoners , and serves for re- he ring
tion for the cit of Lubeck .
On May 29 , 1932 , the tot a l p opulation was 250 . 'l'WO
ten-
girls war e under ei hteen ye rs of age . One, a girl of seven
teen, was being held for Lubeck for pre-hearin detention; the
other girl, also seventeen, was serving a four months ter
for stealing.
There were six girls in the 18 to 21 ye r group .
81
Age on Admission Offense Term
Case
l -
19 years Kindestoedung 2 years
Case
2 -
19 ye rs ettin Fire and 2 years and
tee.ling 2 weeks
(This girl committed to convict servitude)
C se
3 -
20 ye rs Ste 1 g and xtortion 0 months
Case
4 -
20 yeas Stealin 11 month
Case
5 -
20 y e rs Steal n - F1·aud -
12
2
months
Embezzlem nt
Case 6 - 20 years Ki destoedung 2 ye s
( to be p don n 1 e s rv )
en t h k 11 ng of a ch 1 in inf ncy i con i dere to
be i pul ive , t h e . 1 1 s convict d of Kin e stoedung which s
of less de r e ~ th n mur e r .
The ns t itution s a 1 e br ck structure enclosed by
a hi h v1 11 .
rvhich is som
man gu d 1 st tioned at the outer ~ortal
istance from t e ner ent ance .
is of t e cell block y p e . ~ !omen r housed in
he b1 ild ng
le cells
whic r f ood s ze . There a closed door; windo"' is
barred . The whole building s very cl n nd well kep t up .
All m nors are kept in a separate wing of the buildi ng .
The instit tion ·s staffed by women; the director , t h e
doctor , and the rotest a n t minister are all women . The
d i ector had nurse's traini before going into prison ~ork .
She strikes one as a v ery f ine and strong type of women . The
taff ust all t ke a thee months course given by the
Strafvollzugamt and are on probation for t hree months oing
active 1ork in the i nstitution .
The i stitution has a syste
the hi hest . he fourth rade was
short tie cases .
82
of four gra s , one eing
de to etter care for
~he director has d finite ho rs wh n wom n may intervi w
her. omen may lso tak up their person 1 oroblems with the
oman in ster .
The work o t nstitution cons sts of doi 1 un ry
ork or other · stitutions and or certa n overnment de art ments . Contract work m y also be one . A men ' s prison ad joi s th t of the men . The men carry on f rm act vit s,
n durin the summer the won1 n spend some time in s mple
g r en work such as eeding .
The women ea n a mall amount pe r day (five to thirty
Pfennig - maximum about eight cents a day in A.~eri n money) .
All women und r thirty must atten evening classes
three t mes a week . Courses are offere ~ in uch subjects as
chi d ca e and Lebenskunde (affai s of aily life) . Gymna sium twice a week for forty- five minute periods is also com pulsory for those under thirty .
uring each day all women have a on hour walk .
;~ omen are in uniform . The ail cases wear blue stripe
uniforms . Collar stripes indicate class , and in the higher
grades a white cap is also worn . The convict omen wear tan
chambray dresses .
83
Institutions receiving Boys
Zellenstraf lt - utzbach
Butzbach is th men • jail for th st te of Hesse . One
wi is sed as a Jugendg efaengnis .
The total population on y 3 , 1932 w s 437 ; oft se
24 wer minors . Three of this roup iere between fourteen
an sixteen .
1
l
1
he terms of juveni es m y be from two re ks to
ten e rs .
Thee is 1 ttle diff rence in the treatment o th nors
from th adults , but they a e kept sep rate . The corridor in
rent of their wing of cell block h an op que gl ss parti tion so th t this ~roup cannot e see1 from the other
runways . The 14 to 1 8 group is kept with those up to twenty
one . The irector feels this i justifia le as the proposed
eform in the law woul include this group un er the j venile
court . Before the present 1 w went into effect (1923) boys
from the age of t welve ould be admitted . uring the war
p riod th e were more juveniles admitted than at present;
at one time th institution had ninety .
The .institution ~as rected about 1894 . It is a con re-
gate cell ~ 1ildin , havin
~he buildin s of bri k
three wins radiating from a center .
nd s enclosed by a high brick all .
The jail as modeled after the old Penns lvania solitary
system.
h director feels th t t his syste has v lue, only h
84
says it must not be over one . He believes th teach irun te
on admission should spend some time alone , as only in this
way can h come to a better reali at on of is problems .
The institut on has a system of three grades . For minors
this system goes into effect if their term is over three
months ; for adults if their term is over six months . in the
g r ades there is not a great de ul of difference . The minors
in the upper g r des are given outdoor work . · r here are other
privileges such as be ng allowed to write more letters , -have
chewin tobacco , etc .
All work of the institution, exceo t th t which it is
impossible as laundry , kitchen , g ardening , and c a r penter work,
is d on in the dividual cells . lfuen roups work together ,
they are al~ ys kep t sm 11 . Th e institution has only a very
small acreage . ~ ·s land ·s outsi e of the wall , and tis
work is generally done by the minors .
Contract ~ork such as pastin and folding aper contain ers and brai ing raffia for h ndbags is done int e cells , as
well as the sewi ng for the mtitution . All clothing is ma e
at the institution. The winter suits are of a heavy brown
material with short eauare cut jRckets . They ive the men a
very institutional look .
An inmate earns ten Pfennig a day , wh ch is given him
on dischar ge . n the contract work it is possible for the
man to e ~rn a little more by completing 1 ore than the
assigned task .
Cells are about seven by ten feet . There is a h · gh
85
window about three by two and one- half feet in size . The
cell is heated by a thick hot water pipe . There s no run ning water . The toilet is at ghtly close jar n a wooden
case . Each man has a bas n and jug with water .
Cells have iron cots which can be fastened back aga nst
the wall . The mattress is filled with sea weed. There is a
sheet and two blankets in a wash ble cover . 'l'he sheet is
ch n ed once in four weeks . Men are provided with fresh
to els weekly . Cells have a small wall cupboard in which
dishes and person 1 odds and ens are kept .
provided with a knife , fork , spoon, gray en
E cb man is
I
el dishes , and
a lass . The men alwa set in their cells . They must ash
their own dishes ard are provided with a large 9an for this
purpose .
Men may h ve books in heir cells , n one of the cells
seen contained quite a few . Mn are not supposed to h ve
pencils ; each cell ' as a slate .
A cell in which a minor as working pasting and. fol ing
bags contained a large work table .
The inmate can signal if he wants anything . A red flag
shows on the outside of his cell .
J n have a s h o er once a week in summer; every two reeks
in inter . A tub bath is iven on admission .
A physician is employed for both the rison nd ·ail of
Hesse . The phys cian sees al newly admitted jail cases , but
only exrunin th man if he has any complaint . man suffer-
in from tuberculosis or ven real disease would e cared for
86
at the hospital of the nearby convict prison.
No psychiatric ork is done . The jail has a separate
cell with an extra iron bar door into hie~ excited cases can
be pl ced until transfer to a mental hospital c n be arrange .
Th institution has a s e arate school room for minors .
Classes are held in elementary subjects .
1n the chapel an in th adult school room, the seats
are high backed and partially enclosed so th teach m n is
shut off from his neighbor .
ecreation cons sts oft o alk ad yon exercise paths .
The exercise paths are surrounded by grass and flo ers , as
t he dir ctor feels it is helpful to have som beauty in the
s tting . The men must keep a certain istance apart and alk
in silence . At times them n are iven ex rcises instead of
lking . Ball games r e held once a week . Concerts are
given int e chapel on holidays .
Pun shment consists first of loss of privil ge , such as
the walking in the ard , vriting lett . rs, nd romo ion to
higher clas ses . en may be put on bred an water n my
be confined in a pun hment cell . This cell is practically
th same as the other cells except that it st nds in a space
which is enclosed by iron bars . This cell h s no furnishing .
A ooden platform serves as a bed .
The institution has no parole officer . un rele ea
m'nor who ias under the care of th Jugendamt o the
Fuersorgeerziehung would be discharged into their care .
The dir ctor of the institution has 1 g 1 tr inin . He
87
has been a judge . He feels that the work is very strenuous .
Due to financial straits he has had to give up his as sistant ,
and he finds it very hard to obtain proper personnel for the
guard positions . He has not free choice in the selection of
his staff , as fifty per cent of the guards must be chosen from
those who have served in the army . He states that he does
not have enou h time to talk to the men .
One of the staff men interviewed , who has charge of the
discipline, felt that very strict measures should be employed,
and life be made very hard for the inmates . He thought that
much of the crime was due to heredity and that in some way
such typ s should be exterminated . He lelieved in the death
penalty, although when he once witnessed an execution he was
ups e t for eight days . He h ad been in the work for seventeen
y ars, and his attitude was r ather hopeless . He believed ,
however, tha t the work would be worthwhile if out of each
group he could but help one .
Gefaengnis - Neuminster
The Jugendgefaengnis at Neuminster is an administrative
unit of an. ad lt j 11 . Eac h ivision has its own buil ing .
Th e jail receives commitments from ·chleswig- Holstein
and Hanover . It i s under the Strafvollzugsamt located at
Kiel .
The ag e classific ton for the juvenile division is from
fourteen to twenty-five .
The total c apacity of the ·uvenile building is 100.
88
The population in this division was said to be "about" 80
on May 28 , 1932. The total population of the whole institu tion , adult and juvenile , was 500 .
Of those in the population on ay 28th, eight were
admitted under eighteen years of age .
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Case 5
Case 6
Case 7
Case 8
Age on Admission Date Admitted Offense Term
17 years October, 1928 Murder 1st
Degree
6 years
17 years July , 1931 Larceny 1 year ,
5 months
(third admission-had also been in Fuersorgeerziehung)
17 years
17 years
1'1 years
17 years
17 years
16 years
August , 1931
November , 1931
January , 1932
January, 1932
February, 1932
M arch, 1932
Murder
(Raped
a four
child)
Larceny
Larceny
Larceny
Larceny
5 years
and killed
year old
8 months
3 months
5 months
4 months
L rceny(3 counts)
2 months
(offenses committed while a runaray from
Fuersorgeerziehung)
The director states th tin the last five years there
ad nev r be n more than ten boys under eighteen in the insti
tution at one time, and that in his experience no boy under
sixteen years of age had been admitted .
'l'he director f els that the terms of a few months are
of no value . The institution cannot work out any real pro
gram of tr aini with the boy, for he is just thinking of
the tim when he will be released .
89
The work of the j venile division is left largely to the
assistant plac ed in charge of this section . The administra tive director has confidence in this m n nd seems to leave
him free to carry out his i eas . This assi t nt is a man of
training ; he holds a university doctorate degree , n has had
former institutional and social vork experience . Unfortunately
he was away during most of the visit so that his personal
slant on problems and m thods as not obtained .
Ninety per cent of the guard staff must be chosen from
former m litary men . Up until two y ars o only fifty r
cent was r quired to be s o chosen.
The uven le b ild n is a br ck cell block . Each boy
has an individual cell of ood size with good ndow sp ce .
Cells contai , cot w th sea weed mattress , wall cupboard ,
bench, and table with a low light over it . Boys i the
second and third grades may decorate their cells , and some of
them had been made very hom like with plants , pictures , shelves
for books, desk like table , etc . c h boy keeps his own cell
clean .
Boys in the lowest class, c l ass on , work and eat in
t heir cell~ but have some contact with others through school
and gymn sium .
Boys in the second and t ird grade eat their min m a l
to et er, s . end free time int e evening in the livi
and ork in groups .
r oom,
There are two living rooms , one of hich also serves
as a dini room . roup s to nd three share these two rooms .
90
In the vening the one is used for general talking , t e
other for reading , game s , and listenin to the radio .
These rooms are very attractive . They have brightly
painted walls , furniture which the boys painted , and
decorate ~ with es gn patterns , ell chosen pictur s , brass
can lesticks , tc .
All boys are given a routine physic 1 exami tion on
admission, There are no hospit 1 facilities ; any serious
illness woul d have to be car for out of the institution.
o psychiatric xaminations ar made excep t on pecial cases .
The work in ddition to the mainten nee is a contrroti
job of makin fish nets . This work the boys do in their
cells . The daily task set for a boy is to make 45 00 loops .
This would take about five hours of steady work .
The boy uses a hand shuttle and must stand to make the
loops .
If a boy completes more than his alloted task , he
receives extra pay for it . All boys earn a small amount of
money , art of which they may spend for tobacco , etc .
Them intenance work includes the laundry work , c rpenter ing, sewing , and shoe m k i ng . The uniforms and shoes worn are
made . The ho e shop is a small room . Four boys rere working
in it ithout an instructor present hen it was sen . The
door of the room w s locked .
Th e i nstitution has one school room . Evening classes
are held , wh cb the younger boys must attend . Th se classes
are not strai ht academic , but are specialized subjects of
91
general interest .
Th re is a 1 rge outdoo playground . The boys have
teams and ply runes of v rious kinds . They do not ply any
out institution teams .
Discipline is of th three gr de ( n) system.
Punishment consists of loes of grade with atten ant loss of
privil es such s smoki , ear ins , fr e time in social
room, tc . Th re is an rrest or punishm nt cell in which
boys ma be confined. This is like all the other cells
except t h it s no furnishings , only wooden floor
platform or a ed .
The institution snore ul r elf- overnment , but
Obmaenner (off cers) ar elected who take ch rge of living ,
dining , nd ork rooms in th absence of instructors .
The institution obt ins hi sto yon t e boy by ,riting
for recor s of soci 1 encies, s chool , etc . A lan s worked
out for the boy at time of ischarge through n institution
conference . The follow- up on the boy is left to n outside
ency , either the Jugendamt or a priv te social work organi zation .
On the day of visit the writer had the privilege of
eating the noon me al with the boys of the second and third
groups . The assistant in char e ho usually eats with the
boys was aw y and no oth r staff member as present . One
of the Obmaenner was in char _ e of the group . The boys waited
for him to start the me 1 nd after the meal no one beg n to
smoke until he passed a candle for lights .
92
The meal consisted of he ping ishes of pea and
potatoes . There were extra helpings for those who w nte
them. fuite crockery dishes an knives an forks war used .
Boys are allowe to talk durin the meal .
The boys were very courteous , fri ndly , and open and
n tural in manner, and withou embarr ssm nt . Their faces
had ood express ons .
Ju endgef engnis - isen ch
The Ju endgef engnis at isenac h is a separate juvenile
institution for the st te of Thurin en.
tis directly un er the dministr tion of th Justiz Ministerium of Thurin en . The director is responsible to
one man only .
The institution accepts boys from the ages of fourteen
to tventy-five . No separation is made for t he fourteen to
ei hteen roup from those older .
The c apacity of t h e nstitution is about sixty . On
May 10, 1932 the population was fifty-four . Of these eight
were under eighteen .
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Case 4
Age on Admission Offense Term
16 ye rs
16 years
16 years
17 years
Breaking , Entering ,
and Larceny
3 months
Larceny (with a gang ) 2 years
Larceny (with a gang) 1 year
Breaking, ntering ,
and Larceny
5 months
Case 5
Case 6
Case 7
Case 8
17 years
17 years
17 y rs
17 years
Breaking , ntering ,
and Larceny
Grand Larceny
Larceny (with a gang)
Larceny and R ceiving
93
5 months
6 months
1 year
12 months
Usually there are few boys un r eighteen in the
institution . The courts of Thuringen in the past h ve
generally sent th se to Erziehungsh ime . But a t the present
the cities and local communit i es are so poor that it is hard
for them to pay the daily cost at the Erziehungsheime . At
the Ju endgefaengnis the state foots the bill .
The building is a three story brick buildi enclosed
by a ,all , part of which is of wood .
g round an a small vegetable garden .
here is an outdoor play-
Boys have individu 1 cells . Cells are about seven by
t en feet in size . Each cell h s window; for boys of lower
rade these are high; for the other two gra es cells have
large regular type windows . In the honor grade windows are
not barred. Doors are of closed type, with small peep hole .
11 lock individually.
There is no running water in the cells . rniture con-
sists of an iron bed , wall cupboard , table and chair . Be s
have a comfortable looking mattress , pillow, sheet , and
blankets enclosed in a washa le cover . Boys of the second
and third grade may decorate their cells .
Grades two and three each have cheerful living rooms .
These also s erve as ining rooms .
94
The institution has a gymnas um which is also used for
a chapel and auditorium .
Boys take a cold shower every morning , a warm show r
once a week, and a tub bath once in ~our weeks .
Uniforms consist of a suit with short jacket and blue
shirt .
The plan of the institutional life is a carefully worked
out three rade (Stufen) system .
A boy enters in Grade one , in which he remains from one
to three months , depending on the le h of his term end on
his behavior . In this grade the boy has no contact 1th the
other boys except at church services; he e ts and works alone
in his cell .
Grade two has two divisions . Boys who have terms of
les s than six months can advance no further than the first
division of Grade two . For l onge r terms half of the time
remaini ng when Grade one is complete must be spent in Grade
two , and again half of thi s in the first division of this
grade .
In the first ivision of Grade two the boys d o group
work, att~nd classes, and take )art in sports and other
activities . " wice a week they re allored to smoke in the
living room for a certain period . They may spend part of
their earning s for smokes , etc . They are allowed to decorate
their cells .
Much of the free time of this roup s, however , still
spent n the cell .
95
In the second division of Grade tio the boys have all
the privileges of the first divi sion , and in addition they
may spend all their free time in the roup living room and
may smoke three times a week. 'lheir clothes may be kept in
their cells at night . During th day the doors of their
cells are not locke d .
In Grade three the boys have all the privileges of two ,
also their windows are not barred and doors not locked
either during the ay or at night . They are allo~e to smoke
oftener and to sty up lon r nth v nin than r et o ,
an more of their e rnin·s ma b spent . They may en oy acti
vities outside of th institution, such as hik sand picnics
in t he company of d rector or sta f membe • 'rh y may be
sent into town alone on err nds .
A committee ( nstaltsr t) consist n of the director ,
the teacher, an one of t he chief uar s decides on the stand
ing of the boys and their fitness to progress to a gher grade .
o credits of any kin are kept .
There is no indeterminate sentence in Germany, but p rdon
(Begnadigu.ng) may be won . Thi s mi ght serve as an incentive
to the boy workin up i nto the third or honor g r de .
Punishment c nsists of lo s of p vilege ; loss of rade
for t1ose in the high r rades; restricted diet to a maximum
period of one week; having to sleep wt out a bed, maximum
period ,ould be on wee; be ng loc{ed int cell, but
havi er work as in Gr de one , t he maximum time would be four
we ks ; bein~ locked in a p nishment or arrest eel . In the
96
a r rest cell the boy roul have no work, no ed to sleep on,
and would be on r estricte d et . The lo st "arrest" period
rould be four weeks . The arrest cell as high window,
giving it light and air . It is never made dark . The institu tion has had but one arrest cell, but as con was being
bu lt . ~he cell ccintaine no furnish n s . A wooden bed
pl tfo m raised bout one foot from the floor wa s to be ch n ed
nto concrete .
elf- government is st rted in the nst tution n the
fal of 1931 . Th st kes the o of 11 roup of
especially fitted boy hel in ith the ~rziehung of the
rest of the r up . Then
The explan tion of th ~o
·a t t th staff coul no
ber at res nt 1 ted to tw lve .
i ven by on of th boy leaders
p o d bly keep i n touch with a
th boys of ~he n t tut on t 11 times , s o t his self- govern-
ment roup tri d to s ep and h lp . Thee boy s h ve no say
over th puns ent of the est of he g roup . ' hey also
busy themselves in g ttl , out n nstitution paper four
times ye•r .
ach boy ent r ng the n titution must br a medic~l
certificate from the court comrnitt n h i m, st ti th· t h
is fr e from infectious disease . o venereal cases are
accepted . A p scan comes to the nstitution once a week .
All ne bo s are ven a p ysic 1 examination . The i nstitu tion h s a cl nic oom but no hospital fac·lit es . If a boy
ne ds to h v e dental work done , he would be~ nt to some
denti tin t1 community . boy in the th rd rad e mi ght be
97
trusted to go alone .
A psychiatrist comes to the instit tion once in three
months . Only special cases are examined . The director tries
to work with the boys showing psychopathic trends and tries
to keep them. He feels that they are better off in the
Gefaengnis than in the institution for ment 1 cases . Not
many definitely feebleminde boys are receive , as un er the
law they are not supposed to be punished .
The institution employs a trained teacher . Classes are
held in th late ft rn on and evening . Certain classes are
compulsory; at others attendance is voluntary . The teaching
does not stress strictl academic ork, but rather thins of
practic 1 value and interest to the boy . At t me of visit
classes w re be n
0
_ ven in stenography , 'nglish, n ture
study , current events, and g eography .
e o s are also held .
'ingi an gymn i
All of the boys of Grade t roan tree must take part
i some of the game and gymnasium activities . On ay a
week boys in Grae three go on cross country runs . They are
accompanie by one o f the st ff . 11 wear r egular track su ts .
The ~ork of the institution is both mainten nee and
cont act . There is also a wood yard . Tiood thbt is chopped
is old . There is a printine department .
The cont act work v res , d ependin on wh t c an be
otten . Th e director di d not s e m to fe 1 that th r s
any difficulty with th contract form of work . , en t h e
institution was stt ied boys were .. ki p steboard boxes
98
as a contract job .
~xcept for a small vegetable garden the institution
conducts no farm activities .
Boys receive a small w e for their work .
Full records are kept on t e boys admitted . There are
two records for each boy, one the formal r ecord containing
court mittimus and face sheet . The other record contains
the intens ve work the institution does with the boy . The
reason for keeping the t fO types of record is tha t ometimes
it is necessary to turn the formal record over to another
agency . It is customary in Germany to pass on the ormal
record to the ency t kin over the active work on a case .
uite compl ete histories are obtained by writi to all
known sources for information . Notes by the st ff are kept
on boy ' s progress and behavior in the institution .
The institution works ou- the discharg e plan for the boy ,
but does not give the follow- up superv sion . ~ sis turned
over to the Jug endamt or some suitable J.; rivate ency n the
boy's home community .
The dii'ecto ls man of fine training and experience .
He holds a doctorate degree and at presen t teaches at one of
the un v rsities in addition to his work at the in titution .
~he !rector, the school teacher , an a universit y stu-
ent, who h s b en at the institution for a year for tr in ng ,
do all t h e personal individual work w th the boys , make t h e
olans for them, n h ave charge of all the educ ational
...
activities .
99
The director oes not have free choice in the selecting
of his staff , but receives good cooperation from the
Ministerium . As in the other states of Germany a certain
number of the g ards must be cho en from the former milit ry
roup . he men hol in guard posit ons are in uniform . The
university student s the only staff member who lives within
the institut on . The director and t acher live nearby so
th t t ey are ea ily accessible .
Te director 1 kes to have niversity students have the
pr ctical exper i nee of working in the institution . 'tu ents
d o some of this work ·uring the ummer vacation.
1
rne univers ity gives no actu 1 ere it for it , but does consider it when
the student comes up for ex ination .
The director has unusually fine viewpo·nt an un er standi fo h s wok . His personal nflu nee over the boys ,
as shown by the very good contact he as with them , seems th
most vital facto of the institution. He believes th t
character tr in c nnot come through direct moral teaching
but ust pass throu h the channel of a person who h s good
~el tionship with the boy . The aim s to work 1 sely with
the boy, to talk over s problems with him, and to live in
comradely relationship with him .
'l'he German Er ziehungstrafe idea was exemplified the
best in thi institution of all those visited . ~he director
elieves t hat the boy must be bro ght t o a realiz tion of
or er and obedience for only then cane uc tive treatment
( rziehung) be starte . He feel th t the first period of
100
solitary cell living is of benefit to the boy . Duri this
time , however , the boy has contact with the ~rzieher (social
rorker) who can start his ork of treatment . All oys in
the institution kno~ that they must obey or be punished, but
hen pun shment is iv nth taff d o s o without lett ng
personal emot on enter in . Boys to be punished h ve he ri ht
to be heard , in act th re s open scussion on all problems
affecting the institution . 'l
1
he director con ucts n open
meeting once a week 'lhich 11 boys of class two and three
attn . At t st me all types of problems affecti the
boys in their life at the institution and out in the community
are discussed.
Erziehun ,
CHAPTER VI
PRINCIPLES A TR NDS
101
to con ure w th in th
an rziehungstrafe are three words
tudy of delinquency in Germany . The
conflict b tween tre tment and pu ishment 1s, of course, not
new nor 1 it confined to Germany . But in ermany we f nd
in the la~ the expressed concept of dual methods ; there are
two codes , the Jugen wohlfahrtsges tz (Child ~elf re law) and
the Jugen etz (Juvenile Court la) . It is only
hen ve combine the term ~rziehung an trafe into the best
German underst ndin of rziehung trafe th t we see that
these r not two conflicti s st ms , but that th re is
unity .
Th underlyin thou ht oft e hild e l are la that
ev8r chlld is entitled to c e tha vill v e h i real
rovth , 1s not upset f we accept th Ge r man vie th t
punisbm nt my be educative .
The judge personifies this du 1 concept , for he is both
j udge of guaraianship and juvenile court judge . The court
in its very struc t ure embodies this concept . It con sts
of judge and ai d s . The judg e represents the aw , the legal
safeguards of community an defen ant; the aids are the
community's attempt to add social vision, to give gre ter
protect on thro h re ter unders t nding .
The type of h ndling the child receives epends on the
vie :vpoint and attitude of the jud e and h saids , and not
102
on r1g1 ly prescribed laws .
he German often pplies the word _____ to
chil - en f lling in the 14 to 1 year roup, y the considers
their needs to be different from adults, and he never allows
the ull force of the a ult crimin 1 law to f 11 upon them .
Study of courts an
nisse show trafe to b
population figures of Jugendgefaeng
rather latent than act ve . It is
th re to be used , actin it is ouite gener lly believ d as
an gent of control . In eality it s am thod that is
applied almost ithou e ce ton only after oth rm thods
h ve failed . Pun shm nt my be but one step in the course
of the tr atment . Treatment my start withe ucative measures ,
these not bringing the esire results they may be superseded
for a time by punishment, but thereafter the educative m asures
may again be in effect .
~o the casual observer the metho s of Erziehung and
Strafe may at times show little of difference , as for
ex ple an Erziehung ~larnung {educative warning) or a
Strafe '.1arnung (punishment warn ng), Geld Busse (money
penance) or Geld Strafe (fine) , but to the German mind they
do have difference in meaning con ent as well as determining
i f the child is to h ve an o ficial court record or not .
In its institutions for juveniles, Germany also has
this duals stem . The rziehungsheime are to use e ucative
measures in the training of the child, the Ju endgefaengnisse
are to punish the child, but punishment in the meaning of
training throu h punishment .
103
Defining punishment as discipline gives clearer meaning .
e must look to the life of t h e German people for
understamlng . o concep t can be considered in isolation,
alw ys the lar e r fr ,ork of theculture background must
be viewed .
'l'he Germans are a homo eneous people schooled in and
believing in the disciplines of life . Throu h home , school ,
court , and institution runs the same idea that the child is
to e trained in obedience , in order .
But with this homogenity of im there is not complete
unity as to the best method s to employ in the h ndling of
the problems presented.
nacted co es of law almost always represent compromise ;
so in Germany . Although the Juvenile Court law now in force
is not old , having become law less than ten years ago , ctive
effort is being made to have it changed and a new draft has
been propose .
1he age at 1hich a ch ld may be considered StrafmuendiS
(punishable) is one on which there is much iscussion. The
law of 1923 raised the age at which a child could come before
the court . from twelve to fourteen . Lt present there are those
who feel th· t the lower limit of the juvenile court age should
be left t fourteen , oth
0
rs who feel it should be raised to
sixteen, and still others ~ho feel no child should be brought
before the juvenile court under eighteen years of age . Some
arguments advanced by those believin that the e limit
shoula be left at fourteen are : (1) t he community is not
104
ready to acce_ t the viewpoint that there is no criminal
responsibility at fourteen ; in serious offenses the community
would not feel that it had been protected nor justice done
if no court action could be startea against the offend e r ;
{2) at fourteen large numbers of chil ren le ve school , so
they are free d from this control and su ervision and need to
feel th t there is an active control under which they can be
placed ; (3) adults to proteyt themselves might use children
of this age to help them in their criminal activities , feeling
that no punishment would befall the child; (4) the form 1
court he ring may bring parents and child to a realization of
p roblems and thus p event furth r delinouency; (5) in the
present court set- up the fourteen year ol chil need not be
punished and generally is not , so that no hardship is work d ;
(6) the educative measu es at the disposal of the judge of
guardianship may not be sufficient in cases of s erious delin quency .
Those advocating the raising of the lower age limit do
solar ely from the standpoint of immaturity . The community
does not concede that the child offourteen is able to take
over oth r adult responsibilities, then surely , they argue ,
he should not be considered responsible in so important an
aspect of his life . The formative period of life is the time
when tr ining and education is needed an only through such
methods can right evelopment be attained . Tis g roup fe ls
also that the ju ge of guar dianship and the child welfare
bureau are sufficient and p rop e r g encies for the care of
105
these delinquent children .
The dvocates of the eighteen year age but extend in time
the ideas of those favoring sixteen years as the minimum court
age .
That the upper a e limit of the juvenile court jurisdic tion should be raised to twenty- one seems tote uite gener ally conceded . AS stat ed earlier, hardly had the present law
gone into effect when it as felt that the next step needed
was to include all minors under the urisdiction of the
uv nil courts. The ~ s some f e 11 th t there should
bee ce tions o th t minor over eighteen com.mitt ng a
serous f lony might be left to the r sdic ion of the adult
court .
Other matte being discus se and considered ar : the
indet e nn n te sentence ; changing reco s so th t th re is
less chanc of publicity and of ha i the cbild's future;
t e best place or he venil court in the whole court
system; the need of the aids in mi or matters ; ays of
lesseni police handling; nd alwa sand ain each nd
every aspect of the fundamental problem of Erziehung or
Strafe .
The question of the treat ent of juvenile delin uency
is by no me ans a static one in Germany . The best minds are
earnestly engag e d in studying the problem through knowing
what other countries are doing , by we i ghi nd evaluating
their own wo1k . They re not content to sit b ck either
content with the contribution they have made or overwh elmed
by the many nation 1 problems th confront them -t the
106
present time . They are seeking to find the best metho s to
help those children calle delinquent .
107
GLOSSARY
Amtsgerichte - district courts
Beobachtungsheim - detention home for observation
Begnadigung - pardon
Durchgangsheim - detention home
Er ziehung - educative treatment or training
Erzieher - the worker carrying out the educative treatment
Erziehungsheime - public or private institutions carrying
on educative treatment (similar to our industrial schools)
Erziehungstrafe - educative punishment or training through
punishment
Frauengefaengnis - women's jail or reformatory
Fuersorger - social worker
Fuersorgeerziehung - public child care in which child is
taken from control of parents
Grosses Jugendgericht - Enlarged Juvenile Court handling
felony cases
Herberge - night lodging place
Jugendamt - child welfare board
Jugendgefaengnis - juvenile reformatory or jail
Jugendgerichtsgesetz - Juvenile Court law
Jugendgerichtshilfe - social agencies working with the court
Jugendgerichtstag - conference on juvenile court work
Lehrstille - vocation 1 apprenticeship
Obmaenner - student body officers
Pflegeamt - Social Hygiene department
108
Reichsju.gendwohlfahrts setz - Federal child welfare law
Reichsjustizministerium - Federal Department of Justice
Schoeffen - lay aids of the Juvenile Court judge
Schutzaufsicht - probation
Strafe - punishment
Strafmuendig - Of an age at which law allows punishment
Strafvollzugamt - State Department of Correction
Stufen - institution system of grades
Volkschule - public grammar school
Vormundschaft s ericht - court of guardianship
ohlfahrtsamt - Department of Public Tfelfare
Zellenstrafanstalt - cell type institution
109
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berent , Mar arete , "Das Jugendrecht im Entwurf des
1
infuehrungsgesetzes zum traf und trafvollzugs esetz , "
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1924, Berlin.
Bondy, Curt , Paedafogische Probleme im Jugend - 'trafvollzug ,
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Enzyklopaedisches Handbuch des Kinderschutzes und der
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un fen am June 19
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gerichte un - Jugen gerichtshilfen . umber 9 . Berlin ,
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1923 . Berlin, 1926 .
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er Vereinigu fuer Jugendgerichte und Jugendgerichts
hilfen . Numb er 8 . erlin , 1928 .
' Di e Strafrechtlishe Behandlung de r ueber 18 Jahre alten
M ind rjaehrigen . " Sonderabdr u ck aus der Zeitschrift
fuer trafrechtswissenschaft .
rDas Geset z z r bekaempfung de r eschlechtskrankheiten . "
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o . 17, Berlin , 1927 .
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by er Deutschen Verei n i g u
Ju endgerichtsbilfen , 1erl
ugendgeri chtshilfe . :di ted
f uer Ju te und
, 19 29 .
110
"Gutachten ~u den wichtigsten A nderu ·en des Jugen gerichts gesetzes . " Evangelische Jugendfuersorge . VIII (19 2)
1 , 2 , PP • 21- 25 .
Haec kel, He i nrich, Jugendg richtshilfe . chriftenrei he der
Verei n i gung fuer J ugendgerichte und Jugend eri chtshilf en.
Numb e r 1 0 . Berlin, 19 27.
Hennne schlag , H. E., Die Erziehun~sm ssregeln ~ Ju~end geri chts esetz . Bres!au, 19~ . -
J acoby Heinz , "Der Anteil er 14 und 1, jaehrigen n er
Krimin 11 taet der Ju en lichen 1930 . \, ond r abdruck
aus der Zeitschr ft fur echts issensch ft . ( • d . )
Jugendgericht gesetz , Text usg be , B 1 n , 1928 .
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L 1 r , Fr er c Leppmann , ha otte ey r . chriften reihe der utsch n Veren ung fur J n gcricht und
J gen ericht lfen . urn ers 14/15 . Berlin, 19 2 .
K ntorowicz ,
1
r nst , Leitfae en fuer J n schoeffen .
Sehr ftenreihe er Deutschen Vereinigung fuer J gen -
ger chte und J gendgerichtshil en . ber 7 , Berlin ,
1926 .
Krame r , ranz , itwirkung des Psychiate s im
Vormundschafts und Jug ndg richtsverfahren . ~ chriften reihe r D utschen Verein gung uer uge n gerichte u d
Jugendge r chtsh lfen . Numb r 1 0 . erlin , 1931 .
Krohne , r . jur., ~rziehuD:Ssanst lten ie verlassene ,
efaeh det und verw hrloste Jugen in Preussen . Berli ,
1901 .
Liepmann, M., Das Strafverfahren und die Or anisation der
~trafgerichte . c
1
chriftenreihe der ueutschen Vereini une
fuer Ju end erichte nd Ju endgerichts. lfen . Jurnbe r 6 .
Berlin, 1926 .
Liszt , Elsa von , "Zur eform des Jugendgerichtsgesetzes . "
Sonderdruck aus Zentralblatt fuer Jugendrecht und Jug end wohlfahrt . Ix , 1930, Berlin .
- 10 J ahre Jugendgerichtsarbeit . ie Taetigkeit d es
Ausschusses bezw . der Ve~efnigung fuer Ju~endgerichte
und Ju~endg erichtshilfen von 1917 bis 192 . ~chriften eiheer eutschen Vereinigung fuer Jugendgerichte und
Jug endgerichtshilfen . Number 11 . Berlin , 19 <8 .
Morgenstern, Antonie , "Ueberblick ueb e r die wichtigsten
Aenderungen des Jugendgerichtsgesetze s durch d en
111
Entwurf eine Einfuehrunesgesetzes zum 'trafgesetzbuch. "
Evangelische Jugendfuersorge . VIII (1932) 1 , 2, pp .
15 - 21.
Nachrichtendienst des Deutsch n Vereins fuer Oeffentliche
und Pr!vate Fuersorge . Edit d by Dr . v . Polligkeit .
Vor sltzender des Deutschen Vereins fuer oeffentliche un
pr vate Fuersorge . rankfurt am Main, 1931.
Nae ele , Otto , er Erziehungsge anke im Jugen recht ,
Leipzig , 1925 .
Poelchan, Harold , "Kriminalstatistik der J gendlichen 19 7
und 1928, " Sond rabdurck aus der Zeitschrift fuer
cltr frecht wissenschaft . (n . d . )
Reichsjugend ohlfahrts~esetz , rextausgab e , Berlin , 1929 .
Ruscheweyh, Herbert , ie ntwicklung des eutschen Jugend-
gericht~ . mar , 1918.
iegmund- Schultze ft Maria von, "Der Bet ieb im Pfle eamt der
tadt Derl n . ' Berliner
1
Iohl ahrtsblatt , VI , March 17 ,
1929 .
Stahl , Adolf ,
11
Zur Refo des Jugend .., erichts ,
1
Evangelische
Ju endfuersorge . VIII (1932) , 1 , 2, pp . 2 - 7.
tatistisches Jahrbuch fuer das eutsche He ch, Berlin ,
1931 .
tatist k ueber die Fuersorgeerziehune; in Preussen fuer
as Rechnungsjahr 1929 . Compile ' by Preussichen tatischen
Landes t .
Untersuchu sgefaengnis Berlin- oabit , Berlin , 1931 .
Verordnung ueb r den Strafvollzug in Btu.fen vom 7 Juni 1929 .
Printed in ~trafgefae n s Berlin - Tegel .
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Jahr i928- 29 . " onderabdruck aus d em Verwaltungsbericht
der Stadt rankfurt am Main 1928- 29 .
·v ol kening , Dr., "Die Heraufsetzung des Strafmuendigkeits alters . " Evangelische Jugendfuersorge , VI I I (1932), 1 ,
2 I pp • 7 - 15 •
~ehn, Oto , ie Straffaelligkeit indeFjaehriger nach
Beurlaubu oder Entlassun aus de r Fuers eerziehu
3 Pre sau eswoh
1930.
•
112
irtschuft und Statistik, Compil~d by the tatistischen
Reichsamt , Berlin, 1929 .
Periodicals
Eva~elische Jug ndfuersor e , Or an des Evangl . Jugend uersorgevereins d r Rheinprovinz . Edited by Direktor
Pfarrer Horning , Neuwied am Rhein .
Zentralblatt fuer Jugan recht und Jugendwohlfahrt . Edited
by15r . H. Webler , Frankfur t am Main.

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Creator Holzschuh, Alma (author)

Core Title The treatment of juvenile delinquency in Germany

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Sociology

Degree Conferral Date 1932-09

Publication Date 08/03/1932

Defense Date 08/03/1932

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Children -- Law -- Germany,Juvenile courts -- Germany,Juvenile delinquency -- Germany,OAI-PMH Harvest

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