THE 0RGANIZATI0N OF LEISURE TIME
The phases of work which have been discussed
up to now may perhaps be viewed as primarily dealing
with the physical welfare of the German worker.
Remarkable as these arrangements are, one would seem
to touch upon something intangibly more vast and significant
when one comes to deal with the manner in
which Strength through Joy seeks to order the laborer's
spare time. This work gives a glimpse into
the all-presuasive influence of Strength through Joy
and its parent body, the Labor Front.
The organization of spare time is carried out
by two offices of Strength through Joy, the Amt
Feierabend, or Office for Leisure Time, which concerns
itself primarily with the recreational aspects
of the question, and by the Amt Volksbildungswerk,
or Office for Popular Education which, as its
name implies, aims at a general political, cultural
and artistic education of the masses. The separation
of these offices, which from some points of
view is superfluous, is apparently due to organizational
reasons, the Amt Feierabend being the
successor to the N.S. Kulturgemeinde which formerly
was operated independently by the Propaganda
Ministry. The Labor Front's assumption of this
form of activity is an indication of its ever-
expanding size and power.