Kurt Barthel

Kurt Barthel (1884–1969) is the father of the modern United States nudist movement.

Introduction

He began the American League for Physical Culture in 1929 with an ad, first in the leading German nudist magazines published in Berlin by Robert Laurer "Lichtland" (Light Land) and "Lachendes Leben" (Laughing Life), then later in a newspaper seeking like-minded folks. The first organized nudist outing was held on Labor Day 1929. There were seven people in attendance, three women and four men, all but one between the ages of 20 and 27. The first outing was held in the Hudson Highlands in upstate New York. The American League for Physical Culture was organized in the fall of 1929 and took part in the beginning of the American nudist movement. The members of the ALPC visited leased farms in Westchester County in the summer and participated in gymnastics in rented gymnasiums and pools in the city in winter.

About 1930 three members stepped out of the ALPC and formed their own groups, one of whom formed the American Gymnosophical Association which shortly thereafter leased Rock Lodge Club in Stockholm, New Jersey.