This is something I typed for the Deaflympics about the German Deaf Community. Liebling, if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected, feel free to let me know! Thanks.
German Deaf Community
The Deaf Community in Germany is indeed very rich with a multitude of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Associations throughout the country. The German Deaf Association (Deutsche Gehörlosen-Bund, or DGB) was started in 1927 under the name of „Reichsverbandes der Gehörlosen Deutschlands“ or loosely translated as „The Deaf Associations of the German Empire.“ The DGB currently has 24 associations; out of which are 16 state associations, German Deaf Sport Association, Association of Deaf Catholics of Germany, Federal Association of Teachers of Sign Language, Federal Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Association of ‘Deaf Culture and History,’ German Deaf Card-Playing Club, Society for Sign Language and Deaf Communication and German Group of Evangelistic Pastors.
In all, there are about 34,000 members under the DGB, which includes approximately 600 different clubs and associations. The DGB is member of the following organisations: German Equal Welfare Organisation, in the German Support Group for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Federal Assistance Group for the Disabled, the European Union of the Deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf. According to the DGB website, about 100,000 people in Germany are considered “deaf” or “hard of hearing” who uses sign language.
Deaf Culture and Cultural Events
Deaf Germans’ opinion on their identity varies greatly, with some considering themselves to be truly disabled, to some considering themselves to be nothing but a linguistic minority paired with a language of their own (DGS), history, culture, etc… Many major German cities have a Deaf Centre where deaf and hard of hearing people can meet regularly and participate in various activities such as theatre groups, variety show nights, etc…
Germans are known for their passions with local folk festivals and cultural days. Many Deaf Centres host a score of events throughout the year. Typical expressional forms, besides sign language prose, are theatre, pantomime, dancing, magic and video projects. More and more German deaf artists are making notice of their artworks.
In different big cities, there are Deaf theatre groups, which present their pieces in sign language in local, national and international festivals. One can experience this every four years through the “German Culture Day of the Deaf.” Another cultural high points for the Deaf and their friends are the “Berliner Sign Language Festival” and the “German Deaf Theatre Festival.”
Sport and Deaf Community
Many hearing Germans actively pursue some kind of sport hobbies in their leisure time. This is no exception for the Deaf Germans, which has a very strong sport association, called German Deaf Sport Association, or Deutschen Gehörlosen-Sportverband (DGS). Sport was obviously an important part of the German Deaf community, with the DGS being set up in 1910, and currently has 12,000 members out of 168 clubs. The DGS held its first national championship in Essen in 1920, and holds annual competitions throughout the year for different sport disciplines. Members of the DGS took part for the first time in international competitions in 1928 in the World Games for the Deaf in Amsterdam. Germany has hosted two Summer World Games for the Deaf (1931 – Nürnberg and 1981 – Cologne) as well as two Winter World Games for the Deaf (1955 – Oberammergau and 1967 – Berchtesgaden).
DGS (Deutsche Gebärdensprache), or German Sign Language
DGS is the lingua franca of the German Deaf community, though it is not as uniform as that of the United States. Sign language dialects are very noticeable throughout the country, especially from the north to the south, and from the west to the east. Fingerspelling is seldomly used in DGS. A form of Signed German exists as well, and is known as Lautsprachbegleitende Gebärden.
German Media for the Deaf
There are several media outlets enjoyed by Deaf Germans, such as Deutscher Gehörlosen Zeitung (German Deaf Newspaper) published by the DGB, or Das Zeichen (The Sign) published by the Gesellschaft für Gebärdensprache und Kommunikation Gehörloser e.V., etc… On the internet, there is a website which shows different news and stories in German Sign Language, at
spectrum11 | Info-& Nachrichtendienst . A popular website for the German Deaf community is the Taubenschlag Magazine, which can be found at
Taubenschlag - das deutsche Portal für Hörgeschädigte The Bayerische Rundfunk (a German channel) broadcasts a deaf-themed programme called “Sehen statt Hören” (Seeing instead of Hearing), which is presented in sign language.
German Laws regarding Deafness
The German Bundestag and the Bundesrat agreed on between February 28 to March 22, 2002 on the “Law on Equality for the Disabled People and Alternation of other Laws” (Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz). This law came into power on the 1st of May in 2002. This law’s goal is to provide equality for the disabled people, and the establishment of barrier-free design for the living space. Disabled people should have all access to the living space and not be discriminated against. The Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz recognises also the German Sign Language as a valid language, thus opening the path for more websites and information, especially the news to be translated into German Sign Language.
This law applies also to all deaf and hard of hearing people in regards to communication assistance through sign language interpreters, in either German Sign Language or Lautsprachbegleitende, real-time captioning typists, as well as tactile sign interpreters for the deafblind individuals.
Modes of Communication
Deaf Germans make a great use of fax machines when communicating with deaf and hearing people. A “Schreibtelefon” (TTY) exists as well, though is not as popular as fax machines. There are Relay Services available to assist communication between the deaf and hearing Germans. “Bildtelefon” (Videophones) also are available to the Deaf Germans. Many Deaf Germans have mobile phones (also known as Handys) and send text messages known as SMS. Computer and internet is also becoming increasingly popular, which allows people to send emails, place phone calls through relay services, etc…
Close-captioning
Special televisions with a chip inside it, known as Teletext, will display subtitles on German-language programmes. Not only does Teletext provide subtitles, they also provide news and information on different things. Usually, a special number needs to be pressed in, and entered in order to view the desired information. Various channels have different numbers for their close-captioning capabilities, such as 150 on ARD, 777 on ZDF, etc…
The rate of captioned programmes in the German-speaking countries is at only 5 percent, though things are improving. Recently, the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, and the current World Cup 2006 were captioned live for the Germans, which were big news for the German Deaf community. Some of the national and local news on the television are rebroadcasted with a sign language interpreter superimposed on the screen, interpreting the news. Occasionally, films are shown with open-captions in German cinemas, though some original-language films are shown with German subtitles.
Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Historically, the German method of teaching deaf students was based on the oral method. The “German”, or Samuel Heinicke’s method of teaching was also known as the oral method, and was rivalled with the “French” method, or the sign language method. This was fastened down by the resolution of the Congress of Milan in 1880. In the 1950s, a new method was developed, which is known as “auditive-verbal method.” This method puts an emphasis on the student’s ability to listen to spoken words rather than to learn through speechreading, thus training the student’s ability to hear and discern sounds.
Taubenschlag.de lists approximately 65 schools for the deaf throughout the country, as well as nine vocational schools and additional schools for further education. These schools vary in their teaching modes, such as oralism to signed lessons. The biggest vocational school in the nation is called Rheinisch-Westfälische Berufskolleg Essen, located in Essen, Germany.
The philosophy of integration of deaf and hard of hearing students in a hearing classroom is not a popular one in Germany, although parents do have the ability to decide wherever their child to be sent to. The German society do not agree on hiring a caseworker and a sign language interpreter in order to include a deaf or hard of hearing student in an entire school of hearing pupils. They would prefer that the student be sent to a special school, where a caseworker can be responsible for several pupils rather than just one.
Conclusion: Goals of the Deutsche Gehörlosen-Bund
DGB views themselves as a representative of the social-political, cultural and business interest of the deaf in Germany and as a forum for the sign language community. The Preamble of the DGB constitution does not recognise deafness as a hearing impairment, but rather as an identity oriented around the signing community and the deaf culture.
Ever since the DGB’s previous goal of having the government recognise the German Sign Language as a language has been achieved, the group has shifted their attention to the interest of the families with deaf and hard of hearing children. They are concerned about the quality of education of the German deaf youths, and are working with various groups in order to improve some weak spots, such as setting a standard for the quality of sign language interpreters. DGB are now giving seminars and workshops to groups to educate them more about the Deaf community and issues. They also are working on improving the rights of the deaf individuals and on maintaining studies of the German Sign Language.
Bibliography:
Deutscher Gehörlosen Bund e.V. : German National Association for the Deaf
Taubenschlag - das deutsche Portal für Hörgeschädigte : Taubenschlag: Portal for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Gehörlosigkeit - Wikipedia : Wikipedia article on Deafness
Deutscher Gehörlosen-Sportverband - wir über uns - gehörlosen-sportverband : History of the German Deaf Sport Association