March 30, 2025, marks the hundredth anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death. The “Danke Rudi!” [Thanks, Rudy] initiative invites all anthroposophical initiatives to open their doors, display their work, and be available to answer questions during this memorial period, with the intention of counteracting any damage to their public image and gratefully carrying the impulses forward into the next hundred years.
Recently, the public image of Waldorf and company has suffered greatly. Back in 2011, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit [The Time] still praised Waldorf as a “forge of good human beings.” Today, the same paper warns against “sinister occultism.” We’re now considered unscientific, even dangerous. Years spent at Waldorf Schools are disappearing from social media profiles, parents are doubting their choice of school, and Waldorf is having problems attracting new students and teachers. Some schools are considering whether Waldorf education as a guiding concept and the reference to Rudolf Steiner are still appropriate. This is not a new phenomenon. Steiner himself said: “Now many people among us are endeavoring to deny anthroposophy as much as possible and to propagate an education without anthroposophy; they don’t want to let on that anthroposophy is behind it. There’s a German saying that goes: “Clean my fur, but don’t get it wet.” Today, one has to say: We must proceed from anthroposophy. We cannot deny it, we must acquire knowledge of the human being through anthroposophy.”1
The anthroposophical movement needs a twofold reform: First, a knowledge of the roots—that is, why the ideas of Steiner and for “acquiring knowledge of human nature through anthroposophy” are inspiring for Waldorf parents and those working in anthroposophical institutions—and second, based on the first development, the ability to independently and collaboratively effect a positive change of public image, to respond thoughtfully to justified criticism, and to refute false criticism clearly and through concrete examples. In this way, those who have become skeptical or hostile will have the possibility to encounter anthroposophy again with interest, openness, and hopefully appreciation.
How Can We Turn the Trend Around?
Recently, I had a conversation with Felix, an “ex-Waldorf” student in his early twenties and a social media specialist. During our conversation, he told me with great enthusiasm that he’d built his kitchen himself and was grateful for his time at the Waldorf School because it was there that he learned to do things for which people would normally simply hire outside professionals. Hardly any of us ex-Waldorf students could deny the manual and creative skills we learned alongside our social, conceptual, structural, spatial, and artistic sensitivity. For me, these skills are one reason why I (like many other former Waldorfers) am now working effectively for the better development of human beings and the Earth. These are fruits and blossoms of the seeds Rudolf Steiner planted over one hundred years ago. Here is where my gratitude arrives at its source.
Currently, hundreds of thousands of children attend Waldorf schools worldwide. In addition, many millions of people benefit daily from Rudolf Steiner’s impulses, whether in Waldorf education, organic farming, natural cosmetics, integrative medicine, curative education, sustainable economic activity, or social banking. Without Steiner’s forward-looking inspiration, these areas would not have developed into what they are today: beacons of hope for the coexistence of humanity and an Earth fit for our grandchildren. Thank you, Rudolf Steiner!
Opens Hearts and Doors
Carried on by this appreciative gratitude, the upcoming anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death (March 30, 2025) is a moment to look ahead to the next one hundred years. If we counter the one-sidedness of the media’s portrayal with an abundance of positive experiences and reports, a new, more balanced picture will emerge in the public sphere. Now is the time to open our hearts and doors again. If Waldorf Schools and kindergartens, anthroposophical practices, institutions, and enterprises open their doors to the public around this last weekend of March 2025, those interested will be able to experience firsthand what really happens there. Monthly festivals, guided tours, annual festivals, markets, lectures, exhibitions, and workshops: everyone can shape their own offerings to provide insights into a vibrant community that’s much more than oft-quoted clichés.
The initiative www.rs2025.org provides useful materials (in German) for participating institutions under the motto “Danke, Rudi!” In addition to a positive press campaign, we’re also planning a video competition to see who can create the most creative and far-reaching short video on the topic “Thanks, Rudy!” The prizes include internships with prominent former Waldorf students, insider tours of enterprises, trips, and tickets to concerts—all from the community of ex-Waldorf students. In this way, gratitude can give rise to a new movement that writes new stories and highlights positive examples.
We don’t want to oppose distortions in the media with arguments but instead want to invite the world to come and see for themselves. We can show how, in these times of societal crisis on so many levels, “Anthros” can help to shape society in a positive way, contribute meaningfully, and, thanks to Rudolf Steiner’s inspiration, introduce forward-looking perspectives. In this way, a look back becomes a look forward that makes anthroposophy a strong movement for the next one hundred years, one that produces future-oriented ideas carried by gratitude, openness, and the courage to tell our own story ourselves.
More Rudolf Steiner 100
Contact offene-tuer@rs2025.org
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Logo ‹Rudolf Steiner 100›
