{"id":62967,"date":"2025-02-03T11:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/?p=62967"},"modified":"2025-02-10T14:26:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T13:26:26","slug":"a-century-after-steiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/a-century-after-steiner\/","title":{"rendered":"A Century after Steiner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 30, 2025, marks the hundredth anniversary of Rudolf Steiner\u2019s death. The \u201cDanke Rudi!\u201d [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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recently, the public image of Waldorf and company has suffered greatly. Back in 2011, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit<\/em> [The Time] still praised Waldorf as a \u201cforge of good human beings.\u201d Today, the same paper warns against \u201csinister occultism.\u201d We\u2019re 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: \u201cNow many people among us are endeavoring to deny anthroposophy as much as possible and to propagate an education without anthroposophy; they don\u2019t want to let on that anthroposophy is behind it. There\u2019s a German saying that goes: \u201cClean my fur, but don\u2019t get it wet.\u201d Today, one has to say: We must proceed from anthroposophy. We cannot deny it, we must acquire knowledge of the human being through anthroposophy.\u201d<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anthroposophical movement needs a twofold reform: First, a knowledge of the roots\u2014that is, why the ideas of Steiner and for \u201cacquiring knowledge of human nature through anthroposophy\u201d are inspiring for Waldorf parents and those working in anthroposophical institutions\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can We Turn the Trend Around?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I had a conversation with Felix, an \u201cex-Waldorf\u201d student in his early twenties and a social media specialist. During our conversation, he told me with great enthusiasm that he\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, hundreds of thousands of children attend Waldorf schools worldwide. In addition, many millions of people benefit daily from Rudolf Steiner\u2019s impulses, whether in Waldorf education, organic farming, natural cosmetics, integrative medicine, curative education, sustainable economic activity, or social banking. Without Steiner\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Opens Hearts and Doors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Carried on by this appreciative gratitude, the upcoming anniversary of Rudolf Steiner\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s much more than oft-quoted clich\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative www.rs2025.org provides useful materials (in German) for participating institutions under the motto \u201cDanke, Rudi!\u201d In addition to a positive press campaign, we\u2019re also planning a video competition to see who can create the most creative and far-reaching short video on the topic \u201cThanks, Rudy!\u201d The prizes include internships with prominent former Waldorf students, insider tours of enterprises, trips, and tickets to concerts\u2014all 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t 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, \u201cAnthros\u201d can help to shape society in a positive way, contribute meaningfully, and, thanks to Rudolf Steiner\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More <\/strong>Rudolf Steiner 100<\/a>
Contact <\/strong>offene-tuer@rs2025.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translation <\/strong>Joshua Kelberman
Logo <\/strong>\u2039Rudolf Steiner 100\u203a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 30, 2025, marks the hundredth anniversary of Rudolf Steiner\u2019s death. The \u201cDanke Rudi!\u201d [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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20138,"featured_media":62631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8779,9183,8845],"tags":[11602,11610,8824],"class_list":["post-62967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","category-general-anthroposophy","category-social","tag-ausgabe-3-4-2025-en","tag-english-issue-6-2025","tag-spotlights"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dasgoetheanum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}