International Federation
The movement spread rapidly worldwide so the International Youth Hostel Federation was founded on 20 October 1932 in Amsterdam by representatives from associations in Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, France and Belgium. In 1933 Richard Schirrmann became the president but was forced to resign by the German Government in 1936.
Youth hostels were originally very different in setup from other modern hostels, although the growing popularity of the backpacker culture has forced them to adapt so as not to lose customers, most notably abandoning the idea of chores in all but a few of their locations. The youth hostels in the United States, started by Monroe Smith, (where backpackers have not made as much of an impact as elsewhere) are still closest to the original setup.
Read more about this topic: Hostelling International
Famous quotes containing the word federation:
“Women realize that we are living in an ungoverned world. At heart we are all pacifists. We should love to talk it over with the war-makers, but they would not understand. Words are so inadequate, and we realize that the hatred must kill itself; so we give our men gladly, unselfishly, proudly, patriotically, since the world chooses to settle its disputes in the old barbarous way.”
—General Federation Of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)