Figure 1.--

While CHIRO is primarily a Flemish group, it is not entirely limited to Flanders. Our Belgian reader knows of at least one CHIRO group in the German-speaking region in the eastern Belgium. HBU know of only one such group.

Sankt Vith

The area around Sankt Vith has been controlled at various times by both Belgian and German authorities. [HBU note: St. Vith will be familiar to many Americans as the site of an important engagement in the World War II Battle of the Buldge.] Scouting had been active in Sankt Vith before World War II as was the case in much of Belgium. After the German invasion in 1939, Scouting was abolished and Hitler Youth units were organized. [HBU note: The German-speaking area around Eupen and Sankt Vith was a part of the German Empire until Belgium annexed as part of the World War I peace settlement. The NAZIs briefly re-incorparated it into the Reich from 1940-1945.] After World War II the Hitlerjugend were dissolved and the area around Sankt Vith became a part of Belgium again.

Organization

Chiro came to Sankt Vith in 1953. In the early 1950s there was no youth movement in the area, after the Hitler Youth were disolved. I'm not sure why the Scouts did nor organize there. It was some younger boys aged 7-8 years who came up with the idea and put it to a priest (a Fleming, by the way). After some talks and after a visit to a Flemish CHIRO troop’s summer camp nearby, a decision was made to set up a CHIRO group in Sankt Vith that would be similar to those of the Flemish CHIRO movement. Since that time the Sankt Vith group has been a member of ‘Chirojeugd Vlaanderen', being their only German-speaking group. They belong to the CHIRO ‘Region Limburg’ and they foster the same objectives and values as in Flanders. They also join in the CHIRO training and other activities in Flanders.

Uniform

The only thing that used to distinguish the German-speaking CIRO group from the Flemish CHIRO was the uniform. In Sankt Vith brown was of course not appropriate (because Hitler boys like the notorious Storm Troopers wore brown shirts). So soon after the War, German-speaking boys would have been viewed as NAZI sympthizers if they had worn brown shirts. Until 2000 the German-speaking CHIRO boys wore destinctive green uniforms. Beginning in 2001, the group changed to the new blue uniform of the Flemish CHIRO.

Activities

Chiro St. Vitus when on summer camp, they have a "Biwakmutter", meaning a "camp mother" who cooks for the boys. A HBU reader had reported earlier this year that most CHIRO boys are incapable of cooking their own meals. This is in sharp contrast to Scouts who as part of their training cook their own meals and would object to the idea of mom's coming along to do the cooking. [HBU note: At least in America, moderm moms would object to the idea of coming along to do the cooking.]