The Fateful Year of 1923

GA 259 — 21 December 1923, Dornach

Rudolf Steiner Gives Initial Administrative Instructions for the Christmas Conference

[After Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner returned from Stuttgart to Dornach on December 20, Rudolf Steiner addressed the following words to the members present the next day, introducing the evening lecture, after someone had already asked to hand in their passports:]

Before I begin the lecture, I also have a number of announcements for the next few days.

Firstly, I would ask those of our dear friends who are always, or at least mostly always here, to take their seats in that shed we are making out here during the Christmas Conference. The fact of the matter is that, in an especially gratifying way, the attendance at the Christmas Conference will be very large, and we will have to expand the carpentry workshop here [points to where it is] – the visitors will not enter here – by adding, well, how should I put it, an “internal villa” with large windows leading out to it. I hope that one can hear just as well there as here in the hall. But now, there is such a thing as politeness in the world, and so I would ask that those of our dear friends who always sit here in the middle of the hall at least partially move out there, where the new seats are provided. We can only accommodate a maximum of 600 people in this hall, and that will be very difficult. So I ask you to take this request into consideration.

Then I would ask that access to the events only be granted to visitors half an hour before the event begins. Because in the meantime, for the very reasons I have just mentioned, we have to air the hall here a great deal. So this carpentry workshop and the shed cannot be entered until half an hour before the start of the event in question. Furthermore, I have another important request. It consists of my asking even the oldest members - I now mean the oldest in terms of membership - to bring their membership cards for all events in the next few days, because a strict check must take place and this really cannot take place if the membership cards are not available. For members who, for whatever reason (I have not yet heard that forgetfulness exists among anthroposophists, but it could happen), for members who for whatever reason do not have their membership card, there is the possibility of reporting to the secretariat downstairs in the Friedwart house and having an interim card issued for the conference.

Then there is a fourth thing – and a great deal more will be added in the next few days –: Our friends are asked to reserve the two front rows this time, so please do not take a seat in the two front rows if you are not hard of hearing or lame or otherwise so constituted that you have a special claim to these first rows. I would ask that this be observed as an unexceptional rule.

These are the things that I have to bring up first today.

[Then follows the actual lecture, see GA 232.)