Communications from the Board of Directors

We would hereby like to inform our friends of the resolutions adopted at the General Assembly on February 8, 1925, to guide the institutions grouped around the Goetheanum in Dornach in the spirit of the reorganization of the anthroposophical movement at the Christmas Conference in 1923. We begin with an excerpt from Dr. Steiner's words on these matters at the General Assembly on June 29, 1924:

"This Christmas Conference, my dear friends, was intended to bring a completely new direction to the whole anthroposophical movement, and above all, in this new direction, it should be avoided in the future that things in our society drift apart, and it should be ensured that in the future they are actually led out of the anthroposophical movement. As you know, a board of directors was appointed at the Goetheanum during this Christmas Conference, which now feels fully responsible for what happens in the Anthroposophical Society as an initiative board. And the realization of this intention is only possible if the Anthroposophical Society in the future also stands before the full public as that which really shapes things, which really also feels fully responsible for all that exists. This can only be achieved if we now also bring about a unified constitution in the mutual relationship of the individual activities... But then it will be necessary for the whole spirit of the Anthroposophical Society, as it now exists, to function as the registered association, so that outwardly it is the institution that represents everything here in Dornach. It will therefore be necessary to have: the “General Anthroposophical Society” as a registered association; within this Anthroposophical Society, four subdivisions will have to be distinguished. These four subdivisions are planned by me in such a way that I take into account not at all abstract programmatic things, but only the purely real things. We have real institutions that have been active in living, organic activity from the very beginning in four currents: firstly, in the Anthroposophical Society itself. This will continue to exist as the Anthroposophical Society in the narrower sense as the first subdivision. It is completely independent of everything that has emerged in the way of programs since 1919. Secondly, within our movement, we have the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House, which has now moved to Dornach and cannot be treated as anything other than an integral part of the Anthroposophical movement itself. Again and again, efforts have been made to undermine this view, which actually lies at the heart of the matter, from there or from elsewhere. But if I wanted to compare one or other of the institutions working from the real and not from the programmatic in the field of national economy, for example, I could only ever cite the Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag, which did not develop from a grand program, but from the small, starting with two books and then working very slowly, so that it was always based on reality and never received any kind of subsidy from any source other than that which arose from the matter at hand, and which had absolutely real coverage options. So that in terms of national economic leadership, this Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House could even be cited as an example back then, to which one could adhere if one wants to base national economics on life. That would be the second subdivision. The third subdivision – as I said, I am counting historically – would be the building to be erected by the present-day Verein des Goetheanum, which has emerged as the third institution and has also only worked from anthroposophical principles. It would therefore also be able to form a subdivision of the General Anthroposophical Society. And the fourth to join would be the Clinical Therapeutic Institute, which was founded by Dr. Wegman on the basis of anthroposophical principles. And since I have to justify what it is that we are dealing with here, that we are really dealing with a real anthroposophical matter, I have to do so in the following way. I have to explain to you that there is an enormous difference between this Clinical Therapeutic Institute and other similar institutions. One could almost say that if none of the programmatic institutions had been created, this Clinical Therapeutic Institute, which emerged from the intentions of anthroposophy, and of course from medical intentions, this Clinical Therapeutic Institute would have been created anyway. If we disregard everything that has emerged since 1919, the Clinical Therapeutic Institute has not only had no need to take all this into consideration, but on the contrary has even stepped in for the other things at a crucial moment, so that here we have an institution that differs in its entire development and in its entire existence, also in the way it presents itself; it is a fruitful institution, one that is self-supporting and economically viable in itself. So this institution definitely belongs to those that are now to be subdivisions of the Anthroposophical Society. That is why the clinic is incorporated as such into the Anthroposophical Society and will form an integral part of the anthroposophical movement in the future. These are the things that arise purely out of the matter itself. I would like to say that one cannot think differently about the further development of things here if one wants to put the matter on a healthy footing for the future. All other measures arise as necessary consequences.

The “General Anthroposophical Society” thus comprises (according to General Assembly of February 8, 1925 and entry in the Swiss Commercial Register of March 7, 1925) the following four subdivisions: a) the administration of the Anthroposophical Society, b) the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Press, c) the administration of the Goetheanum construction, d) the Clinical-Therapeutic Institute.

The functions of the former “Goetheanum Association”, which no longer exists under that name, will in future be taken over by the “Administration of the Goetheanum-Banes” (sub-division c of the General Anthroposophical Society). The previous division into full, associate and contributing members will be discontinued in this way.

In future, the members of the “General Anthroposophical Society” will be: a) “full members” (these are all members of the General Anthroposophical Society), b) “contributing members” (i.e. those who make annual contributions, in particular for the construction of the “Goetheanum”).

The full members pay through their national society or independent group (as before) an annual contribution of 15 Swiss francs to the “Administration of the General Anthroposophical Society”.

(“Individual members” who do not belong to a national society, etc., but are directly affiliated to the headquarters in Dornach: 30 Swiss francs.)

The contributing members (i.e. the former members of the Association of the Goetheanum and the new members) pay an annual contribution of at least 50 Swiss francs to the “Administration des Goetheanum-Baues”.

We would like to take this opportunity to ask members to keep all correspondence regarding questions about the General Anthroposophical Society, the reconstruction fund, book orders from the Philosophical-Anthroposophical Publishing House, etc., and orders of the magazine “Das Goetheanum”, etc. (even if in the same envelope), but as far as possible each on a separate sheet, and when sending contributions and cheques, always indicate exactly what they are for, because this both facilitates and speeds up the fulfillment of our friends' wishes and considerably lightens the workload of the Goetheanum leadership, thus freeing up resources for both sides to address important issues of the anthroposophical movement.

The spirit of the anthroposophical movement in these four streams that have emerged from it will be permanently effective in a unified way through the now completed integration of these institutions into the overall organism of the General Anthroposophical Society.

The Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society.