On 28 July 1912 the landing stage at the end of the pier in Binz, on the island of Rügen, broke. Sixteen people drowned, two of them children. At the time, according to the German life-saving association DLRG, about five thousand people drowned each year and few people could swim. The DLRG was founded in Leipzig on 19 October 1913. Today it teaches its Baderegeln, bathing rules. Some of them, as written in DLRG training material:
Nicht kopfüber in unbekannte Gewässer springen! — Do not dive headfirst into unknown waters.
Nicht mit vollem Magen schwimmen gehen! — Do not go swimming on a full stomach.
Nicht alkoholisiert baden gehen! — Do not go swimming after drinking alcohol.
Überanstrengungen vermeiden, eigene Kräfte nicht überschätzen! — Avoid overexertion and do not overestimate your strength.
Gewässer bei Gewitter sofort verlassen! — Leave the water at once in a thunderstorm.
A DLRG group in Bad Salzuflen turned the rules into a quiz for children. Für uns ist wichtig, dass die Kinder die Bedeutung der Regeln verstehen und auch in eigenen Worten beschreiben können. What matters to us is that the children understand the meaning of the rules and can describe them in their own words.