Two books, Richard Schirrmann – the man who invented youth hostels and Open to All – how youth hostels changed the world. Both are available from Amazon. The biography of Schirrmann is available as a Kindle book £2.50 or paperback £3.99. Open to All is available as a paperback (£9.99) and kindle (£3.39).
Youth hostels changed the world. Beginning in 1929 with no money, no leader and only a simple idea, today they cover the globe.
They boast bars, restaurants, and en suites. You can find them in cities, in towns, in the wilderness, in castles, mansions, mills, and converted hotels.
Open to All has been called “the definitive history of YHA*”. It’s the story of youth hostels in England and Wales and the people and ideas behind them. Through years of tumultuous change, of boom and bust and revolution they set young people free. Read more…
Richard Schirrmann is the story of the man who invented youth hostels. Taken up in Germany, then in Europe and then around the world, youth hostels survived the rise of the Nazis, two world wars and an economic depression. Schirrmann never gave up. He never copyrighted his idea, never built it into a brand, never sold it to anyone. He was a volunteer and an amateur in the best sense of the word. He wanted the best for young people everywhere.
Duncan M Simpson worked for many years in and for youth hostels, as a seasonal assistant and manager. For ten years he was Head of Corporate Affairs for YHA (England and Wales).
*James Blake, YHA Chief Executive, on Twitter 27 October 2017.
SIMPLY HOSTELS 