This is the story of Erik Holm, 2 Dynkarken, Aarhus,
Denmark and such a story must also be one, of the magazine he publishes – Sun
and Health.
Sun and Health was published for 12 years by Dr. Van Dahlsen, one of the nudist pioneers for the movement in Denmark. Unfortunately Dr. Dahlsen, now an elderly man, was handicapped, having very little journalistic ability. He found it extremely difficult to get anything out of his magazine because of the unsettled conditions in Europe after the war. Actually he published it during his last year at a tremendous loss (1).
in the meantime Erik had been in close contact with him. Backed by 9 years experience with the Danish daily press he took Sun and Health over about three years ago as an independent publisher determined to make it a real speaking tube for nudism.
However he instantly realized that if his publication was to have any future it must be improved. He was well aware that Scandinavia to which the sale of the magazine was restricted was too limited a field for further expansion. The only solution was to introduce an English International Edition. In this he has succeeded and increased the circulation to about 22,000 copies per month including a German edition published in connection with both the Scandinavian and English issues.
If it were not for the hardships in importing the magazine Erik states he could have long ago easily passed the 50,000 circulation mark. With this expansion program in mind he attended the International Nudist Conference in London in September 1951 confident that if personal contacts were made with the important leaders of nudist organizations in Europe and America an International Union of Nudist Organizations could be established at the next meeting scheduled for August, 1952 in Switzerland.
Through Sun and Health Erik has constantly stressed that to bathe nude is not to be considered something of a sensation but as something quite natural.
Despite the progress made, Erik still feels that the continued resistance and intolerance of people toward nudism gives little reason to become over optimistic.
To combat this resistance and to gain further recognition of the nudist movement and the right to go or be naked when circumstances permit, is to encourage famous personalities to become interested in the movement.
He insists that writers for his magazine write on their own responsibility and with their real name and not under some odd pseudonym.
“If people dare not go in for the matter with all their personality,” he declared, “we have no interest in using their articles.”
He further said: “We must maintain that as long as the nudist press does not have the same conditions to work under as the other press, there is no freedom of the press in the democratic community. The principle must be that people themselves must judge what is decent and good instead of the authorities acting as a nursemaid to decide what the population is to read.”
He firmly believes that if the nudist press gets an opportunity to come in everywhere on equal terms with other publications and people can conquer their restraints just to buy nudist magazines, then the movement will be making much real progress.
“However,” he warns, “here lies a great danger, as there are many socalled ‘nudist’ magazines which have nothing to do with the movement at all. They are published by people who speculate in nudism with the same views as the publishers of the pure or partly pornographic magazines. The really serious working nudist magazines have only to improve the quality of their own publications. I am confident that good taste will win at last.”
“Personally,” Erik goes on, “I am convinced that when you live a respectable life yourself, nobody will look down upon you because you are a nudist. Through numerous contacts with people from every walk of life and conversations regarding nudism I received the impression that they are naturally prejudiced towards nudism. When I explained just what nudism actually means and what it is on the whole and after they have read a nudist magazine they no longer have so many objections.
“After I took over the publication of Sun and Health a few of my intimate acquaintances and some of my neighbors thought it very strange. However when they had learned a little about nudism through further talks with me and after having studied my magazine they changed their attitude and I have never felt any unkind attitude towards me on that occasion.
“I believe that when you are a respectable citizen in a society the fact that you profess the nudity principle and are ready and willing to fight for more naturalness between the sexes people will not frown or look down upon you.”
Charles Salak
(Source: American Nudist Leader No. 27 for May and June, 1952)
(1) The writer does not mention that Viggo Dahlsen (1890-1952) being an active member of the Danish Resistance Movement during the Second World War was sent to a concentration camp. The hardships borne by his confinement to the camp during the latter part of the war contributed to the detriment of his health. Naturist Library has eight issues of 1940 and 1941. angmimik
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