Strategien der Sicherstellung. Zur Teilnehmerversammlung von 1970 und ihrer Folge bei der Programmgestaltung der Darmstädter Ferienkurse 1972

The year 1970 was a seminal moment in the history of the International Summer Courses in Darmstadt. In the midst of the 1968 climate, the participants convened and elected a steering committee of their own accord. The committee's stated objective was to support the course director in the central programme choices for subsequent course editions. The reaction of course director Ernst Thomas was characterised by a nuanced strategy, balancing concessions to the students with the preservation and conservation of the status quo.The 1970 meeting of the participants had enduring consequences for the structure of the courses, including the introduction of the two-year periodisation, which has remained in place since. It also had significant repercussions on the subsequent edition of the courses in 1972. The present essay aims to provide a detailed reconstruction of the political events of those two editions of the Ferienkurse by drawing upon as yet unpublished sources, primarily the comprehensive audio recordings of all student meetings.