| Tradition und Leben | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Tradition and Life |
| Formation | 1959 |
| Type | parliamentary monarchist, pro-Europeanism |
| Headquarters | Lüneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Chairman | Knut Wissenbach |
| Key people | Harald Schmautz |
| Website | pro-monarchie.de |
Tradition und Leben e.V. (TuL, "Tradition and Life"), is a monarchist organisation in Germany. It was registered in January 1959 in Cologne. Prior to that, a constitutional assembly took place in the autumn of 1958. Tradition und Leben provides a rallying point for all German royalists and supports all former German ruling houses.
Shortly after World War II, monarchists got together under the motto "Letters for Tradition und Leben." They followed partly the tradition of monarchist organisations and personalities from the time of the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), especially the "Bund der Aufrechten," founded in November 1918, and partly the older German traditionalist Völkisch movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Tradition und Leben is thus linked with the oldest organisations of its kind and the most important in Germany.
The aim of Tradition und Leben is summed up by its motto: “We crown democracy!” indicating the desire for a modern, democratic kingdom. Members of Tradition und Leben believe that Germany should become a democratic parliamentary monarchy. Each June, the organization's representatives are among those who lay a wreath at former Kaiser Wilhelm's mausoleum at Huis Doorn, on the anniversary of his death. Doorn was his residence-in-exile in the Netherlands.
Tradition und Leben supports hereditary monarchy as the best guarantee for the performance of duty and the exercise of responsibility for the political well-being and the physical environment for each succeeding generation. Among other principles espoused by the organization are the following: