In an international comparison, the German Settlement House Movement represents a special case that can only be understood in the context of the social and cultural framework conditions of the late German Empire. In addition, the only notable settlement initiatives, the Volksheim Hamburg, founded in 1901, and the Soziale Arbeitsgemeinschaft Berlin-Ost (SAG Berlin-Ost) (Berlin East Social Working Group), founded in 1911, were so deeply integrated into local and regional networks that a closer look at their contexts of origin as well as their specific connections in terms of personnel is necessary. This chapter provides an overview of the development and characteristics of the German Settlement Movement and traces both the currents of social reform as well as the actors to which they were linked. Using the example of the SAG Berlin-Ost in particular, it will be shown that the social missionary approach of the German Settlement House Movement is due especially to its anchoring in the bourgeois youth movement and its strong Protestant character. Religious semantics were a constant presence both in the SAG Berlin-Ost as well as in the Volksheim Hamburg, which repeatedly became evident both in the self-image of the settlement co-workers as well as in the practice of social work. Another important aspect is the activities of the Berlin settlement in the area of social research, which helped to establish further professional networks. All in all, this creates a picture of a historical variant of community work that is both independent and unique in an international context, and in which fundamental theological-ethical positions as well as certain currents of social reform, social research and social work converged in a specific way.

The state of research on the German Settlement House Movement is inconsistent: while three scientific monographs with very different approaches (Weyer, 1971; Gerth, 1975; Wietschorke, 2013) and several other substantial publications (Grotefeld, 1995; Lindner, 1997a; Lindner, 2004: 97–111; Tenorth et al, 2007) have appeared on the SAG Berlin-Ost, the Volksheim Hamburg as an institution, by comparison, has not been well researched. The only complete overview published as a monograph dates back to 1924 (Günther, 1924).