Associated Press

6:07 PM CDT, July 26, 2008

 

Berlin, Germany (AHN) - German naturists swimming and sunbathing on a nude beach near the Polish border are complaining about voyeurs from the other side of the border who stare at them.

One nude beach patron, Ines Muller, said beach-goers from Poland come to the beach in Germany to stare at nude swimmers and sunbathers.

Muller told the Sun newspaper, “You feel like an ape in the zoo. The Poles come with their binoculars, stare and swear.”

A fence separating the beach at the border was demolished in 2007 after an agreement was reached between Germany and Poland.

Ever since, the fence was removed, Poles have been looking at activities on the other side of the beach.

Elke Bernholz, another German beach patron said, “It’s a nudist beach. It’s terrible that the Poles come over dressed and stare.”

But while the naturists are annoyed by the presence of their neighbors, the mostly conservative Poles are also “scandalized” by so many naked swimmers and sunbathers in their area.

A Polish national from the town of Swinemunde said, “It’s horrible — we would never bathe naked, we are Catholic.”

One of France’s most popular naturist resorts was revealed yesterday to be keeping a blacklist of “undesirables” who break the rules and sully the pristine environment.

The René Oltra centre, known for its sandy Mediterranean beaches in Languedoc-Roussillon, has been authorised by the data protection authority CNIL to keep a file of people who breach its regulations, which include “respect for the naturist ethic” and “obligatory nudity”.

The exclusion list came to light this year when an unidentified naturist was refused access to René Oltra and contacted the CNIL to find out if it was illegally discriminatory.

Inspectors found the resort had a list of “indelicate” clients whose offences ranged from non-payment of bills and making too much noise to lack of personal hygiene and the wearing of clothes.

After its investigation, the CNIL said it had given René Oltra permission to continue, provided it informed potential and existing clients of the blacklist’s existence. Naturists charged with an “objective” offence could be banned from the resort for up to three years.

Such “exclusion databases” are common in French resorts.