French Bulldog IKFB Germany

Erich v. Otto, a well known dog lover and judge wrote at the time," If the German French Bulldog club wanted, with the participation of member Hartenstein, in 1913 it could send a dozen extraordinary examples to Paris, as in France they scarcely produce any!" But soon the storm clouds gathered over Europe. The First World War put an end to many things, amongst them the development of the club. The studbooks could not be published and international relations broke down. The IFBC could do no more than maintain the circle of fans and breeders during these difficult times. In 1915 it had to change its name to German. The “Internationaler Bouledogue Français-Klub” became the “Internationaler Klub für Französische Bulldoggen”, IKFB.
But not even the war frightened the breeder of the IKFB Hartenstein. In September of 1915 he braved the storm and took a group of his dogs to the Amsterdam show and proved that German breeding was still progressing, even during a World War. The English judges present were speechless, and the Dutch judge, Van de Hulst, declared that they were the most important of the show, and of a quality hitherto unseen. Hartenstein's death in 1917 was a severe blow for German breeding and the IKFB. The magnificent breeding material was dispersed and so vanished the base of the Berlin breeding line. After the war came the even harder times of hyperinflation. So more than one dog was sent abroad making it difficult for the IKFB to continue the improvement of its breed stock.
In 1921 the IKFB changed its organisational structure. The first local group was founded in Frankfurt am Main, which later was to form the Hessen/Hessen-Nassau regional group. The same year Dr. Holbein took over the first regional Presidency. The forming of regional groups advanced. Groups were esablished in Rheinland-Westfalen, Baden, Württemberg, Sachsen and lastly in Berlin/Brandenburg. The three first mentioned disappeared quickly as a result of economic crisis.
From 1923 the independent members' review, "Monatsblatter" was published by the IKFB. Each member received this handbook, at times richly illustrated, until 1937. These were later published as “Rundschreiben der Fachschaft für Französische Bulldoggen” ( Circular of the Professional Organistaion of the French Bulldog) until 1940.
The IKFB has always tried to make itself known since its foundation. Between 1909 and 1912 breed supplements were published in “Hundesport und Jagd” (Canine Sports and Hunting), again from 1915 to 1922 in the same magazine and from March to September of 1922 in the specialist dog newspaper “Deutsche Kynologen Zeitung” . After the 2nd World War, except for a brief period during the 60's in the magazine "Der Hund", publication has been in " Unser Rassehund", of VDH (German Kennel Club).
In 1924 volumes II to IV of the studbook were finally gathered in one volume which contained 2629 entries. Also in 1924 the IKFB faced a split in its ranks that had its roots in the old IFBC. The Berlin region left the IKFB as a group to form the Berlin club. Owing to the importance of Max Hartstein and the early organisation of the breed, Berlin had always enjoyed a special place in the club. After Hartstein's death more autonomy was granted, making it difficult for the Berliners to bow to collective decisions by the club as a whole.