Alcoholics Anonymous
Continental European Region

 

Continental European Region belongs to the
AA service structure of Great Britain

 

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The History of the Continental European Region of Alcoholics Anonymous
1940 February

First World Service Office for AA

1944 JuneThe AA Grapevine is first published
1941-1945
  
World War II
AA's in Armed Services abroad
1946
  
The 12 Traditions of AA formulated and published
1948All AA groups are loner groups in Germany and registered with GSO New York
1948Meetings in Bremen and in Frankfurt at Central Chapel Headquarters
1950Bill W. and Lois visit Europe
1950JulyFirst International Convention of AA at Cleveland.  The 12 Traditions are adopted
1950 November 16thDr. Bob (co-founder of AA) dies
1952First AA Roundup in Wiesbaden American High School
1953JuneThe Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 x 12) is published
1953November 2nd

Hotel Leopold Munich
First invitation to Germans to an open AA meeting.

1954OctoberThe "Alcoholic Foundation" becomes the "General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous"
1955 July 20th Anniversary Convention in Saint Louis, MO
1957Creation of First Overseas General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain and Ireland; "AA Comes of Age" publishedAA membership soars to over two-hundred thousand people, with more than 7000 groups in seventy countries and US possessions.
1959AA Publishing, Incorporated becomes AA World Services, Incorporated
1960July 25thAnniversary Convention in Long Beach, CA.
1962Publication of the "12 Concepts for World Service" written by Bill W.
Invitation extended to Bill W. and Lois to attend the 10th Annual Roundup in Wiesbaden
AA meetings started in Hamburg (with the help of Mr. Abel from England) and in Düsseldorf (with the assistance of Robert from Chicago).  [information extracted from the German Archives]
First AA meeting at the South Side Chapel at Ramstein Air Base.
Twenty active meetings are listed in the AA World Directory with about 170 members.
1963First AA meeting in Berlin (information provided by Ed from Zehlendorf)
Meetings in Bad Kreuznach and Aschaffenburg
1964October 11thFirst meeting of the Greater Frankfurt Area Intergroup, which consisted one German and seven American groups
1965JulyChange of the ratio of trustees of the General Serivce Board (now two-thirds majority of Alcoholic members). The AA Fellowship accepts top responsibilities for all its future affairs
1967

Publication of the book "The AA Way of Life", now called "As Bill Sees It"

1969First World Serivce Meeting held in New York with delegates from fourteen countries

Munich
HELD in US Army hospital Perlacher Forst housing area (what was held?)

1970Thirty-fifth Anniversary Convention held in Miami Beach, FL
1971January 24thWilliam Griffith Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, dies in Miami Beach, FL.
1971November 26thFirst Intergroup meeting held at Sembach Air Base;  the existing groups were divided into six areas, each area having its own Chairperson who is to be present at the Intergroup meetings
1972Second World Service meeting is held in New York.
Doctor Jack Norris, the non-alcoholic trustee, is sent from GSO New York to Germany to contact the military and meet with Intergroup members in Wiesbaden and Semback
1973Publication of "Came to Believe"Intergroup Continental Europe grows to nine areas
Meetings in Mannheim and Bamberg
1973AprilDistribution of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" reaches the one million mark
1973June 30th to July 1stFirst Intergroup Roundup in Wiesbaden
1974

Intergroup Roundup in Lahr

1975Publication of "Living Sober"German-American Roundup in Kassel, Germany
1975June 1st

English-speaking Convention in Brussels

1975September 25thFirst AA meeting in Rome at the US Embassy
1975First AA meeting in Den Haag, Holland
1976Publication of the Third Edition of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous"First AA meeting in Naples, Italy
1977Holland joins Intergroup Continental Europe
1979Frankfurt International group celebrates its 25th Anniversary
1980

Regionalization of GSO in Great Britain occurs

Intergroup is invited by GSO Great Britain to send 2 delegates to conference at Manchester
A letter is sent to New York GSO to clarify where Intergroup belongs
 GSO Great Britain extends an invitation to Continental Intergroup to become a Region in GSO Great Britain
1980 to 1981Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Switzerland and Paris become Areas in Intergroup Continental Europe
1981Intergroup Continental Europe cooperates with GSO Great Britain in planning the First European Service Meeting and since then held every two years in the Fall. Intergroup Continental Europe is represented by two delegates from each Area
Intergroup Continental Europe now has twelve Areas
Bad Tölz and Munich are combined to become Area XIII
1985Jack G. of GSO Great Britain visits meeting in Nürnberg
Intergroup Continental Europe now has fifteen Areas
1985August 3-4Jack G. from London attends the restructure of Intergroup Continental Europe as a Region in Service Structure of Great Britain
1988At the GS Conference in York, England, Intergroup Continental Europe is accepted as the fifteenth Region in the Service Structure of Great BritainThe three new Intergroups (Intergroup I, Intergroup II, and Intergroup III) become Region fifteen in the the Service Structure of Great Britain
1988October 5thLois Burnam Wilson dies
1990District I joins Region as Intergroup IV
1991Intergroups form Areas for better communication and distances
1994

Intergroups I-IV dissolve, and form new Intergroups:
Rheinland-Pfalz
Scanelux
Triborders
Hessen
Rhein-Neckar
Bavaria
Berlin
Franconia

1995

General Service Conference approves new Region title now Continental European Region

Now Continental European Region

2001AprilGeneral Service Conference question the feasibility of Continental European Region in Service Structure of Great BritainContinental European Region receives full approval as a Region in the Service Structure of GSO Great Britain

Sources: Dolores R.
Archivist, Continental European Region
December, 2001


 



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