These traditions still exist, though academic „Mensur“ fencing has become rare nowadays.
Fencing is a tradition that, among German students, goes back to the Middle Ages, when the first universities were founded.
They were armed with swords, in order to defend themselves on the way to their universities, since they often had huge amounts of money with them ( to pay for their tuition and keep). Thus, from sword practice of the Middle Ages there sprang the „Mensur“ of the latter 19th century.
By then, it was done for sport, since phenol had been invented as a disinfectant. This made the practice non- lethal, as the risk of infection was done away with.
My fraternity still does it, though the days of the extremely bloody Mensur fencing are long over, ending in the Thirties when all German fraternities were illegalized.
Interesting. I read it had been made illegal just before WW1 but it looks like it was brought back in the 1930’s
https://portraitofwar.com/2017/12/26/wwi-german-facial-dueling-scars-mensur-scars-and-wwi-portraits/
Do you agree with my assessment of Germany going from one extreme to the other? (comment 27)
Sometimes outsiders can see these things, and sometimes we are just misinterpreting.