In the 1960's attempts were made by protest and emancipation movements to deal with the power structure of the political and administrative system. In the 1970's a change typical of the new self-help movement, turning inward from objective to subjective problem situations occurred. This new self-help movement sought programmatically to bring together self-change and social change. At the beginning of the 1980's the self-help situation in the Federal Republic of Germany was marked by an abundance of small, loosely linked groups. The self-help movement seems to offer an attractive solution to the crisis of the welfare state although the current movement is only tangentially involved in providing material security. For many people old age brings with it a loss of social integration. Some of the elderly take advantage of opportunities for social integration provided by the state. In the Federal Republic of Germany these aspects of self-help organizations among the elderly have attracted increased interest: social activities; the development of routines and rituals that provide both security and tradition; voluntary contributions to others out of a sense of responsibility; and political participation in lobbying and protest. Elderly self-help in practice shows many ways of dealing with aging in a meaningful way. (ABL)