The DFK was founded in Kassel on 6 November 1949 as the umbrella organization for the then three allied occupied zones in Germany (British, French and American). The entry in the register of associations took place in 1953 at the Hanover District Court.
In 1953, the DFK awarded an honorary membership to one of the pioneers of the Freikörperkultur (FKK) movement, Richard Ungewitter, despite the allegations of eugenics and anti-Semitic activities that had been made against him. Conversely, in 1964, Adolf Koch, the socialist pioneer of Freikörperkultur in the former Weimar Republic, was excluded from the association because Koch's public relations work was considered too aggressive.
In 2007 the DFK threatened to leave the International Naturist Federation (INF). For a number of years before, the DFK had criticized, among others, the INF's alleged misuse of membership fees. After a personal discussion between the associations on 18 August 2007, the DFK remains one of the major net contributors to the INF.
In 2009 the 60th anniversary of the DFK took place in Dresden.
By far the most extensive collection on the historical and current situation of the Freikörperkultur (free body culture), the "International Naturist Library" (formerly the Damm - Baunatal Collection), is located in the Lower Saxony Institute for Sport History [de] in Hanover, Germany.