Free German Youth
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The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ (German: Freie Deutsche Jugend,) was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.[1]
The organization was meant for young people, both male and female, between the ages of 14 and 25 and comprised about 75% of the young population of former East Germany.[2] After being a member of the Thälmann Pioneers, which was for schoolchildren ages 6 to 14, East German youths would usually join the FDJ.[3]
The FDJ was intended to be the “reliable assistant and fighting reserve of the Worker’s Party,” or Socialist Unity Party of Germany, was a member of the National Front and had representatives in the People's Chamber. [4] The political and ideological goal of the FDJ was to influence every aspect of life of young people in the GDR, distribution of Marxism-Leninism and the indoctrination of socialist behavior. [5] Membership in the FDJ was nominally voluntary but those who did not join lost access to organized holidays, and found it more difficult to be admitted to universities, pursue chosen careers etc. The majority of youths who refused to join did so for religious reasons. [6] [7]
While the movement was intended to indoctrinate East Germany's young people in Marxism-Leninism, it did not concentrate on this to the exclusion of other activities. It arranged thousands of holidays for young people through its Jugendtourist agency, and ran discos and open rock air-concerts.[6]
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[edit] History
In 1936, the organization was founded as an underground anti-fascist, communist movement to oppose Hitler and the Nazi Party's rule. However, the Gestapo of the Third Reich effectively prevented pro-communist groups such as the FDJ from operating within the country and the group was subsequently pushed out of Nazi Germany. During the same year, the organization moved its headquarters to Paris, to Prague in 1938 and later to London. [6]
After the defeat of Hitler and the Nazi Party, the FDJ headquarters moved to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and once again became active in German politics in 1946.[5]
When Germany was partitioned into the eastern German Democratic Republic and the western Federal Republic of Germany, supported by the Soviet Union and the United States respectively, the FDJ assumed a role in the GDR which was similar to the Soviet Komsomol. It was recognized as part of the World Federation of Democratic Youth at its annual meeting in Otwock, Poland, on August 21, 1948.[6]
Because of its pro-communist orientation and links to East Germany, the FDJ was treated with suspicion by the West German government. In 1951, the government of Konrad Adenauer banned the FDJ along with the KPD.[6]
In May 1952, Phillip Müller, a member of the FDJ, was shot by the German Police during a demonstration.[8]
The FDJ's official newspaper was Junge Welt, which at one time was the largest-circulation paper in East Germany. It continues publication today on a smaller scale without FDJ affiliation.[9]
In 1990, the organization lost much of its membership, and now shares the Karl-Liebknecht-Haus in Berlin with the Left Party and other organizations, but is in no way affiliated with the party or any other major political group. Only in West Germany the FDJ works together with the Workers' League for the Restoration of the Communist Party of Germany Legally, the statutes declaring the FDJ an illegal organization are still in place, although the organization operates openly and claims they have legal status as part of an agreement in 1990 between both countries prior to annexation.[10]
Recently, the organization, has been found canvassing for new members. The German domestic intelligence agency, which tracks extremist behavior, is keeping a close eye on the FDJ's activities and movements.[11]
[edit] Chairman
- Adolf "Call" Buchholz (May 8th, 1938 - March 1942, in Prague / London)
- Horst Brasch (12 Apr., 1942 - end 1945)
- Alfred Kleeberg (late 1945-summer 1946)
- Erich Honecker (7 March 1946-27 May 1955)
- Karl Namokel (1955 - 1959)
- Horst Schumann (1959-1967)
- Guenther Jahn (1967-1974)
- Egon Krenz (1974-1983)
- Eberhard Aurich (1983-1989)
- Jens Rücker (around 1991)
- Andrea Grimm(around 2000)
- Ringo Ehlert (2002-2007)
[edit] References
- ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gx0074)
- ^ http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dfdj.html
- ^ http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/tp.htm
- ^ http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/pioneerg.htm
- ^ a b http://www.chronikderwende.de/_/english/term_jsp/key=e_fdj.html
- ^ a b c d e http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm
- ^ http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/pioneerg.htm
- ^ Wiggershaus, Rolf (1994), The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories, and Political Significance, MIT Press, ISBN 0262731134 p.444
- ^ http://www.jungewelt.de/ueber_uns/diese_zeitung.php (automated translation into English: [1])
- ^ http://www.fdj.de/HISTORY.html
- ^ http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,509998,00.html
[edit] External links
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