Jugendweihe

Jugendweihe ("youth consecration") is a secular coming of age ceremony practiced by German 14 year olds. It originated among the secular societies in the 19th century as an alternative to Confirmation by the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. It was especially widespread in East Germany, where atheism was encouraged under the GDR, but has become less popular since German reunification. Today it is occasionally known as Jugendfeier ("youth ceremony").

History

The term "Jugendweihe" first appeared in 1852, to mark a new form of initiation developed by the secular movements, who developed a course of moral instruction for their children, founded on cultural history, as an alternative to Christian teachings. The concluding "Jugendweihe" was above all a ceremony to mark the child's leaving school, and so was held at the age of 14. Since the 1890s the form of the ceremony has remained largely unchanged. The teacher makes a speech about the humanist worldview, the young person makes a pledge, and is given 'pages of remembrance' ("Erinnerungsblätter") and a commemorative book. The ceremony is broken up by songs and recitals. This freethinking tradition was absorbed into the labour movement. During the era of National Socialism a few of the associations that organised "Jugendweihen" were forbidden, but the "Jugendweihe" itself was not banned. After the war the secular communities revived the tradition. In February 1950 the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany refused the co-operation of the party, trade unions and Free German Youth with "Jugendweihen" that were performed in the way of earlier freethought associations. Nonetheless "Jugendweihen" continued in the freethought tradition, in which many representatives of Party and state took part, and despite frequent proposals "Jugendweihen" were not forbidden in the GDR until 1954.

"Jugendweihen" in East Germany

The decision to convert the "Jugendweihe" into a socialist ceremony was taken in Moscow in May 1953 when the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union passed a resolution on "Measures for the Recovery of the Political Situation in the GDR", which suggested a socialist alternative to Christian Confirmation. Under heavy Soviet pressure the ceremonies were established alongside confirmation. Even young people with a denominational commitment were expected to take part in the "Jugendweihe" ceremonies; those who did not take part would have to contend with significant disadvantages and repression. The first "Jugendweihe" took place in East Berlin on 27th March 1955, at which the 14-year-olds were inducted into adulthood and received their identity papers. After the ceremony had taken place they would be addressed with the formal pronoun "Sie" (as opposed to the informal "du").

For a year before the actual "Jugendweihen" "youth courses" were held, which mostly consisted of visits to workplaces, lectures on sexuality and politics, balls or similar social pursuits.

All participants were invited to the ceremony, which usually took place in a local hall or theatre. After an official speech and the pledge to the socialist State, most were presented flowers by the Young Pioneers. Until 1974 the state gave every young adolescent the book "Weltall Erde Mensch" (Universe, Earth, Man), which contained general knowledge in addition to propagandistic sayings. After 1974 everyone received the purely propagandistic book "Der Sozialismus - Deine Welt" (Socialism - Your World) and in the last years of the GDR the book "Vom Sinn unseres Lebens" (Of the Meaning of Our Lives) was given. There was also a certificate. After the public ceremony, most of the rest of the day was spent with one's family and classmates.

The development of the East German Jugendweihe pledges

In every East German "Jugendweihe" the young people would dedicate themselves to the ideals of the state. The first version of the pledge, published by the Central Committee for Jugendweihe on 17th February 1955, ran as follows:

Are you prepared to use all your strength, to fight for peace with all those who love it, and to defend it to the last breath?

"Yes, we pledge!"

Are you prepared to use all your strength, to fight together with all patriots for a united, peace-loving, democratic and independent Germany? "Yes, we pledge!"

Are you prepared to use all your strength for the building of a happy life, for progress in economy, science and art?

"Yes, we pledge!"

Now accept this promise, from the community of all the builders of our people: to protect you, to support you, to help you, so that you will reach the high goal that you have set for yourselves.

The pledge was altered five times by the Central Committee throughout its history. The general format of each pledge was the same; the opening, the question of "Are you prepared..?" and the response of "Yes, we pledge!" remained unchanged in each version. As time went past, however, the language of the pledge became ever more overtly patriotic and revolutionary.

The first and second alterations of the pledge, made in 1955 and 1956, only made fairly minor changes in wording. The 1958 pledge, however, explicitly required young people to swear to the "great and noble cause of socialism", and to defend peace with the Soviet people, though also with "all peace-loving people in the world".

The fourth alteration of the pledge, made on 21st November 1968, was even more revolutionary in tone; it dropped general references such as that to "all peace-loving people", and asked young people to "defend socialism against every imperialist attack". It accepted young people into a community "under the direction of the worker class and its revolutionary Party". The final alteration, in 1985 (four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall), was minor in comparison, adding a paragraph in which the attendants pledged to respect and help one another, and extending the closing address, emphasising the "heavy responsibility" conferred on the newly come-of-age.

The final version of the pledge ran:

Dear young friends!

Are you prepared, as young citizens of our German Democratic Republic, true to the Constitution, to work and fight with us for the great and noble cause of socialism and to cherish the revolutionary heritage of the people? Answer me: "Yes, we pledge!"

Are you prepared, as loyal sons and daughters of our workers' and farmers' state, to strive for higher education and culture, to become masters of your crafts, to learn unceasingly and to use all your knowledge and ability for the realisation of our great humanistic ideals? Answer me: "Yes, we pledge!"

Are you prepared, as worthy members of the socialist community, to give each other respect and help constantly and in comradely co-operation, and to make your road to personal happiness that of the struggle for the happiness of the people?

"Yes, we pledge!"

Are you prepared, as true patriots, to deepen friendship with the Soviet Union, to strengthen the brotherhood with the socialist countries, to fight in the spirit of proletariat internationalism, to protect peace and to defend socialism against every imperialist attack? Answer me:

"Yes, we pledge!"

We have heard your pledge. You have set yourselves a high and noble goal. We solemnly accept you into the great community of working peoples, which, under the direction of the worker class and its revolutionary Party, united in will and action, is building the developed socialist society in the German Democratic Republic.

We are conferring a heavy responsibility on you. At any time we will help you with advice and action to shape the socialist future.

"Jugendweihen" today

After reunification "Jugendweihen" came under heavy pressure, with public recognition and state assistance gone. Currently it is prohibited in some eastern states to perform "Jugendweihen" in schools. Those who attend them are not given the same benefits as those who attend Christian confirmations (a day off school), as the consecrations are not part of a recognised religion or similar association.

Nonetheless, in the eastern states sixty to seventy percent of the age group take part in "Jugendweihe" ceremonies.Fact|date=June 2007 Before the ceremony the youngsters can attend specially arranged events or a course, in which they work on topics like history and multiculturalism, culture and creativity, civil rights and duties, nature and technology, professions and getting a job, as well as lifestyles and human relations. [cite web |url=http://www.jugendweihe.de/Jugendweihe.html |title=Jugendweihe Heute |author= |publisher=Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V. |accessdate=2007-11-15|language=German] Nowadays there are many different groups organising Jugendweihes, but the most important ones are Jugendweihe Deutschland e. V., der Humanistische Verband Deutschland ("the Humanist Association of Germany"), der Freidenkerverband ("the Freethinker Association") and die Arbeiterwohlfahrt ("the Worker Welfare"). [cite web |url=http://www.jugendweihe.de/Geschichte-der-Jugendweihe.html |title=Geschichte der Jugendweihe |author=Krause, Klaus-Peter |publisher=Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V. |accessdate=2007-11-15|language=German]

References

Books for "Jugendweihe" participants in East Germany

*"Weltall - Erde - Mensch", Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1954 - 1974
*"Der Sozialismus, Deine Welt", Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1975 -
*"Vom Sinn unseres Lebens", Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1983 - 1989, ISBN 3-355-00493-6

External links

* "This article is based on a translation of the [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendweihe corresponding German-language Wikipedia article] , retrieved on 6th April 2006."
* [http://www.jugendweihe.de/ Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V.]
* [http://www.roter-baum.de/ Jugendverein "Roter Baum" e.V.]
* Deutsche Welle - [http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1516020,00.html A Secular Rite of Passage]
* [http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/jweihe.htm German Propaganda Archive]
* [http://veritas-catholic.blogspot.com/2006/11/communist-east-germany-youth.html Communist East Germany: Youth Indoctrination ]