Free German Youth

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. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gx0074)]

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. [http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dfdj.html] After being a member of the Thälmann Pioneers, which was for schoolchildren ages 6 to 14, East German youths would usually join the FDJ. [http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/tp.htm]

The FDJ was intended to be the “reliable assistant and fighting reserve of the Worker’s Party,” or Socialist Unity Party of Germany. 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. [http://www.chronikderwende.de/_/english/term_jsp/key=e_fdj.html]

The FDJ was a member of the National Front and had representatives in the People's Chamber. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/pioneerg.htm]

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 even ran discos. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

Membership in the FDJ was nominally voluntarily. Many who did not join found it had a negative impact on their individual lives. Those who did not join lost access to organized holidays, and found it difficult (if not impossible) to be admitted to universities. However, most youths who refused to join did so for religious reasons. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

The FDJ was an effective instrument for influencing the coming generations. An important part of its influence was that membership in the FDJ determined access to institutions of higher learning, recreation and sports facilities, and ultimately career opportunities. Members of the FDJ were called the fight-reserve of the communist party. Making good impressions on the FDJ leaders made for good chances of becoming a party official later. This would make life in Eastern Germany much easier. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/pioneerg.htm]

History

The organization was founded before the end of World War II and the creation of a Soviet controlled East Germany. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

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. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

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. [http://www.chronikderwende.de/_/english/term_jsp/key=e_fdj.html]

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 communist World Federation of Democratic Youth at its annual meeting in Otwock, Poland, on August 21, 1948. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

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. [http://histclo.com/youth/youth/org/pio/nat/ger/ypgl-fdj.htm]

In 1952, Phillip Müller, a member of the FDJ, was shot by the West German Armed Forces called Bundeswehr in German, during a demonstration. Large numbers of the FDJ's membership were imprisoned. [http://www.fdj.de/HISTORY.html]

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. [http://www.jungewelt.de/ueber_uns/diese_zeitung.php (automated translation into English: [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.jungewelt.de/ueber_uns/diese_zeitung.php&prev=/search%3Fq%3DJunge%2BWelt%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG] )]

In 1990, the organization lost much of its membership, and now shares a building with the Left Party, but is in no way affiliated with the party or any other major political group. 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. [http://www.fdj.de/HISTORY.html]

Recently, the organization, largely isolated within the spectrum of leftist groups in Germany with 200 members, has been found canvassing for new members. The German domestic intelligence agency, which tracks anti-democratic behavior, is keeping a close eye on the FDJ's activities and movements. [http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,509998,00.html]

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-today)

References

External links

* [http://www.fdj.de Free German Youth]