Free German Youth

[5] The political and ideological goal of the FDJ was to influence every aspect of life of young people in the GDR, distribute Marxist–Leninist teachings and promote communist behavior.However, those who did not join lost access to organized holidays, and found it difficult (if not impossible) to be admitted to universities, pursue chosen careers, etc.The FDJ had its origins in the months following the end of the Second World War and it was formally founded on 7 March 1946 under the leadership of a youthful Erich Honecker.[9] Open to those between the ages of 14 and 25, the FDJ was crucial to preparing young East Germans for mature adult life along an officially approved route of school, vocational training, and entry into the party and officeholding.[8] FDJ members were expected to participate in the 'school year', an ideological programme, which aimed to develop a significant group of well-trained cadres suitable for future employment in the SED apparatus.[7] However, the FDJ's focus of 'happy youth life', which had characterised the 1940s, was increasingly marginalised following Walter Ulbricht's emphasis of the 'accelerated construction of socialism' at the 4th Parliament and a radicalisation of SED policy in July 1952.[8] As the only officially approved youth organisation, the FDJ quickly developed a huge bureaucratic apparatus and acquired generous financial support from state resources.[25] Military education and training received an added impetus by the FDJ in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a result of the breakdown of détente between the superpowers.FDJ units were dispatched among local communities, who chanted the names of known listeners to western programmes or stuck posters on their doors.[29] The focus on providing leisure activities for East German youth returned and the organisation of major cultural events by the FDJ, such as the 'German meeting' (Deutschlandtreffen) increased, ultimately reaching a highpoint at the 1964 festival on the public holiday of Whitsuntide.[30] In 1965, the FDJ held a musicians' talent competition across the GDR with the final to occur in Berlin although the event ultimately degenerated into a scene of chaos.[34] The children's "Spartakiads", also organised by the FDJ, alongside the Thälman Pioneers and other mass organisations, were staged in the schools, localities and districts biannually at regional and national level in order to stimulate a high level of performance and help sports functionaries to identify talented youths who could benefit from further development in East German sports schools and training centres.[40] In most cases, the basic units were subdivided into the smallest organizational division of all, the 'group' (which might consist, for example, of the FDJ members in a certain class at a school or in a particular work brigade in a factory).In the case of the larger basic units (those with more than 100 members), specialized intermediary bodies—Abteilungsorganisationen ('branch organizations')—were inserted into the organizational hierarchy, serving as a bridge to the FDJ groups below them.[42] At the end of January 1990, during the XIII Parliament the FDJ gave itself a new statute, defining itself as a "left federation" which stood for an independent GDR as a "socialist alternative on German soil", and no longer as a "helper and combat reserve of the party".The Junge Welt later spoke of a "failure of the organisation" because "the concentrated presence of former full-time officials" prevented a "radical break with the old FDJ".The reformed SED, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), founded its own new youth organization, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Junge GenossInnen, and no longer recognized the FDJ.It has reverted to a strict Marxist–Leninist political line, which is exemplified by a positive reading of East German history and the rejection of the federal republic and its annexation of the GDR.
Foundation of the FDJ in Berlin, November 1947
FDJ members digging ditches in May 1959
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