The Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ) was the official youth movement of the government of the German Democratic Republic. A Youth organization is a formal organization aimed at children and adolescents for education and socialization. ... East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), was a socialist country that existed from 1949 to 1990. ...

Founded in 1936 in Germany to oppose Hitler's rule, as an underground Communist movement it was proscribed from its inception, and had its headquarters in exile in various cities—firstly Paris in 1936, then Prague in 1938. After Hitler's conquest of much of Europe, the FDJ was forced, like many other anti-fascist movements, to move to Great Britain, and settled in London. 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Prague (Czech: Praha, German: Prag) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... St. ...

After the defeat of Hitler in 1945, the FDJ moved to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and once again became active in German politics. When Germany was partioned 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 international communist youth movement at a meeting in Otwock, Poland, in 1948. 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Komsomol (Комсомол) is a syllabic abbreviation word, from the Russian Kommunisticheski Soyuz Molodiozhi (Коммунистический союз молодёжи), or Communist Union of Youth. The organisation served as the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU), the youngest members being fourteen years old, the upper limit for an age... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Because of its Stalinist leanings and its official position in 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. In 1952, Phillip Muller, a member of the FDJ, was shot by the West German armed forces during a demonstration. Large numbers of the FDJ's membership were imprisoned. Stalinism is a brand of political theory, and the political and economic system implemented by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. ... East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), was a communist state that existed from 1949 to 1990 in the former Soviet occupation zone of Germany. ... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Konrad Adenauer (January 5, 1876 – April 19, 1967) was a conservative German statesman. ... The Communist Party of Germany (in German, Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – KPD) was formed in December of 1918 from the Spartacist League, which originated as a small factional grouping within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) opposed to the First World War on the grounds that it was an imperialist war in... 1952 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

In the GDR, however, the FDJ thrived as an arm of the state. After being a member of the Young Pioneers, then the Thälmann pioneers, East German youths would usually join the FDJ; if they did not, their ability to pursue higher education would likely suffer. Many of those who did not join did so for religious reasons. Czechoslovakian pioneers A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. ... The Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation, consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14, in East Germany. ...

While the movement was intended to indoctrinate 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. Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...

It was a member of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer. The National Front was a united front of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany. ... The Volkskammer was the Parliament of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). ...

After German reunification under the BRD the organisation lost nearly all its membership, and today exists only in a rump form, sharing a building with the PDS, although not recognised as its youth movement. Legally, the statutes declaring the FDJ an illegal organisation are still in place, although the organisation operates openly. German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR - in English often called East Germany) were incorporated into The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) (FRG). ... For the PDS of India, see Party of Democratic Socialism (India). ...

External link

• Free German Youth