The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ (German: Freie Deutsche Jugend), was the official communist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.
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. After being a member of the Thälmann Pioneers, which was for schoolchildren ages 6 to 14, East German youths would usually join the FDJ.
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. 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 promotion of communist behavior. 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.
While the movement was intended to promote Marxist-Leninist ideology among East Germany's young people, 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-air rock concerts. The Festival of Political Songs was an officially sponsored event from 1970 to 1990.
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“Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! in the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries. Bashful or bold then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary.”
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