Free German Youth

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The Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ) was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic.

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 Britain, and settled in London.

After the defeat of Hitler in 1945, the FDJ headquarters 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 communist World Federation of Democratic Youth at its annual meeting in Otwock, Poland, on August 21, 1948. Image:FDJ0.jpg 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. In 1952, Phillip Müller, 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.

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.

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.

It was a member of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer.

After German reunification under the Federal Republic of Germany 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.

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