APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110019-3
under direct SED guidance. The four major organizations are the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB), the Free German Youth (FDJ), the Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD), and the German Cultural Association (DKB). From the regime's point of view, the organizations provide a convenient channel for transmitting party directives to the rank and file and mobilizing the people to achieve various objectives set by the regime. At the same time, because these mass organizations are represented in the national and local legislatures through the National Front single-list elections tickets, they afford a supplementary means of directing popular interest into regime-approved channels. From the viewpoint of the ordinary citizen, membership in the organizations is attractive only because certain privileges can be obtained. Many persons wishing to rise economically or politically find that participation in one or more of the organizations is a prerequisite.
The FDGB, organized in 1945 and affiliated since 1949 with the Communist-controlled World Federation of Trade Unions, is the organization which nominally represents all East German workers. In contrast to the role of trade union federations in the West, the FDGB does not represent the interests of the workers but instead functions as an agent of the regime, cooperating with management in the nationalized industries and with the state administrations in setting up and enforcing production quotas and in maintaining control over workers. The FDGB also administers the social insurance program and operates rest homes.
The federation and its member unions are organized on a territorial basis, with executive bodies at national, district, county, and local levels. The highest body of the FDGB is its congress, which meets every 4 years to elect a chairman (SED Politburo member Herbert Warnke in 1972) and a presidium to lead the organization. In 1972 the FDGB claimed 7.2 million members (or about 88% of the total work force), but many persons have joined the organization merely to avoid losing jobs, privileges, or certain benefits.
The FDJ and its junior affiliate, the Ernst Thalmann Pioneers, which includes the Young Pioneers, were among the first organizations permitted by the Soviet authorities in 1945-1946. Patterned after the Soviet youth organization, the FDJ exercises important functions in the educational and political indoctrination of East German children and youths. Its chief function is to prepare future cadres for the SED. The FDJ maintains an extensive program of activities and facilities, including sports events, pre-military training, trips and expeditions, parades and rallies, recreational centers, and vacation camps. An affiliate of Communist-front World Federation of Democratic Youth, the FDJ accepts members 14 to 26 years of age; most of these members were previously enrolled in the Ernst Thalmann Pioneers, which is open to children 6 to 14 years of age. The FDJ organization is patterned after that of the SED, with bodies at the local and district level receiving direction from the national leaders. A congress meets every 4 years to elect a central council, a bureau, and a secretariat to conduct FDJ affairs until the next congress. The FDJ claimed 1.7 million members in May 1972, while the Ernst Thalmann Pioneers had some 1.8 million.
Despite strenuous recruitment campaigns and the preference given to FDJ members for the most desirably jobs and for admission to the universities, the FDJ has not attracted East German youth to the extent desired by the SED. Only about 60% of the 14- to 26-year age group are members. Various concessions granted by the regime to youth and efforts to enliven the generally monotonous FDJ meetings and publications have not been productive.
The Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD) was founded in August 1948 with the goal of drawing women into more active participation in the economic life of the nation. Despite intensive membership campaigns, the majority of women have not joined its ranks. Total membership has remained constant at 1.3 million.
The German Cultural Association (DKB) was created in 1945 by the Soviet military authorities and was entrusted with the task of unifying all members of the intelligentsia. Since the early 1950s the creative artists, musicians and writers, have had their own autonomous organizations, but the association, with its 185,000 members, plays a peripheral role by sponsoring lectures, discussions, poetry readings, concerts, and exhibitions.
Other large organizations include the Society for German-Soviet Friendship (GDSF) and the German Gymnastics and Sports Association (DTSB). Each organization is patently designed to propagandize and control a specific cross section of the population. A more specialized role is played by the Society for Sport and Technology (GST), which was organized in 1952 under the Ministry for National Defense to provide guidance and facilities for pre-military training and sports activities which are useful in military service. The society offers marksmanship, driver training, telecommunications operation, parachuting, and other related activities.
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110019-3
