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develop along less regimented lines. The youth communique of 1963 provided an opportunity for young people to form groups ostensibly free of overriding party control. While continuing to urge participation in regime-sponsored programs, the authorities permitted some politically independent groups to be formed. A number of newly founded hobby clubs matured into political discussion groups, and several theater schools produced works objectionable to the regime.
In the fall of 1965 it became apparent to the party that its relaxation of control was responsible for much of the intellectual resistance and youthful dissidence that culminated in rioting in Leipzig in October. At the 11th plenum of the SED Central Committee in December, a renewed crackdown on cultural and social activities was called for by party secretary Erich Honecker. The influence of "decadent Western" fads was blamed for the rash of antiregime attitudes displayed by many young people. Lack of parental guidance was cited as the reason for the neglect by many youth of the "opportunities" provided by state organizations such as the Ernst Thaelmann Pioneers and the Free German Youth (FDJ), and the Family Code introduced in 1966 confirmed the regime's renewed interest in tighter control of youth.
Basically, the code is a reaffirmation of marital and parental responsibilities found in any Western country, but it specifies certain "socialist duties." It precisely designates which partner, in varying conditions, is responsible for alimony and child support, and it charges parents to encourage their children to participate in state youth groups. An innovation in the code is provision for choice of either the husband's or wife's name as the family name. So far this option has been largely ignored by the populace.
Some of the dissident youth who demonstrated against the attitude of the regime toward the occupation of Czechoslovakia were the children of prominent party members. The party held the parents responsible under the state's Family Code for failing to "exercise their rights and duties in the education of the children." As a result, a number of ranking party members were demoted. In addition, a legally binding ordinance for the "protection of children and youth" was promulgated in 1969, which includes explicit penalties for a number of minor juvenile offenses that were frowned upon in the past but allowed to go uncorrected in the legal code. The new ordinance is particularly harsh about enforcing stringent curfews on children and teenagers.
Pride in local organizations and traditions has been greatly eroded by massive internal and foreign migrations, the emasculation of local authority by the central government, and by the substitution of Communist-led "mass" organizations for traditional groups. Farm collectives in rural areas and workers' brigades in the factories now replace the small, cohesive social units formerly found in villages and in the union locals in the industrial centers. Although Germany had been the cradle of free trade unionism, hardly a trace of this tradition remains in East Germany, all the unions having been absorbed by the SED-controlled Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB). Few independent organizations remain; virtually all groups are either sponsored, controlled, directed, or infiltrated by the party (Figure 2).
| Name | Claimed Membership | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) | 7,200,000 (1972) | Official representative of all East German labor force. |
| Association of German Consumers Cooperatives (VDK) | 4,112,400 (1970) | Retails consumer goods, particularly in rural areas. |
| Society for German-Soviet Friendship (GDSF) | 3,500,000 (1970) | Publicizes and popularizes Soviet accomplishments. |
| Free German Youth (FDJ) | 1,700,000 (1972) | Official youth group which runs extensive program of political indoctrination and sports for young adults between ages 14 and 26. |
| Ernst Thaelmann Pioneers | 1,800,000 (1972) | Junior affiliate of FDJ, for youth between 6 and 14. |
| German Gymnastics and Sports Association (DTSB) | 2,155,800 (1970) | Official channel for control and promotion of sporting activities. |
| Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD) | 1,300,000 (1972) | Promotes a wider role for women in national life. |
| German Cultural Association (DKB) | 185,000 (1972) | Designed to cement ties between regime and intelligentsia. |
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110024-7
