Jugendweihe
Encyclopedia
Jugendweihe is a secular coming of age ceremony
practiced by German
14 year olds. It originated among the secular societies in the 19th century as an alternative to Confirmation by the Roman Catholic
and Protestant
churches. It was especially widespread in East Germany, where atheism
was encouraged under the GDR
, but has become less popular since German reunification
. Today it is occasionally known as Jugendfeier (youth ceremony).
tradition was absorbed into the labour movement
. During the era of National Socialism a few of the associations that organised Jugendweihen were forbidden, but the Jugendweihe itself was not banned. After the war the secular communities revived the tradition. In February 1950 the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
refused the co-operation of the party, trade unions and Free German Youth
with Jugendweihen that were performed in the way of earlier freethought associations. Nonetheless Jugendweihen continued in the freethought tradition, in which many representatives of Party and state took part, and despite frequent proposals Jugendweihen were not forbidden in the GDR
until 1954.
in May 1953 when the Politburo
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
passed a resolution on "Measures for the Recovery of the Political Situation in the GDR", which suggested a socialist alternative to Christian Confirmation. Under heavy Soviet pressure the ceremonies were established alongside confirmation. Even young people with a denominational commitment were expected to take part in the Jugendweihe ceremonies; those who did not take part would have to contend with significant disadvantages and repression. The first Jugendweihe took place in East Berlin
on 27th March 1955, at which the 14-year-olds were inducted into adulthood and received their identity papers
. After the ceremony had taken place they would be addressed with the formal pronoun Sie (as opposed to the informal du).
For a year before the actual Jugendweihen "youth courses" were held, which mostly consisted of visits to workplaces, lectures on sexuality
and politics, ball
s or similar social pursuits.
All participants were invited to the ceremony, which usually took place in a local hall or theatre. After an official speech and the pledge
to the socialist State, most were presented flowers by the Young Pioneers
. Until 1974 the state gave every young adolescent the book Weltall Erde Mensch (Universe, Earth, Man), which contained general knowledge in addition to propagandistic sayings. After 1974 everyone received the purely propagandistic book Der Sozialismus - Deine Welt (Socialism - Your World) and in the last years of the GDR the book Vom Sinn unseres Lebens (Of the Meaning of Our Lives) was given. There was also a certificate. After the public ceremony, most of the rest of the day was spent with one's family and classmates.
The pledge was altered five times by the Central Committee throughout its history. The general format of each pledge was the same; the opening, the question of "Are you prepared..?" and the response of "Yes, we pledge!" remained unchanged in each version. As time went past, however, the language of the pledge became ever more overtly patriotic and revolutionary.
The first and second alterations of the pledge, made in 1955 and 1956, only made fairly minor changes in wording. The 1958 pledge, however, explicitly required young people to swear to the "great and noble cause of socialism
", and to defend peace with the Soviet people, though also with "all peace-loving people in the world".
The fourth alteration of the pledge, made on 21st November 1968, was even more revolutionary in tone; it dropped general references such as that to "all peace-loving people", and asked young people to "defend socialism against every imperialist attack". It accepted young people into a community "under the direction of the worker class and its revolutionary Party". The final alteration, in 1985 (four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall
), was minor in comparison, adding a paragraph in which the attendants pledged to respect and help one another, and extending the closing address, emphasising the "heavy responsibility" conferred on the newly come-of-age.
The final version of the pledge ran:
Jugendweihen came under heavy pressure, with public recognition and state assistance gone. Currently it is prohibited in some eastern states to perform Jugendweihen in schools. Those who attend them are not given the same benefits as those who attend Christian confirmations (a day off school), as the consecrations are not part of a recognised religion or similar association.
Before the ceremony the youngsters can attend specially arranged events or a course, in which they work on topics like history
and multiculturalism
, culture
and creativity
, civil rights
and duties, nature
and technology
, professions and getting a job, as well as lifestyles and human relations. Nowadays there are many different groups organising Jugendweihes, but the most important ones are Jugendweihe Deutschland e. V., der Humanistische Verband Deutschland ("the Humanist Association of Germany"), der Freidenkerverband ("the Freethinker Association") and die Arbeiterwohlfahrt ("the Worker Welfare").
Secular coming of age ceremony
Secular coming of age ceremonies, sometimes called civil confirmations, are ceremonies arranged by organizations that are secular, i.e. not aligned to any religion. Their purpose is to prepare adolescents for their life as adults...
practiced by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
14 year olds. It originated among the secular societies in the 19th century as an alternative to Confirmation by the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
churches. It was especially widespread in East Germany, where atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
was encouraged under the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, but has become less popular since German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. Today it is occasionally known as Jugendfeier (youth ceremony).
History
The term Jugendweihe first appeared in 1852, to mark a new form of initiation developed by the secular movements, who developed a course of moral instruction for their children, founded on cultural history, as an alternative to Christian teachings. The concluding Jugendweihe was above all a ceremony to mark the child's leaving school, and so was held at the age of 14. Since the 1890s the form of the ceremony has remained largely unchanged. The teacher makes a speech about the humanist worldview, the young person makes a pledge, and is given 'pages of remembrance' (Erinnerungsblätter) and a commemorative book. The ceremony is broken up by songs and recitals. This freethinkingFreethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
tradition was absorbed into the labour movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
. During the era of National Socialism a few of the associations that organised Jugendweihen were forbidden, but the Jugendweihe itself was not banned. After the war the secular communities revived the tradition. In February 1950 the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
refused the co-operation of the party, trade unions and Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
with Jugendweihen that were performed in the way of earlier freethought associations. Nonetheless Jugendweihen continued in the freethought tradition, in which many representatives of Party and state took part, and despite frequent proposals Jugendweihen were not forbidden in the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
until 1954.
Jugendweihen in East Germany
The decision to convert the Jugendweihe into a socialist ceremony was taken in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in May 1953 when the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
passed a resolution on "Measures for the Recovery of the Political Situation in the GDR", which suggested a socialist alternative to Christian Confirmation. Under heavy Soviet pressure the ceremonies were established alongside confirmation. Even young people with a denominational commitment were expected to take part in the Jugendweihe ceremonies; those who did not take part would have to contend with significant disadvantages and repression. The first Jugendweihe took place in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
on 27th March 1955, at which the 14-year-olds were inducted into adulthood and received their identity papers
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
. After the ceremony had taken place they would be addressed with the formal pronoun Sie (as opposed to the informal du).
For a year before the actual Jugendweihen "youth courses" were held, which mostly consisted of visits to workplaces, lectures on sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
and politics, ball
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
s or similar social pursuits.
All participants were invited to the ceremony, which usually took place in a local hall or theatre. After an official speech and the pledge
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
to the socialist State, most were presented flowers by the Young Pioneers
Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation
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...
. Until 1974 the state gave every young adolescent the book Weltall Erde Mensch (Universe, Earth, Man), which contained general knowledge in addition to propagandistic sayings. After 1974 everyone received the purely propagandistic book Der Sozialismus - Deine Welt (Socialism - Your World) and in the last years of the GDR the book Vom Sinn unseres Lebens (Of the Meaning of Our Lives) was given. There was also a certificate. After the public ceremony, most of the rest of the day was spent with one's family and classmates.
The development of the East German Jugendweihe pledges
In every East German Jugendweihe the young people would dedicate themselves to the ideals of the state. The first version of the pledge, published by the Central Committee for Jugendweihe on 17th February 1955, ran as follows:The pledge was altered five times by the Central Committee throughout its history. The general format of each pledge was the same; the opening, the question of "Are you prepared..?" and the response of "Yes, we pledge!" remained unchanged in each version. As time went past, however, the language of the pledge became ever more overtly patriotic and revolutionary.
The first and second alterations of the pledge, made in 1955 and 1956, only made fairly minor changes in wording. The 1958 pledge, however, explicitly required young people to swear to the "great and noble cause of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
", and to defend peace with the Soviet people, though also with "all peace-loving people in the world".
The fourth alteration of the pledge, made on 21st November 1968, was even more revolutionary in tone; it dropped general references such as that to "all peace-loving people", and asked young people to "defend socialism against every imperialist attack". It accepted young people into a community "under the direction of the worker class and its revolutionary Party". The final alteration, in 1985 (four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
), was minor in comparison, adding a paragraph in which the attendants pledged to respect and help one another, and extending the closing address, emphasising the "heavy responsibility" conferred on the newly come-of-age.
The final version of the pledge ran:
Jugendweihen today
After reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Jugendweihen came under heavy pressure, with public recognition and state assistance gone. Currently it is prohibited in some eastern states to perform Jugendweihen in schools. Those who attend them are not given the same benefits as those who attend Christian confirmations (a day off school), as the consecrations are not part of a recognised religion or similar association.
Before the ceremony the youngsters can attend specially arranged events or a course, in which they work on topics like history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and duties, nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, professions and getting a job, as well as lifestyles and human relations. Nowadays there are many different groups organising Jugendweihes, but the most important ones are Jugendweihe Deutschland e. V., der Humanistische Verband Deutschland ("the Humanist Association of Germany"), der Freidenkerverband ("the Freethinker Association") and die Arbeiterwohlfahrt ("the Worker Welfare").
Books for Jugendweihe participants in East Germany
- Weltall - Erde - Mensch, Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1954 - 1974
- Der Sozialismus, Deine Welt, Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1975 -
- Vom Sinn unseres Lebens, Verlag Neues Leben Berlin, 1983 - 1989, ISBN 3-355-00493-6
External links
- Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V.
- Jugendverein "Roter Baum" e.V.
- Deutsche WelleDeutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
- A Secular Rite of Passage - German Propaganda Archive
- Communist East Germany: Youth Indoctrination