Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation
Encyclopedia
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. They were named after Ernst Thälmann
, the former leader of the Communist Party of Germany
who was murdered in Buchenwald concentration camp
.
The group was a subdivision of the Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ, Free German Youth
), East Germany's youth movement. It was founded on 13 December 1948 and broke apart in 1989 on German reunification
. From the 1960s and 1970s, nearly all schoolchildren between ages 6 and 14 were organised into Young Pioneer or Thälmann Pioneer groups.
The pioneer group was based on the Scouts, but organised in such a way as to teach schoolchildren aged 6 – 14 socialist ideology and prepare them for the Freie Deutsche Jugend, the FDJ. Its organisation was similar to scouting and other such organisations. Afternoons spent at the pioneer group mainly consisted of a mixture of adventure, myth-like socialist teaching and the upkeep of revolutionary traditions. In the summer, children usually went to pioneer camps similar to the West German
Wandervogel
groups or the Scouts
. International pioneer camps were also common, intended to foster friendship between different nationalities.
, run by the SED
through the FDJ. From 1949 its chairperson was Margot Feist, who became Mrs Erich Honecker
. From 1949 a newspaper was produced called "The Young Pioneer" (Der junge Pionier), later called "The Drum" (Die Trommel). In 1952 the organisation was named after Ernst Thälmann.
In 1949 the organisation already counted 714,258 young pioneers, i.e. about 30% of all school-age children in the Soviet zone. By the end of the 1950s the majority of school-age children in East Germany were in the Thälmann pioneer organisation, the range going from 67.4% in Berlin to 89.4% in Dresden. In 1989 there were nearly two million schoolchildren in the organisation, or 98% of all schoolchildren in East Germany.
The pioneers had a general meeting every few years, each time with a different theme.
In November 1989, there was unrest in the cities of the GDR, such as the Monday demonstrations
in Leipzig
. The evening before the GDR's 40th anniversary, the traditional parade of torches by the FDJ was accompanied by cries of "Gorbi
, Gorbi!" (These events, as well as FDJ and Pioneer songs, are shown in the German language
film Good Bye Lenin!
). The pioneers' chairperson, Wilfried Poßner, who had led the organisation for the last four years, resigned. He was succeeded by Birgit Gappa, who was given the task of reforming the organisation but became its last leader. In August 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall
and shortly before German reunification
, the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer organisation was dissolved. Since then, there have been no pioneer organisations in Germany.
, as well as at school festivals and pioneer events.
Opinions differ as to whether or not it was a disadvantage to refuse to join the organisation. Some people claim that they were shut out of organised events, but others say that they were allowed to take part in anything which interested them. In any case, at least one year's membership of the Young Pioneers was required to be allowed to join the Thälmann pioneers, and membership in the Thälmann pioneers was necessary to join the FDJ. Some people who did not join the FDJ later found it hard to follow the university course of their choice, or to travel as freely as others.
Registration as a member took place on 13 December, the day the organisation was founded in 1948; usually those joining the Young Pioneers were aged 6 and those joining the Thälmann pioneers aged 10.
's 20th anniversary.
Apart from presenting a youthful, positive face of socialism to the outside world, these activities were also designed to hammer home the message to the children involved that Socialism had a strong moral side. In 1971 a "solidarity action" took place in which the children collected a million roses for the American Angela Davis
's release. In 1973, the World Festival of Youth and Students
in Berlin carried the motto "For anti-imperialistic solidarity, peace and friendship".
Activities were also a way of teaching the children socialist ideals: the "Kurs 80" movement in 1978 aimed at familiarising the pioneers with the politics of the Working Class Party (the SED).
in East Berlin
, a park was opened known as the Pionierrepublik „Ernst Thälmann“ ("Ernst Thälmann Pioneers' Republic"), later changed to "pioneers' park". About 20,000 children stayed there for the meeting. A headquarters for the young pioneers was opened in Berlin at the same time.
In 1952 Wilhelm Pieck
, then President of East Germany, ceremoniously opened another "pioneers' republic" at Werbellinsee
north-east of Berlin. It was based on a Soviet pioneer camp, the Artek. It was considered a privilege to be chosen to go to this camp; every year about 1,000 pioneers were chosen to go there. The site is currently being modernised by an investor from Karlsruhe
.
During the summer months, children were sent to the summer pioneer camps in East Germany and other socialist parts of the world, such as that in Dresden
in 1952. It was on this occasion that the organisation was given the name "Ernst Thälmann".
In 1979 the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Palace was opened.
carrying FDJ and Pioneer members. In 1972 pioneers sent more than a million "messages of friendship" to the Lenin Pioneers
in the Soviet Union, who were celebrating their organisation's 50th anniversary.
In 1974, the Salut, Pobyeda action was begun in preparation for the 30th anniversary of the fall of Fascism
: the Russian
word "Pobyeda" (Победа) means "Victory!". It was the first international pioneer event at which children from Mongolia
, North Vietnam
and Cuba
took part.
worth of waste materials and the money went towards the building of a merchant ship, called the "Thälmann Pioneers". In 1957 stones were collected all across East Germany to build a new jetty at Rostock
harbour.
In 1962 the first "Week of Socialist Pioneer Aid" took place, during which the pioneers collected enough recyclable materials to pay for 900 km of the "Friendship Line"(Trasse der Freundschaft) petroleum pipeline.
In 1980, 3,307,585 Ostmark was collected for the children of Cambodia
, and in 1983, toys were collected for the children of Nicaragua
.
Other symbols were also used to give pioneers a feeling of accomplishment or pride, such as the wearing of a red necktie, which was approved officially by the Central Committee of the pioneers in 1973.
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
, the former leader of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
who was murdered in Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
.
The group was a subdivision of the Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ, 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....
), East Germany's youth movement. It was founded on 13 December 1948 and broke apart in 1989 on 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...
. From the 1960s and 1970s, nearly all schoolchildren between ages 6 and 14 were organised into Young Pioneer or Thälmann Pioneer groups.
The pioneer group was based on the Scouts, but organised in such a way as to teach schoolchildren aged 6 – 14 socialist ideology and prepare them for the Freie Deutsche Jugend, the FDJ. Its organisation was similar to scouting and other such organisations. Afternoons spent at the pioneer group mainly consisted of a mixture of adventure, myth-like socialist teaching and the upkeep of revolutionary traditions. In the summer, children usually went to pioneer camps similar to the West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
groups or the Scouts
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
. International pioneer camps were also common, intended to foster friendship between different nationalities.
History
At the 17th congress of the FDJ's central council, the "Young Pioneers" were officially founded on 13 December 1948. It was the common political mass organisation for children in the GDRGerman 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...
, run by the SED
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...
through the FDJ. From 1949 its chairperson was Margot Feist, who became Mrs Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
. From 1949 a newspaper was produced called "The Young Pioneer" (Der junge Pionier), later called "The Drum" (Die Trommel). In 1952 the organisation was named after Ernst Thälmann.
In 1949 the organisation already counted 714,258 young pioneers, i.e. about 30% of all school-age children in the Soviet zone. By the end of the 1950s the majority of school-age children in East Germany were in the Thälmann pioneer organisation, the range going from 67.4% in Berlin to 89.4% in Dresden. In 1989 there were nearly two million schoolchildren in the organisation, or 98% of all schoolchildren in East Germany.
The pioneers had a general meeting every few years, each time with a different theme.
- 1952 DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, opening meeting, naming of pioneers - 1955 Dresden
- 1958 Halle, Saxony-AnhaltHalle, Saxony-AnhaltHalle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, Für Frieden und Sozialismus (For Peace and Socialism) - 1961 ErfurtErfurtErfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, Bekenntnis zu ihrem sozialistischen Staat (Vow to the Socialist State) - 1964 ChemnitzChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
(then Karl-Marx-Stadt) - 1970 CottbusCottbusCottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
- 1972 Dresden: performance show of the Young Pioneers / Thälmann Pioneers
- 1988 ChemnitzChemnitzChemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
In November 1989, there was unrest in the cities of the GDR, such as the Monday demonstrations
Monday demonstrations in East Germany
The Monday demonstrations in East Germany in 1989 and 1990 were a series of peaceful political protests against the authoritarian communist government of the German Democratic Republic that took place every Monday evening.- Overview :...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. The evening before the GDR's 40th anniversary, the traditional parade of torches by the FDJ was accompanied by cries of "Gorbi
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, Gorbi!" (These events, as well as FDJ and Pioneer songs, are shown in the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
film Good Bye Lenin!
Good Bye Lenin!
Good Bye, Lenin! is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, released internationally in 2003. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon...
). The pioneers' chairperson, Wilfried Poßner, who had led the organisation for the last four years, resigned. He was succeeded by Birgit Gappa, who was given the task of reforming the organisation but became its last leader. In August 1990, after 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...
and shortly before 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...
, the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer organisation was dissolved. Since then, there have been no pioneer organisations in Germany.
Slogan and greeting
The pioneers' slogan was "Für Frieden und Sozialismus seid bereit – Immer bereit" ("For peace and socialism be ready - always ready"). This was usually shortened to "Be ready - always ready". This was recited at the raising of the flag. One person said the first part, "Be ready!": this was usually the pioneer leader, the teacher or the head of the local pioneer group. The pioneers all answered "Always ready", stiffening their right hand and placing it against their forehead with the thumb closest and their little finger facing skywards.Uniform
The pioneers' uniform consisted of white shirts and blouses bought by their parents, along with blue trousers or skirts until the 1970s and on special occasions. But often the only thing worn was the most important sign of the future socialist - the triangular necktie. At first this was blue, but from 1973, the Thälmann pioneers wore a red necktie like the pioneers in the Soviet Union, while the Young Pioneers kept the blue one. Pioneers wore their uniforms at political events and state holidays such as the workers' demonstrations on May DayMay Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
, as well as at school festivals and pioneer events.
Membership
Membership in both the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers was voluntary - membership was not required. However, it was seen as a matter of course by the state (and thus the schools) as well as by some parents. Most children simply followed the crowd, and nearly all children in each school class joined, although there were always some who did not do so, for example because they were religious or simply did not want to.Opinions differ as to whether or not it was a disadvantage to refuse to join the organisation. Some people claim that they were shut out of organised events, but others say that they were allowed to take part in anything which interested them. In any case, at least one year's membership of the Young Pioneers was required to be allowed to join the Thälmann pioneers, and membership in the Thälmann pioneers was necessary to join the FDJ. Some people who did not join the FDJ later found it hard to follow the university course of their choice, or to travel as freely as others.
Registration as a member took place on 13 December, the day the organisation was founded in 1948; usually those joining the Young Pioneers were aged 6 and those joining the Thälmann pioneers aged 10.
Songs
The Pioneer songs were sung at any opportunity, including the following titles:- Unser kleiner Trompeter - Our little trumpeter
- Thälmann-Lied - Thälmann song
- Pioniermarsch - Pioneers' March
- Der Volkspolizist - The People's Policeman
- Jetzt bin ich Junger Pionier - Now I am a Young Pioneer
- Unsere HeimatUnsere Heimat' was a popular song in the republic of East Germany, where it was sung by the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation. The lyrics were written by Herbert Keller and the melody by Hans Naumilkat. It is a song that expresses the concept of Heimat, and justifies its relevance within communism and...
- Our HeimatHeimatHeimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate the true meaning of the word.-The meaning of Heimat:... - Die Heimat hat sich schön gemacht - Our Homeland has smartened itself up
- Auf zum Sozialismus - Onwards to Socialism
- Kleine weiße Friedenstaube - Little White Dove of Peace
- Lied der jungen Naturforscher - Song of the Young Nature Researchers
- Wenn Mutti früh zur Arbeit geht - When Mother Goes to Work in the Morning
- Gute Freunde - Good Friends
- Hab'n Se nicht noch Altpapier - Got Any Waste Paper?
- Pioniere voran! - Onwards, Pioneers!
- Laßt Euch grüßen, Pioniere - Greetings, Pioneers
- Immer lebe die Sonne - May There Always Be SunshineMay There Always Be SunshineMay There Always Be Sunshine is a Soviet Russian song, written for children. It was created in 1962. The music was composed by Arkady Ostrovsky, and the lyrics written by Lev Oshanin...
- Friede auf unserer Erde - Peace on our Earth
Activities
The pioneers took part in a range of activities including sports, ceremonies and performances, meetings and waste collection for different causes. In their uniforms, and with their children's enthusiasm, they were an attractive accompaniment to GDR anniversaries and festivals. In 1966, for example, a delegation of children from the Pioneers and the FDJ symbolically handed over a bunch of red carnations in honour of the SEDSocialist 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...
's 20th anniversary.
Apart from presenting a youthful, positive face of socialism to the outside world, these activities were also designed to hammer home the message to the children involved that Socialism had a strong moral side. In 1971 a "solidarity action" took place in which the children collected a million roses for the American Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
's release. In 1973, the World Festival of Youth and Students
World Festival of Youth and Students
The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth , a left-wing youth organization, jointly with the International Union of Students since 1947....
in Berlin carried the motto "For anti-imperialistic solidarity, peace and friendship".
Activities were also a way of teaching the children socialist ideals: the "Kurs 80" movement in 1978 aimed at familiarising the pioneers with the politics of the Working Class Party (the SED).
Pioneer parks and camps
At the first nationwide youth meeting in 1950 at the WuhlheideOberschöneweide
Oberschöneweide is a German locality within the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick. It is, with Niederschöneweide , part of the geographic area of Schöneweide...
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...
, a park was opened known as the Pionierrepublik „Ernst Thälmann“ ("Ernst Thälmann Pioneers' Republic"), later changed to "pioneers' park". About 20,000 children stayed there for the meeting. A headquarters for the young pioneers was opened in Berlin at the same time.
In 1952 Wilhelm Pieck
Wilhelm Pieck
Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck was a German politician and a Communist. In 1949, he became the first President of the German Democratic Republic, an office abolished upon his death. He was succeeded by Walter Ulbricht, who served as Chairman of the Council of States.-Biography:Pieck was born to...
, then President of East Germany, ceremoniously opened another "pioneers' republic" at Werbellinsee
Werbellinsee
Werbellinsee is a lake in the Barnim district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located south of Joachimsthal in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve. The southern shore belongs to the Schorfheide municipality...
north-east of Berlin. It was based on a Soviet pioneer camp, the Artek. It was considered a privilege to be chosen to go to this camp; every year about 1,000 pioneers were chosen to go there. The site is currently being modernised by an investor from Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
.
During the summer months, children were sent to the summer pioneer camps in East Germany and other socialist parts of the world, such as that in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1952. It was on this occasion that the organisation was given the name "Ernst Thälmann".
In 1979 the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Palace was opened.
International events
The elite of the pioneers were often sent abroad, usually to other Socialist or Communist countries, to foster international relations and emphasize the international nature of socialism to the children. In 1967, a Friendship Train travelled to the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
carrying FDJ and Pioneer members. In 1972 pioneers sent more than a million "messages of friendship" to the Lenin Pioneers
Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union
The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
in the Soviet Union, who were celebrating their organisation's 50th anniversary.
In 1974, the Salut, Pobyeda action was begun in preparation for the 30th anniversary of the fall of Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
: the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
word "Pobyeda" (Победа) means "Victory!". It was the first international pioneer event at which children from Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
took part.
Collections
Young pioneers were also kept occupied by having to collect waste for recycling, such as paper and metal, East Germany being notoriously short on natural resources. For Wilhelm Pieck's 80th birthday, for example, children collected 1.5 million OstmarkEast German mark
The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark , in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic . Its ISO 4217 currency code was DDM...
worth of waste materials and the money went towards the building of a merchant ship, called the "Thälmann Pioneers". In 1957 stones were collected all across East Germany to build a new jetty at Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
harbour.
In 1962 the first "Week of Socialist Pioneer Aid" took place, during which the pioneers collected enough recyclable materials to pay for 900 km of the "Friendship Line"(Trasse der Freundschaft) petroleum pipeline.
In 1980, 3,307,585 Ostmark was collected for the children of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and in 1983, toys were collected for the children of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
Awards
One distinction for favoured pioneers was the awarding of medals of all kinds, such as the silver "decoration of merit for the fatherland" (Vaterländischer Verdienstorden) given to the Thälmann pioneers on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the GDR in 1959. In 1968 the same award was presented in gold in honour of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Thälmann pioneers.Other symbols were also used to give pioneers a feeling of accomplishment or pride, such as the wearing of a red necktie, which was approved officially by the Central Committee of the pioneers in 1973.
See also
- Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation sessionErnst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation sessionAn Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation session was a regular gathering of members of the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation in the GDR. The session was organised by the class teacher or an adult volunteer for all pioneers of a form and took place on Wednesday afternoons...
- Free German YouthFree German YouthThe 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....
- FRÖSIFRÖSIFRÖSI is the name of a children's magazine which was published by Junge Welt in the German Democratic Republic . It was the magazine for members of the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation. The word FRÖSI comes from the first line of the at that time familiar pioneer song "Fröhlich sein und singen"...
- Pioneer movementPioneer movementA pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined the Young Communist League...
- Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet UnionYoung Pioneer organization of the Soviet UnionThe Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
- Young Pioneers of ChinaYoung Pioneers of ChinaThe Young Pioneers of China is a mass youth organization for children aged six to fourteen in the People's Republic of China. The Young Pioneers of China is run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China...
Further reading
- After The Wall: Confessions from an East German Childhood and the Life that Came Next by Jana Hensel, 2004 ISBN 1586482661
- Youth in the GDR: Everyday life of young people under socialism by Jochen Weyer, 1974