The Thälmann Pioneers, also known as the Young Pioneers, were a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 10 to 14, in East Germany. They were named after Ernst Thaelmann, the former leader of the Communist Party of Germany who died in Buchenwald concentration camp.

The group was a subdivision of the Freie Deutsche Jugend (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.

History

Conception

The pioneer group was based on the pathfinders, 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 the pathfinders 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 Falken (Falcons) or Wandervogel groups. International pioneer camps were also common, intended to foster friendship between different nationalities.

Founding

At the 17th congress of the FDJ's central council, the "Young Pioneers" were offocially founded on 13 December 1948. It was the common political mass organisation for children in the GDR, run by the SED through the FDJ. From 1949 its chairperson was Margot Feist, who became Mrs Erich Honecker. From 1949 a newsaper was produced called "The Young Pioneer" (Der junge Pioneer, later called "The Drum" (Der Trommel). In 1949 the organisation already counted 714,258 young pioneers, i.e. about 30% of all school-age children in the Soviet zone.

1950s

At the first nationwide youth meeting in 1950 at the Wuhlheide 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 1951 the third "world sports festival for young people and students" took place in Berlin, with 20,000 young people from 104 countries taking part. 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. Another "distinction" 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.

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".

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 Ostmark 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.

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.

See also

• Pioneer movement