Red Youth ( nl, Rode Jeugd) was a communist organization in the
Netherlands
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, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It originated in the group around the periodical ''Rode Jeugd'', which had been started by the pro-
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
'' Rode Vlag''-grouping in 1966. In October 1967 the group around ''Rode Jeugd'' broke away, and formed their own organisation, Red Youth. The group was most active in the city of
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,
(born 1950) became the national secretary of Red Youth. Inside Red Youth two wings emerged. On one side stood the 'terrorists', who were inspired by the West German
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970.
The ...
(''Rote Armee Fraktion'', RAF) and who saw the strategy of
urban guerrilla
An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment.
Theory and history
The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...
warfare as a path to follow to overthrow
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
, and on the other the 'economists', who wanted to focus on socioeconomic struggles.
After the Red Youth congress in July 1971 the 'economists', based in the Red Youth branches in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
and
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
, alongside the existing one in
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...
camps in
South Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
from RAF instructors. They carried out a number of actions, including bomb attacks and
molotov cocktail
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
attacks. Most of their bomb attacks were focused in Eindhoven. They also targeted Japanese emperor
Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
on his state visit to the Netherlands in 1971, burning Japanese flags in front of cameras and a bomb being placed at his hotel, which failed to explode. However, no-one was ever killed in any of the Red Youth's actions.
In September 1972 they blew up the car of the Eindhoven police commissioner, J. Odekerken, and the residence of the mayor, Herman Witte. Then on 17 October they planted a bomb under the car of Philips commissioner J.G. Bavinck. American-owned targets in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
were also bombed, for which the group claims it was directed at "U.S.
imperialism
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
, in particular
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
." Nobody was injured in these attacks, but it caused much hysteria and a high number of further false bomb alerts in October. After these attacks, in December 1972, Van Hoesel was arrested and was later sentenced to two years in jail for possession of weapons and illegal explosives.
Red Youth set up front organizations such as ''Rode Hulp'' (Red Aid), giving assistance to prisoners, and ''Rood Verzetsfront'' (Red Resistance Front). Through the latter Red Youth conducted protest actions in support of Van Hoesel and RAF prisoners. In June 1973, the group was severely weakened following the arrest of member Ger Flokstra, who was carrying bomb supplies in a plan to bomb American targets. The belief of infiltrated informants in the group caused paranoia and distrust between the members of Red Youth. Officially, the organisation was disbanded on 14 March 1974 - however some members continued activities with the Red Aid organisation.