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The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in
The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
History
The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prioryouth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
had been formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League (). It was unable to attract new members and its membership peaked in the last years of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
at between 35,000 and 50,000. However, those who did join were commonly children of communist parents that were extremely devoted to the Communist Party.
Their activities included selling party newspapers, painting slogans, gluing posters, collecting dues, taking part in agitation, and they made up the voice choruses for Communist songs at demonstrations and other events. The KJVD had its own publishing house, the "Young Guard". The KJVD followed the Communist Party propaganda of attacking the Social Democratic Party of Germany as a proponent of "social fascism
Social fascism (also socio-fascism) was a theory that was supported by the Communist International (Comintern) and affiliated communist parties in the early 1930s that held that social democracy was a variant of fascism because it stood in the way ...
" resulting in hostility to the Social Democrats becoming a feature of the KJVD.
Political rifts between the KJVD and its parent organization, the Communist Party, appeared, including support by members of the KJVD for the young Communist intellectual Heinz Neumann
Heinz Neumann (6 July 1902 – 26 November 1937) was a German politician from the Communist Party (KPD) and a journalist. He was a member of the Communist International, editor in chief of the party newspaper ''Die Rote Fahne'' and a member of the ...
who advocated increased use of physical violence against political enemies, including the Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
.
Future leader of East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, Erich Honecker
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
was a member of the KJVD and became KJVD leader of Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
in 1931.
After the majority of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...
joined the Communist Party of Germany at the end of 1920, the Independents' Socialist Workers Youth group followed suit and merged with the Communist Party's youth organization and then in 1925, became known as the Young Communists League.
The central organ of KJVD was , which was published illegally.
In 2002 the KPD (1990) established their youth organisation, also calling it the KJVD.
List of chairmen
* Richard Gyptner (1920–1924) * (1924–1925) * (1925–1928) * (1928–1929) * (1929–1931) * (1931–1932) * (1932–1934) * (1934–?)See also
* Young Communist League of Germany (Opposition)References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Communist League Of Germany Youth wings of communist parties Historical youth wings of political parties in Germany Communist Party of Germany