The Society for German–Soviet Friendship (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, ''Gesellschaft für Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft/DSF'') was an East German organization set up to encourage closer

co-operation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English and, with a varied usage along time, coöperation) takes place when a group of organisms works or acts together for a collective benefit to the group as opposed to working in competition ...

between the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

. It was founded from the Society for the Studies of Soviet Culture to teach about

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

to Germans unfamiliar with it. It quickly turned into a propaganda tool and eventually changed its name. Due to the immense popularity of

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

with ordinary East Germans disillusioned with their own hardline Communist leaders, the DSF's membership grew massively in the last years of the regime which many interpret as a sign of support of Gorbachev's

glasnost ''Glasnost'' ( ; , ) is a concept relating to openness and transparency. It has several general and specific meanings, including a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information and the inadmissi ...

and

perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

by the East German people. In 1989 there were 6.3 million members. Following the disbanding of the German Democratic Republic, the organization was dissolved. The name has inspired band names that play on the name of the DSF , for instance the German band

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (; "German-American Friendship"), or D.A.F., was a German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabi Delgado-López, Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Gör ...

, which means German-American Friendship, as well as Jewish Ukrainian Freundschaft (J.U.F.).

Notes

Literature

* Matthias Klingenberg
"Culture as vehicle : the history of the German-Soviet Friendship-Society (1947-1953)"
Heidelberg 2001. Organisations based in East Germany Soviet Union friendship associations Germany–Soviet Union relations East Germany friendship associations Mass organisations of East Germany {{Germany-org-stub