''Jugendweihe'' ("youth consecration") or ''Jugendfeier'' ("youth ceremony") is a

secular coming of age ceremony Secular coming-of-age ceremonies, sometimes called civil confirmations, are ceremonies arranged by organizations that are secular, which is to say, not aligned to any religion. Their purpose is to prepare adolescents for their life as adults. Secul ...

for

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14-year-olds. It originated among the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

societies in the 19th century as an alternative to

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

by the

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and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches, and was especially widespread in

East Germany 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 ...

, where

state atheism State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into Forms of government, political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments ...

was encouraged under the GDR.

''Jugendweihen'' and ''Jugendfeiern''

There are various different groups that organise ''Jugendweihes'' in Germany, but the most important ones are the Humanistische Verband Deutschlands ("Humanist Association of Germany"), ''Jugendweihe Deutschland e. V.'', and ''die Arbeiterwohlfahrt'' ("the Worker Welfare"). Today the term ''Jugendfeier'' is increasingly popular since the ''Humanistischer Verband'' started to use it instead of ''Jugendweihe'' in around the 1980s to mark that participants would not be consecrated but should experience an unforgettable step into adulthood. Before the ceremony the youngsters can attend specially arranged events and courses, in which they work on topics like

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and

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

creativity Creativity is the ability to form novel and valuable Idea, ideas or works using one's imagination. Products of creativity may be intangible (e.g. an idea, scientific theory, Literature, literary work, musical composition, or joke), or a physica ...

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and duties,

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and

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, professions and getting a job, as well as lifestyles and human relations.

Origin and history

The term ''Jugendweihe'' first appeared in 1852, to mark a new form of initiation developed by the secular movements, who developed a course of moral instruction for their children, founded on cultural history, as an alternative to Christian teachings. The concluding ''Jugendweihe'' was above all a ceremony to mark the child's leaving school, and so was held at the age of 14. Since the 1890s the form of the ceremony has remained largely unchanged. The teacher makes a speech about the humanist worldview, the young person makes a pledge, and is given 'pages of remembrance' (''Erinnerungsblätter'') and a commemorative book. The ceremony is broken up by songs and recitals. This

freethinking Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

tradition was absorbed into the

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Repression since 1933

During the era of

National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...

most of the associations that organised ''Jugendweihen'' were forbidden, but the ''Jugendweihe'' itself was not banned. The Nazi regime tried to establish its own initiation rite for the whole German youth named ''Nationalsozialistische Jugendleite''.

After the Second World War

After the war the secular communities tried to revive the tradition. ''Jugendweihen'' were continued by small groups in the freethought tradition, in which many representatives of Party and state took part, and despite frequent proposals, ''Jugendweihen'' were not forbidden in the GDR until 1954.

Political instrumentalization in East Germany

The decision to convert the ''Jugendweihe'' into a socialist ceremony was taken in

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in May 1953 when the

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of the

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passed a resolution on "Measures for the Recovery of the Political Situation in the GDR", which suggested a socialist alternative to Christian Confirmation. Under heavy Soviet pressure the ceremonies were established alongside confirmation. Even young people with a denominational commitment were expected to take part in the ''Jugendweihe'' ceremonies; those who did not take part would have to contend with significant disadvantages and repression. The first ''Jugendweihe'' took place in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

on 27 March 1955, at which the 14-year-olds were inducted into adulthood and received their

identity papers An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

. After the ceremony had taken place they would be addressed with the formal pronoun ''Sie'' (as opposed to the informal ''du''). For a year before the actual ''Jugendweihen'', "youth courses" were held, which mostly consisted of visits to workplaces, lectures on

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and politics,

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s or similar social pursuits. All participants were invited to the ceremony, which usually took place in a local hall or theatre. After an official speech and the pledge to the socialist State, most were presented with flowers by the Young Pioneers. Until 1974 the state gave every young adolescent the book ''Weltall Erde Mensch'' (Universe, Earth, Man), which contained general knowledge in addition to propagandistic sayings. After 1974 everyone received the purely propagandistic book ''Der Sozialismus - Deine Welt'' (Socialism - Your World) and in the last years of the GDR the book ''Vom Sinn unseres Lebens'' (Of the Meaning of Our Lives) was given. There was also a certificate. After the public ceremony, most of the rest of the day was spent with one's family and classmates. In every East German ''Jugendweihe'' the young people would dedicate themselves to the ideals of the state. The pledge was altered five times by the Central Committee throughout its history. The general format of each pledge was the same; the opening, the question of ''"Are you prepared..?"'' and the response of ''"Yes, we pledge!"'' remained unchanged in each version. As time went past, however, the language of the pledge became ever more overtly patriotic and revolutionary. The first and second alterations of the pledge, made in 1955 and 1956, only made fairly minor changes in wording. The 1958 pledge, however, explicitly required young people to swear to the ''"great and noble cause of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

"'', and to defend peace with the Soviet people, though also with ''"all peace-loving people in the world"''. The fourth alteration of the pledge, made on 21 November 1968, was even more revolutionary in tone; it dropped general references such as that to ''"all peace-loving people"'', and asked young people to ''"defend socialism against every imperialist attack"''. It accepted young people into a community ''"under the direction of the working class and its revolutionary Party"''. The final alteration, in 1985 (four years before the fall of the

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), was minor in comparison, adding a paragraph in which the attendants pledged to respect and help one another, and extending the closing address, emphasising the ''"heavy responsibility"'' conferred on the newly come-of-age.

References

External links

Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands

Jugendweihe Deutschland e.V.

Jugendverein "Roter Baum" e.V.
{{in lang, de *

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

A Secular Rite of Passage
Youth in Germany Secular ceremonies Culture of East Germany