The Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ) was a youth movement in East Germany, founded on March 7, 1946 for those between the ages of 14 and 25. After being a member of the Young Pioneers or the Thälmann pioneers, people would inevitably join the FDJ, because certain consequences existed otherwise, despite it not being technically compulsory.
The movement had as an aim the indoctrination of the young into Marxism-Leninism, but did not concentrate on this to the exclusion of other activities. It arranged thousands of holidays for young people through its Jugendtourist agency, and even ran discos.
After German reunification the organisation lost nearly all its membership, and today exists only in a rump form, sharing a building with the PDS, although not recognised as its youth movement.
It was a member of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer.