Hans Beimler competitions

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hans Beimler competitions of the FDJ and the Society for Sport and Technology were pre-military training in the GDR , which were introduced in 1967 by the Ministry for National Education in the form of military sports competitions at all polytechnical secondary schools in grades 8 to 10. From 1969, the socialist military instruction in schools was an integral part of education.

Background and intention of the events

In the course of increasing militarization, the SED regime wanted to penetrate all areas of life in order to familiarize children and young people with the military. In the 1970s, war toys were purchased in kindergartens and the snowflake maneuver was introduced in schools . The Hans Beimler competitions, named after the Spanish fighter Hans Beimler (1895–1936), were intended to arouse enthusiasm for military professions. They were used for pre-military training and ideological training. The pupils should prepare for the competitions throughout the year, both within the classroom, especially in physical education , and at extracurricular events. The respective school was responsible for the implementation.

procedure

At the beginning of the one-day competition, a pledge was made to the “ socialist fatherland”. Afterwards, political-ideological events for civil defense of the GDR took place. Then several military sport disciplines were fought out in individual and team disciplines. These included:

At the beginning of the 1970s, the so-called “March of Probation” was added, which included a ten kilometer long course with various individual disciplines such as an express march or the creation of emergency shelters. With the introduction of compulsory military instruction, the field of participants was only reduced to the 8th grade.

According to SED data from 1977, around 77% of all schoolchildren took part in the competitions.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Birgit Wolf: Language in the GDR: a dictionary . Walter de Gruyter, 2000, ISBN 978-3-11-016427-5 , p. 90 .
  2. ↑ Tina Kwiatkowski-Celofiga: Persecuted Students: Causes and Consequences of Discrimination in the School System of the GDR. Vol. 54. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2014. p. 60.
  3. ↑ Tina Kwiatkowski-Celofiga: Persecuted Students: Causes and Consequences of Discrimination in the School System of the GDR. Vol. 54. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2014. p. 224.
  4. ^ Christian Sachse: Active youth - well-educated and disciplined: Defense education in the GDR as an instrument of socialization and rule (1960–1973) . LIT Verlag, Münster 2000, ISBN 978-3-8258-5036-4 , p. 293 .
  5. ^ A b Matthias Rogg: Army of the People? Military and Society in the GDR . Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86153-478-5 , p. 188-189 .