[Marxism] Karl Marx pilgrims lead communists back from oblivion

[Octob1917@xxxxxxx]

The following article was in a Scottiish Sunday newspaper. I've often 
wondered to what extent and in what numbers people in the former Soviet Union 
and 
Eastern Bloc have become disillusioned with their new found freedom and 
prosperity under Capitalism. Surely a new generation in the former Warsaw Pact 
countries aren't really yearning for those evil and dastardly Commie principles 
of 
social and economic justice and human solidarity? Wow, they'll be expecting 
healthcare, education and decent and affordable housing next.  



Murdo MacLeod
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY



IT WAS once the only way to get ahead in East Germany - now most Germans are 
amazed to find that they still exist. 

The former East Germanyâs communist youth organisation, the Free German Youth 
(FDJ), is making a stuttering comeback amid disillusion with the grim reality 
of German unification, and nostalgia for the cost and predictable world of 
socialism. They march against the âannexationâ of the German Democratic 
Republic (GDR) by the west, and want to carry out their national service in the 
East 
German army in order to fight the forces of western imperialism. 

Supporters are even heading for the UK this Christmas for a pilgrimage to the 
grave of Karl Marx. 

At their height, when the Communist GDR claimed to be the future of Germany, 
the FDJ was more than 2 million strong. 

Now the party estimates it has about 150 fully paid-up members and claims 
they are again on the march, with branches in Bremen, Frankfurt, and Munich, in 
addition to its groups in the traditional heartland of the former East Germany. 

In addition to its campaigning, the FDJ also claims to be prepared to use 
armed violence against the west, and therefore members refuse to give their 
full 
names in order to hide their identity from the German intelligence services. 

One member of the FDJ, who styles himself Ringo E, was last month fined 2,400 
(Â1,700) by a court for desertion after refusing to serve his national 
service in the German army. 

He had turned down the option of working in a hospital or care home - the 
usual alternative chosen by conscientious objectors, because he does not regard 
himself as a pacifist. Instead, he wants to serve in the East German army. 

The 26-year-old turned up in court wearing a blue FDJ sweater and insisting 
he was a citizen of the GDR. 

Explaining his decision to join the FDJ, he insisted that after the fall of 
the Berlin Wall he had been an enthusiast for the new world of Coca-Cola and 
consumerism. But now both his parents are unemployed and the qualified 
bricklayer has been told that he, too, is to be paid off. 

He said: "In the GDR, I can find my ideal life. In the Federal Republic I 
find nothing." 

Initial euphoria in the wake of the reunification of Germany has since given 
way to bitterness and nostalgia for the old divisions. The German economy has 
faltered in recent years, leading to claims that East Germans were conned into 
unification by bogus promises. In addition, many have been gripped by a wave 
of nostalgia for the old east. East German memorabilia is trendy among the 
young. 

The FDJ information service is a quaint reminder of an almost forgotten 
world. Last weekend featured a Spanish course in order to promote links to 
Cuba. 
And this Christmas the FDJ will head to the UK to see the grave of Karl Marx 
and 
Coventry, which was heavily bombed by the Nazis during the Second World War. 

But the rhetoric of fighting to reverse German unification has failed to 
frighten the authorities. Those who refuse military service may be fined, but 
the 
German intelligence services are apparently unconcerned by threats of violence.
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