The social role of the so-called Jugendweihe in the former GDR and after its demise

The thesis focuses on a rite of passage called Jugendweihe, its origin, meaning and form in the former GDR and after its demise. Jugendweihe is placed in the context of confessional rites of passage and connected to the idea of humanism. Afterwards, history of this tradition and its development over the years will be presented. In order to understand the initial situation in the GDR, a chapter dealing with confessional politics of the SED is included. In the main part of the thesis, focus is on the political and social role of Jugendweihe in the GDR, as well as its form and development of popularity. This is followed by a chapter about the development of the ceremony after the revolution in 1989, where the same and different elements are described. Prerequisites for maintaining the continuity of the ceremony after the fall of the GDR are also outlined. Special emphasis is given on the transformation of the social role and form of Jugendweihe over the years in relation to the political situation and to the various reasons motivating participation in the ritual. The theoretical knowledge from the academic literature is supplemented with four interviews with participants of the Jugendweihe during the era of the communist regime that can be found in the attachment. In the interviews, emphasis was on..