Republik das ist nicht viel

In the wake of the revolution in 1918/19, circles of Young Socialists (Jungsozialisten) cropped up in various German cities. They provided an alternative to the existing party youth of the Social Democratic Party, which since 1922 had been called the Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend (SAJ). Whereas the SAJ basically catered for youth from 14 to 18, the Jungsozialisten organized SPD members and affiliated individuals between the ages of 18 and 25. While keeping some degree of autonomy vis-à-vis the party executive, the Jungsozialisten were bound to the statutes and the oversight of the party. After only twelve turbulent years of incessant infighting, high-flying theoretical visions and the discussion of ambitious agendas for a future beyond the Weimar democratic system—epitomized in the slogan quoted in the title of the book—the party executive had had enough. In 1931, the Leipzig party conference voted almost unanimously for a motion to disband the remaining, largely radical left-socialist groups of Jungsozialisten (p. 350). In quantitative terms, they had never been successful anyway. At the end of the republic, the SPD had about 80,000 members aged between 18 and 25. During their peak in 1924, the Jungsozialisten only numbered about 4,000 members in slightly fewer than 200 local chapters. Towards the end, membership had decreased to half that figure.

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