.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (December 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,008 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ((Translated|de|Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.
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The Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund — the Socialist German Students' Union or Socialist German Students' League — was founded in 1946 in Hamburg, Germany, as the collegiate branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the 1950s, tensions between the SDS and the main party surfaced, particularly over the party's support of West Germany's rearming, until the SPD expelled all members of the SDS from the party in 1961.

History

After its exclusion from the parent organization Social Democratic Party of Germany, the SDS became the leading element in the Außerparlamentarische Opposition (APO; English: Extra Parliamentary Opposition). In late 1966, it became active when the SPD and Christian Democratic Union formed a grand coalition, which left Germany without a strong opposition inside parliament, since members of those two parties represented more than 90% of the seats in the Bundestag. The group consisted mainly of college and university students. The SDS opposed the Vietnam War and Germany's political involvement in it, as well as the use of nuclear weapons; and objected that many former National Socialists (or Nazis) still held influential positions in West Germany. They also wanted to advance democratic structures in all institutions, for example in school.

In May and June 1967, the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi visited West Germany.[1] On June 2, 1967 in West Berlin, Iranian and German students (including the Socialist German Student Union and Confederation of Iranian Students) protested the Shah's visit, and it resulted in one student dying.[1][2]

Alternative lifestyles and more tolerance for same-sex couples, a more open treatment of sexual topics, the right to abortion and equal rights for women are also associated with the APO, and the SDS as its best known representative. The students involved used the same methods of protest as the anti-war movement in the United States at that time, for example sit-ins and demonstrations. The student movement reached its height in 1968 (its membership peaked at 2,500 at that time), after that the influence of the SDS declined. In 1970 it disbanded. A resurrection of the SDS in 1988 proved of no importance.

Important members of the SDS were Helmut Schmidt, later Chancellor of Germany (he was a member while the SDS was still part of the SPD); the later Red Army Faction member Ulrike Meinhof; and Rudi Dutschke.

In 2007, the student organization of the recent German Left Party, Die Linke, adopted the name Die Linke.SDS (Sozialistisch-Demokratischer Studierendenverband) at its founding congress.[3]

Members

A number of people who would later hold important positions in German society and politics were members of the SDS:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Abadi, Eskandar (February 6, 2017). "50 years ago: How the Shah of Iran's visit impacted German history". DW.com. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  2. ^ Michel, Eckard (2017). Schahbesuch 1967. Fanal für die Studentenbewegung [The Shah's Visit in 1967. Beacon of the Student Movement] (in German). Links Christoph Verlag. ISBN 978-3861539438.
  3. ^ Website of Die Linke.SDS.
  4. ^ a b c d WDR (2020-05-08). "Deutsche Geschichte: Studentenbewegung". www.planet-wissen.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-24.