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Socialist German Students' Union Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 (as youth wing of Social Democratic Party of Germany) 1961 (as an independent organization) |
| Dissolved | 21 March 1970 |
| Parent Organization | Social Democratic Party (until 1961) |
| Political orientation | Socialism Anti-Imperialism New Left Factions: Anarchism Marxism Social Democracy |
The Socialist German Students' Federation (SDS) was a Socialist students' group in the Federal Republic of Germany. It was founded as the student wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, but was purged from the organization after a right-wing shift in the SPD and a left-wing shift in the SDS. It became a key part of the West German Student Movement.[1]
As Youth Wing of the SPD
The Socialist German Students' Federation was founded as the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1946. It's first chairman was future German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. During the campaign in the FRG against rearmament the SDS began to shift leftward, with SDS elements to the left of the SPD gaining control of the party at the 1958 SDS conference.[1]
In May 1960 the SPD founded the Social Democratic Student Union (SHB) to counter the leftward shift of the SDS, and in response the left of the SPD founded the Society for the Promotion of Socialism (SF) in October 1961. Later that year members of both SF and the SDS were expelled from the SPD.[1]
As an Independent Organization
The SDS developed into a staunchly Socialist and Anti-Imperialist organization over the following years, and in 1964 played a large part in protests against Congolese dictator Moise Tschombe, who had led the coup in which Patrice Lumumba was murdered. The SDS continued to grow on West German campuses as the result of the protest.[1]
In the mid-1960s the Außerparlamentarische Opposition was founded. The SDS would become a central part of that group.[1]
After the 2 June West Berlin Protest against a visit by the Shah of Iran in 1967 and the subsequent police riot and murder of Benno Ohensorg the SDS grew even more, going from an organization with several hundred members to one with thousands, with chapters being established throughout the country.[1]
On 11 April 1968 Rudi Dutschke, a leading member of the SDS, was shot three times by Josef Bachmann, a young right-winger motivated by the German newspaper Bild Zeitung to attempt to murder the student leader. This led to the further growth and further radicalization of the SDS.[1]
In September 1968 growing problems of male-supremacy and chauvinism within the SDS came to the forefront, with SDS leader Jürgen Krahl refusing to address the issue at an SDS conference in Frankfurt, with him subsequently being pelted by tomatoes.[1]
On 21 March 1970, as a result of growing division and tension within the SDS, the APO, and the left as a whole, the SDS was dissolved at its congress in the Frankfurt Student Association Building. Small outgrowths of the organization continued to exist for a time, but soon the organization ceased to exist.[1]