Youth Resistance
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Youth Resistance Jugendwiderstand | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | JW |
| Founded | 1 May 2015 |
| Dissolved | 9 June 2019 |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Colours | Red
Yellow |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| Youth Resistance | |
Youth Resistance (German: Jugendwiderstand, abbreviated JW) was a Maoist youth group in Germany.[2]
The JW was founded from a split in the Berlin branch of the Magdeburg-based group Fighting Together (Zusammen Kämpfen). The split was caused by an ideological conflict between more libertarian Marxist-oriented members and the more orthodox Marxist–Leninists.[3] JW was primarily based in Berlin (predominantly in Wedding and Neukölln), but also listed branches in Bückeburg, Dresden, Flensburg, Hamburg, Magdeburg and Münster.[4]
The ideology of JW was based upon the theory of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM). MLM is the universal application of the Mao-Zedong-Thought, with the principal theorist being the Peruvian Abimael Guzmán, chairman of the Communist Party of Peru (Shining Path).[5]
JW was henceforth fiercely supportive of the revolutionary struggles of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Naxalites in India.[6][7] Other activities of JW were among others participation in the yearly May Day and Luxemburg-Liebknecht (LL) demonstrations,[8] campaigning for election boycotts[9] and anti-fascist organizing.[10]
On 9 June 2019 JW announced on social media that it had dissolved. The main reason given by the organisation was that it could not make the transition between being an avant-garde youth organisation and an actual mass cadre communist party.[11]
On the morning of the 26 June 2019 the police raided seven houses of nine JW members in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia. The police confiscated weapons, hard drives, mobile phones and disguises. The announced dissolution of JW is suspected of being a deception to complicate the ongoing police investigations.[12]
Criticisms
JW has been criticised of being homophobic, nationalistic, anti-semitic, sectarian, and violent towards other leftwing groups.[13][14][15] The group is under surveillance of the Verfassungsschutz Berlin for being a radical left-wing anti-semitic organization.[16] JW refutes these criticisms as being either untrue, or as being part of their legitimate political praxis (in the case of their violent disposition towards other leftwing groups).[17] JW was noted for their repeated usage of words like "Volk" or "Vaterland" which are viewed as right-wing by many Germans. One member of the group was a former NPD member.[13]