This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Die Jungen | |
|---|---|
| Name | Die Jungen |
| Native name | Die Jungen |
| Founded | 20XX |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Ideology | National conservatism; youth conservatism |
| Position | Right-wing to far-right |
| Colors | Black and white |
| Country | Germany |
Die Jungen
Die Jungen is a German youth-oriented political grouping founded in the early 21st century that emerged from student networks and right-leaning activist circles. The movement positioned itself as a modernized youth vanguard combining elements drawn from traditional conservative currents, nationalist publications, and activist subcultures. It attracted attention through street campaigns, social media strategies, and high-profile confrontations with established parties and civil society organizations.
Die Jungen traces roots to campus groups, student associations, and regional affiliates of conservative federations in cities such as Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, and Leipzig. Founders included activists formerly associated with organizations like Junge Union, Identitäre Bewegung, and local chapters of Alternative für Deutschland that sought a distinct youth identity. Early milestones included a 20XX founding conference in Berlin and a series of demonstrations in Dresden and Heidelberg that echoed tactics used by networks connected to Pegida and factions within NPD splinter groups. Media coverage by outlets such as Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Die Welt amplified their profile, while investigative reporting by Süddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasts on ARD and ZDF tracked their rise. Several regional leaders had past affiliations with student unions and youth wings of conservative parties in Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
Die Jungen articulated a platform blending elements associated with national conservatism, youth populism, and cultural traditionalism. Policy statements cited influences from figures and texts tied to Edmund Burke-inspired conservatism, nationalist critiques found in the writings of Carl Schmitt and modern commentators linked to Thilo Sarrazin-style debates. The platform emphasized positions on immigration policies associated with arguments advanced by Alternative für Deutschland and law-and-order stances promoted by politicians like Horst Seehofer and Siegfried Kauder. Cultural policy proposals invoked historical references to regional identities found in discussions about Bavarian heritage and debates over commemoration tied to German reunification. Economic proposals included market-oriented measures similar to reforms advocated by Ludwig Erhard-inspired conservatives and tax positions that paralleled stances of think tanks such as Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft and policy papers from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung affiliates. Their foreign policy orientation showed affinities with nationalist perspectives present in critiques of European Union integration advanced by some members of European Conservatives and Reformists.
Organizationally, Die Jungen combined formal local chapters with loose networks of student cells centered on universities including Humboldt University of Berlin, LMU Munich, University of Hamburg, and University of Cologne. Leadership structures incorporated an executive council and regional coordinators modeled on youth wings like Junge Union and factional groups within AfD state associations. Membership recruitment used channels similar to activist movements including campus flyers, social media platforms used by youth groups, and events in cooperation with libertarian circles connected to Friedrich Naumann Foundation-associated networks. Typical members were young adults, students, and early-career professionals; prominent individuals included former student body presidents and activists who had featured in debates on programs hosted by Phoenix (TV channel). Internal publications and newsletters cited thinkers from conservative and nationalist milieus, and collaborations at times occurred with authors linked to Junge Freiheit and conferences organized by Gustav Stresemann Institute-adjacent forums.
Die Jungen staged street demonstrations, campus rallies, and digital campaigns focusing on issues such as immigration, national commemoration, and student housing. Events were frequently covered alongside coverage of protests by Black Lives Matter-related counter-demonstrations and left-wing youth groups from Die Linke and Jusos. Campaign tactics echoed those used by European counterparts in youth conservative movements in France and Italy, and they engaged in petition drives invoking themes debated in the Bundestag and at municipal councils in Berlin boroughs. They also ran candidates in municipal elections and contested positions in student unions at institutions like Freie Universität Berlin and Technical University of Munich.
Electoral results for Die Jungen were primarily visible at local and student levels. In municipal contests in districts of Berlin and small towns in Saxony they sometimes achieved vote shares comparable to minor local lists while failing to secure representation at state parliaments such as the Landtag of Bavaria or the Saxony Landtag. Performance in student government elections at universities like Humboldt University of Berlin and LMU Munich showed intermittent successes, with seats on academic councils and student bodies. National-level impact remained limited compared with established parties like Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Social Democratic Party of Germany, and Alternative für Deutschland.
Die Jungen attracted criticism for links—real or alleged—to radical groups and for rhetoric that opponents characterized as xenophobic, nationalist, or exclusionary. Investigations and exposés by outlets such as Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung examined connections to networks around Identitäre Bewegung and individuals under scrutiny by domestic intelligence agencies like the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. Critics included civil society organizations, NGOs, and party-affiliated watchdogs linked to Amnesty International Germany and anti-racist groups active in Hamburg and Frankfurt. Legal disputes arose from demonstrations that clashed with counter-protests organized by left-wing collectives and unions such as Ver.di.
Relations with established parties were ambivalent: some local conservative figures from Christian Social Union in Bavaria and youth wings of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany distanced themselves, while nationalist-leaning elements found common cause with factions inside Alternative für Deutschland and allied networks across Austria and Switzerland. International interactions included dialogues with European youth organizations in the European Conservatives and Reformists space and exchanges with nationalist student groups in France and Italy. Collaborations sometimes extended to shared events with media outlets favorable to conservative youth commentary and think tanks engaged in cultural debates.
Category:Political movements in Germany