Plakat "Wendehals"

“Flip-flopper”Protest sign, 1989This round cardboard protest sign reads “Wendehals” (literally “turning neck”). The term refers to people who blow with the wind, so to speak, flipping their positions quickly and easily to conform to new political currents and realities. It was applied with scorn to members of the East German ruling party and large organisations, as well as to avid supporters of authoritarian state power who were now joining democracy movements with equal enthusiasm.The sign shows a cartoon-like drawing of a young man who has twisted his neck multiple times in evident exertion and perplexity. It specifically objects to the Free German Youth (FDJ), which was East Germany’s official youth organisation.Founded in 1946, the FDJ was not originally affiliated with any political party. As the only non-church-based organisation for young people, however, it became associated with the state. Although not strictly required, FDJ membership was recommended to improve one’s educational and career opportunities and to avoid being seen as an outsider. Eighty percent of people aged 14 to 25 in the GDR were members. The FDJ also offered its own career paths. Erich Honecker and Egon Krenz, who later became general secretaries of the SED party, had previously been chairmen of the FDJ.In the autumn of 1989 the FDJ and SED lost their positions of power, becoming virtually meaningless within a year. Many of their functionaries quickly adapted to the new circumstances. They are the people whom the sign disdainfully calls “flip-floppers”.