Here you will find descriptions of a range of terms, events, themes and institutions featured on the website.
Juvenile detention centre
Between 1949 and 1989 the East German authorities took severe measures against deviant behaviour among young people. They sent them to reformatories such as juvenile detention centres (»Jugendwerkhof«). Skipping school was often enough to warrant punishment. The minors were to be re-educated through strenuous physical labour. These institutions were like the workhouses which had existed for a long time.
Zwischen 1949 und 1989 gehen die Behörden der DDR scharf gegen abweichendes Verhalten von Jugendlichen vor. Sie weisen sie in Erziehungsheime – wie die Jugendwerkhöfe – ein: Schon »Schulbummelei« kann dafür ausreichen. Die Minderjährigen sollen durch schwere körperliche Arbeit umerzogen werden. Sie ähneln den schon lange existierenden Arbeitshäusern.