FDJ stands for Freie Deutsche Jugend and was the youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (DDR).

Although membership was voluntary, non-members often suffered pressure and discrimination and so around 80% of people between the ages of 14 and 25 were members.

Although closely associated with East Germany, the FDJ originally had branches in the western zones, before it was outlawed in the Federal German Republic (West Germany) in 1951.  In fact, its earlier roots were not in Germany at all, rather in Prague, Paris and London in the 1930s.

Today there are still FDJ groups in Germany, although membership numbers are much lower than they were before reunification.

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Our topic in October is the DDR - the Deutsche Demokratische Republik.

The DDR (GDR in English) existed from 7th October 1949 until 2nd October 1990 and was created out of the Soviet occupation zone as a repsonse to the creation of the German Federal Republic several weeks earlier.

Today we talk about the creation and the economic and political systems that we set in place in the DDR and how the country was structured.  We also talk our own personal experiences when visiting the country.

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The TestDaf is a standardised test that allows learners of German to have their knowledge of the language assessed.

The assessment is given as a numerical value called the TDN - Test DaF Niveau. The TDN scale goes from 1 to 5.

Some organisations may require applicants to show proof of having taken a TestDaf test as opposed to other levels that we have talked about during this month.

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DPSG stands for Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg.  In Germany there is more than one Scouting organisation, who together make up the officially recognised Ring deutscher Pfadfinderverbände.  The DPSG is a Catholic Scout organisation.

The DPSG was formed in 1929 - 22 years after the first Scout Camp in England.  The four sections are called Wölflinge, Jungpfadfinder, Pfadfinder and Rover. The leaders are called Leiter and Leiterinnen.  The organisation is divided into Diözesen - the Catholic Diocese areas, eg. the Diözese Mainz.

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As promised in yesterday’s podcast, here is a sample transcript of one of our German Words Explained episodes.

The transcript is a PDF file that can be printed, but not modified in any way.  To download the file, click HERE.

You can hear the podcast about the Arbeitsamt in our archive.

We are considering producing a transcript for future episodes of German Words Explained, so if you find it to be useful or have any suggestions on how to improve it, please let us know by leaving us a comment on the blog or in the German Words part of the AllThingsGerman.net forum.

It’s up to you - if you like being able to follow the text, or if it just makes the faster podcasts easier to understand - then let us know!

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Transcript (PDF) | Audio file (MP3)

ZDj stands for Zertifikat Deutsch für Jugendliche. It is set at the B1 level on the European scale of language learning and is aimed at young people between 12 and 15 years of age who are learning German as a foreign language.

Participants should be able to talk about things that interest them, eg. a television programme, and also be able to go into a shop and buy something without any great difficulty.

The certificate may be useful for teenagers moving permanently to Germany with their parents to be able to gain entry to a German school.

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DRK stands for Deutsches Rotes Kreuz - the German branch of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

It is an organisation that is made up of volunteers as well as part- or fulltime employees.  They not only offer first aid courses and medical assistance at large events, but often Hausnotruf - an emergency service for elderly people, meals on wheels, and organise blood donation sessions (Blutspende).

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Fit 1/2, or to give it its full title: Fit in Deutsch 1/2 are two courses and exams set at the A1 and A2 levels respectively.

They are aimed at younger people than the previous DaF courses, and as such they concentrate on situations and subsequently the vocabulary that younger people would need when in Germany.

One problem with such target groups is the time it takes for new textbooks to appear that take account of modern trends.  Modern topics may therefore be covered using handouts rather than textbooks.

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MwSt is the abbreviation for Mehrwertsteuer, which is also known as Umsatzsteuer (USt).  This is the equivalent to VAT in the UK.

At present, MwSt is 19% for most items in Germany, with some items such as basic foodstuffs and books being only 7%.  For some goods and services (eg. stamps) there is currently no MwSt.

The term “Mehrwertsteuer” was introduced in 1968, but the principles were first introduced as a form of stamp duty in 1916.

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PWD stands for Prüfung Wirtschaftsdeutsch.  It is set at the top end of level C1 on the European scale for language learning.

The exam is targeted towards situations in German working life, such as taking part in a meeting or a sales conference.

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