SED stands for the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands.  It was the official political party of the German Democratic Republic and was originally formed through the union of the East German social democrats and the communist party.

Its role as effectively the only party in East Germany was anchored in the GDR’s constitution.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, the SED was renamed into the SED-PDS and then simply into PDS: Partei der Demokratischen Sozialismus.  In 2005 they changed their name to Die Linkspartei, and in 2007 they converged with another party to form Die Linke.

Die Linke have received sufficient votes in some states - even western states - to have seats in local parliaments.

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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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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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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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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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GmbH stands for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung.  It is one of the possible ways to register a company in Germany.

Companies that are formed as GmbH have one or more Geschäftsführer.  They have a limited liability which is declared when the company is founded and entered into the Handelsregister.

AG stands for Aktiengesellschaft.  It is another way to register a company in Germany.  It is roughly equivalent to a PLC (public limited company) in the UK, or a Corporation in the USA.

An AG has a Vorstand and an Aufsichtsrat - the board of directory and the supervisory board.

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BAföG stands for Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz.  The main aim of BAföG is to allow everyone in Germany the opportunity to study without having to work at the same time in order to survive financially.

It is as such a form of student loan and receiving it depends on the income available in the family (eg. parents or spouse).

Students are usually expected to repay 50% of the loan - which is currently interest free.

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The AOK is a group of health insurance agencies which together form one of the largest health insurers in Germany.  AOK stands for Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse.

Each Bundesland has its own AOK, and for visitors to Germany this is the first port of call if they need to visit a doctor in order to get their EU health insurance card (previously E111) validated.

There are other health insurance agencies, such a the TKK (Techniker Krankenkasse), many of which are targeted at specific career groups.

Next year the Gesundsheitsfond takes hold, meaning that everyone should pay the same for their health insurance, and the choice of agency will be made based on the cover offered and not solely on the cost.

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JVA stands for Justizvollzugsanstalt - the official word for a prison in Germany.

JVAs can be found throughout Germany, although some are specialised in the type of prisoner.  An interesting example of this is in Singen, where there is a prison for older members of the community.

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