German society of the 1960s Part 2
Within a society there's a group of highly educated, critical thinkers who may get called intellectuals or Intelligentsia. Until this point in history the majority of this group in Germany had been conservative or right-leaning. They were often against democratic and labor movements, they represented the establishment and the elite and they wanted to keep those structures intact.
During the 60s this started to change. Western German students had been mostly conservative or apolitical during the 50s but now they started to lean left. They became critical of capitalism, the pervasive fight against communism, the exploitation of the Third World and the nuclear arms race. They questioned both the Western German society and the state the world was in, they became highly political.
This wasn't an isolated movement. Many countries around the world experienced (left-leaning) student movements during the 60s. Particularly important were the ones in the USA and in France. The societies of the West had grown closer together, mass media had become more important and people were looking towards other countries. There was an interest in other countries pop culture but also in the way other socities were solving their social problems. There were social topics that wouldn't concern merely one country anymore, they were affecting large parts of the globe. The world grew closer together.
Western German students were looking at the civil rights movement of the US and they were reading the works of the french philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. But they were also for example studying the "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung" which is often colloquially refered to as "Little Red Book" or the Mao Bible. They were trying to create a better world and they were looking in places where their parents hadn't looked.
Events around the globe further influenced this movement. The success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 had demonstrated that it was possible to topple the reign of the capitalists, the dictators, the "imperialists". The rule of dictator Fulgencio Batista was symptomatic for a large number of problems many countries and Middle and South America were having. He was backed by the US, he represented the wealthy and powerful elite that was owning most of the land. In one way or another they were ruling over their lands and they considered their people to be more "subjects" than citizens. Often they used force to strike down any sign of protest.
Many Western German students felt empathic towards the poor and powerless people of Middle and South America. In their eyes the Western system and capitalism was responsible for those peoples plight and this injustice so the students often turned to socialist ideas instead to find inspiration about how to create a fairer world.
Within a society there's a group of highly educated, critical thinkers who may get called intellectuals or Intelligentsia. Until this point in history the majority of this group in Germany had been conservative or right-leaning. They were often against democratic and labor movements, they represented the establishment and the elite and they wanted to keep those structures intact.
During the 60s this started to change. Western German students had been mostly conservative or apolitical during the 50s but now they started to lean left. They became critical of capitalism, the pervasive fight against communism, the exploitation of the Third World and the nuclear arms race. They questioned both the Western German society and the state the world was in, they became highly political.
This wasn't an isolated movement. Many countries around the world experienced (left-leaning) student movements during the 60s. Particularly important were the ones in the USA and in France. The societies of the West had grown closer together, mass media had become more important and people were looking towards other countries. There was an interest in other countries pop culture but also in the way other socities were solving their social problems. There were social topics that wouldn't concern merely one country anymore, they were affecting large parts of the globe. The world grew closer together.
Western German students were looking at the civil rights movement of the US and they were reading the works of the french philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. But they were also for example studying the "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung" which is often colloquially refered to as "Little Red Book" or the Mao Bible. They were trying to create a better world and they were looking in places where their parents hadn't looked.
Events around the globe further influenced this movement. The success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 had demonstrated that it was possible to topple the reign of the capitalists, the dictators, the "imperialists". The rule of dictator Fulgencio Batista was symptomatic for a large number of problems many countries and Middle and South America were having. He was backed by the US, he represented the wealthy and powerful elite that was owning most of the land. In one way or another they were ruling over their lands and they considered their people to be more "subjects" than citizens. Often they used force to strike down any sign of protest.
Many Western German students felt empathic towards the poor and powerless people of Middle and South America. In their eyes the Western system and capitalism was responsible for those peoples plight and this injustice so the students often turned to socialist ideas instead to find inspiration about how to create a fairer world.
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