10th World Festival of Youth and Students, East Berlin, 1973
A claimed 750,000 young people from all over the world descend colourfully on the German Democratic Republic to show solidarity with those fighting 鈥渋mperialism鈥� in Vietnam, Palestine, Chile and elsewhere.
As well as a lot of parades, music and dancing, there is a visit to the memorial at the Buchenwald concentration camp, a tribute ceremony to Soviet soldiers killed 鈥渓iberating Europe from Fascism鈥�, and supposedly free debate after which 鈥渟ome doubters from capitalist countries had to do some rethinking鈥� (23:57).
Look out for cameo appearances by Erich Honecker, leader of the GDR from 1976 to 1989, and Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and later first president of the Palestinian National Authority.
From the archive of the National Union of Students [MSS.280/157/7].