The so-called mass organizations are an integral part of society. They serve to integrate the individual into the social and political life of the country and are designed to produce the unity of interests that communist rulers claim is at the base of a Marxist-Leninist system of government. The mass organizations, however, are very much the stepchildren of the communist party. They have been created from above to control, supervise, and mobilize the public and to provide channels through which party policies can effectively be implemented. In their function as mouthpieces for party members, the mass organizations, however, must refrain from producing significant conflict or deviating from the basic outlines of party policy.

Data as of July 1987

NOTE: The information regarding Germany (East) on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Germany (East) Mass Organizations information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Germany (East) Mass Organizations should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.