TheFreideutsche Jugend was an umbrella organisation established inWilhelmine Germany that set out to create an autonomousyouth culture free of adult supervision.[1] It was part of the broaderGerman youth movement, emerging from theWandervogel.
The organisation was set up at a gathering held on theHoher Meissner, a mountain inHesse, where several thousand youth gathered in October 1913 and formulated theMeissner Proclamation. In this they declared “Free German Youth, on their own initiative, under their own responsibility, and with deep sincerity, are determined to independently shape their own lives. For the sake of this inner freedom, they will take united action under any and all circumstances.”[2] They adopted an anti-rational viewpoint and opposedGustav Wyneken'sBund für freie Schulgemeinden.[3]