JU Bayern (Germany)

Junge Union Bayern = Young Union Bavaria

Last modified: 2009-05-03 by jarig bakker
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image by Marcus Schmöger, 16 Nov 2003

• JU Bayern
• JU old flag

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JU Bayern

JU Bayern (Junge Union Bayern = Young Union Bavaria). Although in close association with the whole-German JU, the Bavarian JU, the youth organization of the CSU, always used own symbols distinct from the whole-German JU. However, there is no evidence for the use of own flags until 1996, when the new logo was introduced. The logo includes the inscriptions "JU", "Bayern" and "Junge Union Bayern" in different fonts and colours (blue and green being the same as the mother-party's colours, magenta being different). The (vertical) flag shows the logo on a white background; at the bottom of the flag there is an additional
inscription "Junge Union Bayern". Horizontal flags are only used as little paper flags and even smaller toothpick-flags; these lack the additional inscription at the bottom.

The CSU students' organization (RCDS Bayern = Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten Bayerns = Circle of Christian-Democratic Students in Bavaria) has an own logo, that is also used on advertising banners, but not on flags proper, so I omit this one here.

JU old flag

The youth organization of the CDU (and the CSU) is the JU (Junge Union, Young Union). In Bavaria it is called Junge Union Bayern. The JU used a flag derived from the then CDU flag, namely on a black background a red cross fimbriated yellow (inside) and red (outside), on the cross a yellow eagle with a shield on the breast; the shield being red with a yellow-fimbriated black cross. This flag probably came out of use in the 1960's or early 1970's. I do not have information yet about current JU flags.
It was a bit difficult to draw an image of the flag, as my main source (Rabbow 1965) shows a rather vague sketch of the eagle. So I made two variants hoping one of them is nearly correct:
- The first shows the same eagle as the CDU flag (image from Rabbow 1970).
- The second shows the eagle as it was used on the JU arms, for instance on an election poster in 1957 (from 50 Jahre Junge Union Bayern).
As this election poster was a CSU one, not a CDU one, this implies, that perhaps the JU flag was also used by the JU Bayern, at least to some extent. I am pretty sure that the historical CDU flag was never used (at least officially) by the CSU, but perhaps that was different for the JU flag, as the organizational structure of the JU implies a closer cooperation between the JU Bayern and the rest of the JU, compared to the CDU-CSU relationship.
Sources: Rabbow 1965
Rabbow 1970
Junge Union Bayern, 50 Jahre Junge Union Bayern - Zukunft einer Volkspartei, ATWERB-Verlag, Grünwald 1987.
Marcus Schmöger, 6 October 2001