3rd World Festival of Youth and Students

The 3rd World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) was held from 5 to 19 August 1951 in East Berlin, capital city of the then German Democratic Republic, and organised by World Federation of Democratic Youth. The motto of the festival was "Peace and Friendship against Nuclear Weapons"^[2][3]

3rd World Festival of Youth and Students
Host country	German Democratic Republic
Dates	5–19 August 1951
Motto	Peace and Friendship Against Nuclear Weapons
Cities	Berlin
Participants	26,000 people from 104 countries[1]
Follows	4th World Festival of Youth and Students
Precedes	2nd World Festival of Youth and Students

Demonstration at the 3rd Festival

Walter Ulbricht, Enrico Berlinguer, Wilhelm Pieck and Erich Honecker viewing the athlete's parade

The third WFYS was held in a period of growing international tension between the Soviet Union and the western powers; it took place against the background of the Korean War and the spread of communism in Central Europe and China. The festival was meant to showcase the young German Democratic Republic, formed in the Soviet sector of postwar Germany.

West German police and the US military tried to prevent international delegates from crossing the western sector of Germany to attend the festival. In response, an operation was arranged to smuggle young people across the country in small groups.^[4] Jan Myrdal wrote about incidents where young people were shot at by West Berlin police when trying to cross the West German border.^[5]

The festival's sports programme featured an athletics competition.^[6]