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German History in Documents and Images
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German and French Youth (1964)
The Elysée Treaty on German-French cooperation, signed on January 22, 1963, stipulated that an organization devoted to promoting exchanges and developing bonds between the two countries should be established to provide “German and French youth” with the opportunity “to strengthen the bonds between them and to deepen their understanding of each other.” In direct response, on July 5, 1963, the foreign ministers of France and Germany, Maurice Couve de Murville and Gerhard Schröder, signed an agreement to establish the German-French Youth Office. The organization was officially founded on October 23, 1963, in Paris. This photo shows German and French youth from an international youth camp returning from work at a German military cemetery in Fort-de-Malmaison on October 6, 1964. The banner they carry reads: “We want to work together and continue to live in peace.” Jugendfoto Frankfurt.