Picture 24: The children in this picture show that drumming and marching with the Pioneers could sometimes simply be fun. It is no coincidence that lack of coordination and liveliness go together in this picture. But liveliness and individual initiative became increasingly rare as the organization became more centralized and state-controlled. The young woman in the middle is probably a teacher. Even under centralized state control, the way demands were put into practice depended on the individual teachers. However, the scope for creativity was very limited. In 1958, for example, the party leadership heavily criticized what they called a "playgroup ideology" in the pioneer work. At the same time, several high Pioneer officials were dismissed, and more emphasis on discipline and political education was demanded for the future. The flag on the right hand side shows a portrait of Ernst Thälmann, a German Communist leader who was killed by the Nazis. Such flags with portraits on them followed the Soviet model.