The City Youth Parish (JG) remains one of the centers of the Evangelical Youth Ministry in Jena. During the GDR the JG was the only ministry in the city to engage in “Offener Arbeit” (lit: open work) which fostered grassroots and self-organized non-denominational youth outreach. The JG gained attention after collecting signatures amongst members for a petition opposing the forcible expatriation of Wolf Biermann. As a result, the JG was the subject of harsh repressive measures directed by the Ministry for State Security. In the subsequent backlash, many members of the JG were forced to leave the GDR. Nevertheless, the JG remained a center for opposition in Jena, and the Jena Society for Peace arose from within the organization. The JG also offered space to „Artists for others“. Additionally, Mattias Domaschk, who perished in pre-trial detention while being held by the Ministry for State Security, was a member of the JG. The Thuringian Archive for Contemporary History was named after Domaschk (1957-1981) to commemorate him as well as to raise awareness regarding the lack of clarity concerning his death.