Eberhard Aurich was active as a child in the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organization and became a member of the FDJ in 1960.

[1] After attending the EOS Karl Marx in Karl-Marx-Stadt and completing vocational training with a high school diploma as a concrete specialist,[2] he studied from 1965 to 1969 at the Pedagogical University of Zwickau, graduating as a certified teacher for German and Staatsbürgerkunde,[1][2][3] civics designed to indoctrinate children to support the GDR's political system and the SED.

[1] From 1969 onwards, he worked full-time for the FDJ,[3][5] initially at the Bezirk leadership in Karl-Marx-Stadt, becoming a Secretary in 1971.

The FDJ organized concerts with Western artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and was more open towards the LGBT community.

In a 1988 letter, Aurich himself stated that "I can assure you that the FDJ will continue to give great attention toward the complete equality of homosexual youth and other citizens in its diverse forms of political and ideological work.

"[11] During his tenure, Aurich met future German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, then deputy chair of the Jusos, twice; in January 1984 alongside Egon Krenz and Herbert Häber and at a disarmament rally of the FDJ in Wittenberg in September 1987.

[1][5][7] From 1990 until the end of 2011, Aurich was the managing director of trainmedia GmbH, a publishing house that produces the magazine "Wortspiegel" and books for children with reading and spelling difficulties.