Wolf Biermann - East Germany

East Germany

On finishing school at the age of 17, Biermann decided to emigrate from West to East Germany where he believed he could live out his Communist ideals. Until 1955 he lived at a boarding school near Schwerin. Then he began studying political economics at the Humboldt University of Berlin. From 1957 to 1959 he was an assistant director at the Berliner Ensemble. At university he changed courses to study philosophy and mathematics.

In 1960 Biermann met composer Hanns Eisler, who adopted the young artist as a protégé. Eisler used his influence with the East German cultural elite to promote the songwriter's career, but his death in 1962 deprived Biermann of his mentor and protector. In 1961 Biermann formed the Arbeiter- und Studententheater (Workers' and Students' Theater). It produced a show called Berliner Brautgang documenting the building of the Berlin wall that was shut down by the authorities in 1963. Although a committed communist, Biermann's nonconformist views soon alarmed the East German establishment. In 1963 he was refused membership in the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Two years later, publicly denounced as a 'class traitor', he was forbidden to publish his music or perform in public. To break this isolation, artists like Joan Baez and many others visited him at his home during the World Youth Festival in 1973. Karsten D. Voigt, chairman of the West German Socialdemocratic Youth (Juso) protested against the suppression of the freedom of opinion and information by the state security.