Blues fair
A blues mass is a church service with blues music . This type of service played a special role in the resistance of young people against the GDR regime. The blues masses took place regularly in the Samariterkirche in Berlin-Friedrichshain , later also in the Resurrection Church and finally on the property of the Erlöserkirche in Berlin-Rummelsburg. 250 participants attended the first blues mass on June 1, 1979. The majority of them had never entered a church before. The number of participants later rose to 7,000 (June 24, 1983) and was an expression of the youth protest and the youth culture of the GDR. A total of 20 events had taken place by autumn 1986.
The blues masses were initiated by Günter Holly Holwas , who won over the pastor of the Samaritan community, Rainer Eppelmann , for this idea. However, Eppelmann, who was a district youth pastor in Berlin-Friedrichshain at the time, insisted that the events should be placed in a framework similar to that of a church service. In addition to the music, Rainer Eppelmann and Pastor Heinz-Otto Seidenschnur read Bible texts, e.g. B. on the subject of swords to plowshares and there were also small poems or skits that were mostly politically inappropriate. The government tried to ban the events because, in their opinion, they were not religious services and therefore a special permit was necessary. This could not prevail because the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR insisted that only pastors could decide what a service was. However, especially under Werner Krusche , the federal government tried to strengthen the character of a church service. Finally, the Federation of Churches ended the series of events in 1986 in order not to endanger the 1987 Kirchentag promised by the state .
In addition to Holly's blues band , Stefan Diestelmann , Freygang , Jonathan Blues Band , Monokel and Tröger-Lied , church groups performed at the blues masses, but also bluesers who were banned from performing in the GDR . The music performed was not limited to blues, later rock and punk were added. The rebellious punk culture in particular was a thorn in the side of the GDR leadership and the church, especially as punks from West Berlin also came (see also punk in the GDR ).
28 years after the first mass, on August 31, 2007, there was a new edition in the Easter church in Berlin-Wedding . There were Kerth , Engerling , Waldemar Weiz , Big Joe Stolle and Hollys Bluesband . On October 22, 2005, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary, there was a blues mass in the Samariterkirche. A multimedia show, a panel discussion with Holly Holwas, Rainer Eppelmann, Ralf Hirsch and Heinz-Otto Seidenschnur as well as the appearance of a live all-star band were remembered at the time.
30 years after the first blues mass, there was a new edition on July 18, 2009 in the Parochialkirche , which was organized by the parish together with the DDR Museum (Berlin) . In addition to Holly's blues band , the Berlin rapper Prinz Pi also performed .
See also
literature
- Michael Rauhut & Thomas Kochan: Bye, Bye Lübben City . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89602-602-X .
- Dirk Moldt : Between hatred and hope. The blues masses 1979-1986 . Robert Havemann Archive, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-938857-06-9 .
