Resolution of rock musicians and songwriters

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The resolution of rock musicians and songwriters (complete: resolution of rock musicians and songwriters on the internal situation and the call for the New Forum ) was a contribution by entertainment musicians from the GDR during the peaceful revolution in the GDR .

history

On September 18, 1989, over 50 well-known entertainment musicians from the GDR met in the "Maxim Gorki Club" in the East Berlin district of Weißensee to draft and sign a resolution on the situation in the GDR. They included Gerhard Schöne , André Herzberg , Hans-Eckardt Wenzel (in the order of the signatories) and numerous other artists such as Steffen Mensching , Jürgen Ehle , Toni Krahl , Tamara Danz and all other members of Silly , Frank Schöbel , Angelika Weiz , Lutz Kerschowski , Conny Bauer , Charlie Eitner , Kurt Demmler and members of Stern Meißen and Karat . Most of the final formulation came from Hans-Eckardt Wenzel and Steffen Mensching, and the songwriter Norbert Bischoff was one of the initiators . Toni Krahl, singer from City and at that time chairman of the "Rock Music Section in the Committee for Entertainment Art of the GDR", had arranged the meeting with the co-founder of the New Forum Bärbel Bohley .

Addressees were numerous institutions of the GDR, such as the news agency ADN , the New Germany , the Young World , radio and television of the GDR, the Central Committee of the SED , the Ministry for State Security and numerous other leading organizations. The resolution expresses concern about the situation in the GDR at the time. The demands of the newly founded New Forum are expressly welcomed. The government and the party are asked to take note of the concerns of the population as expressed by the New Forum. At the same time it is warned that “right-wing extremist and conservative national elements” could take advantage of the situation and threaten the existence of the GDR as a state if the GDR government does not respond to the demands made.

The GDR government did not react officially to the resolution, but subsequently took massive action against the signatories of the resolution, who demanded publication in the GDR media, with concert cancellations, cancellation of fees, fines and performance bans , and brought state organizations against them the further spread in position.

Only Der Morgen , the press organ of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany , published the resolution in its edition of October 18, 1989. Other official GDR media kept silent or reported only indirectly and tried to convince the signatories of the resolution for the official line of the To collect the SED and thereby exclude the New Forum as a potential organization for necessary changes in the country. The subsequent threat by the signatories to turn on “media ready for publication” led to a clear clarification in the same sheet just two days later.

All measures taken by the state could not prevent the further dissemination of the resolution. The Ministry of State Security noted that the resolution was brought to the attention of a total of around 30,000 participants in public events in the following weeks, and that the majority of the audience approved it. On October 15, many of the musicians involved in the resolution gave the “Concert Against Violence” in East Berlin's Church of the Redeemer . New texts were sung that attacked the GDR government and numerous new resolutions were read out. Participants included the bands Silly, Pankow and City as well as Conny Bauer. Around 2,000 people attended the concert.

background

From around 1987 onwards, the so-called other bands had developed in the GDR , which clearly distinguished themselves from the official cultural policy of the authorities. In contrast, there were most of the successful rock musicians and songwriters who essentially conformed to the system , but sometimes explored the limits, for example in the form of hidden allusions in texts - which many young people saw as a sign of hope. The resolution of the rock musicians and songwriters was the first common public appearance of these musicians against state power.

On 9/10 In September the New Forum was founded, calling for a dialogue with the state authorities in its appeal “The time is ripe - Awakening 89”. On September 11, 1989, the Hungarian government opened the border to Austria for GDR citizens. On September 12th, the call for interference by the citizens' movement Democracy Now was published. The big Monday demonstrations did not take place until after September 18.

Others

In addition to rock musicians and songwriters, Frank Schöbel was involved as a pop singer and Conny Bauer and Charlie Eitner as a jazz musician.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stasi report at ddr89.de, accessed on June 12, 2018
  2. ↑ Barbara Hammerschmidt, Bernd Lindner: Rock! Youth and Music in Germany. from google books , accessed October 15, 2011
  3. ^ Mathias Judt: GDR history in documents: resolutions, reports, internal materials and everyday testimonies. Ch. Links, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-86153-142-9 . P. 605.
  4. ↑ Götz Hintze: Rock Lexicon of the GDR . 2nd Edition. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-303-9 , p. 16.
  5. ↑ Michael Rauhut: Shawm and leather jacket . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-89602-065-X , p. 295ff.
  6. ↑ In dialogue: rock musicians and songwriters in conversation with the Free German Youth . In: Junge Welt . October 11, 1989
  7. ↑ In dialogue: Clarification of a conversation . In: Junge Welt. October 13, 1989
  8. ↑ Michael Rauhut: Shawm and leather jacket . Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-89602-065-X , p. 300f.
  9. ↑ Armin Mitter, Stefan Wolle (ed.): I love you all! Orders and situation reports from the MfS. January-November 1989. BasisDruck, Berlin 1990, p. 215
  10. ^ Walter Suess: State Security at the End . Ch. Links, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-86153-181-X , pp. 199f. ( Digitized version )
  11. ^ GDR journal on the November revolution 1989 . Die Tageszeitung , 1990, p. 50
  12. ^ GDR Chronicle 1989 - October 15 . www.ddr89.de. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2012.