Volf Birman German bard who was one of the most famous dissidents in the GDR in the 1970s. Date of Birth: 15.11.1936 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Wolf Biermann
2. Early Life
3. Moving to the GDR
4. Exile and Musical Career
5. Musical Works
6. Later Years

Biography of Wolf Biermann

Wolf Biermann was a German bard who was one of the most well-known dissidents in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the 1970s.

Early Life

Wolf Biermann was born on November 15, 1936, in Hamburg, Germany, to a family of a port worker who was a communist of Jewish origin. In 1943, Biermann's father died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. After World War II, Wolf completed his education at the Gymnasium Heinrich Hertz in Hamburg. Even before finishing school in 1950, he joined the Pioneer Organization, a communist youth organization.

Moving to the GDR

In 1953, Biermann changed his citizenship from West Germany to the GDR for ideological reasons, with the assistance of Margot Honecker, a communist official and the wife of Erich Honecker. In the early 1960s, he studied philosophy and mathematics at the Humboldt University in East Berlin and began writing poetry. In 1961, he founded the "Worker and Student Theater" in East Berlin. However, his play about the Berlin Wall was banned, and his relationship with the GDR authorities deteriorated during this time.

Exile and Musical Career

In 1976, the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) decided to revoke Biermann's GDR citizenship. In November, he went on a tour to West Germany and was subsequently denied reentry to the GDR. Biermann's expulsion led to the departure of several other cultural figures from the GDR, including the singer Nina Hagen and the actor Manfred Krug. Remaining in the West, Biermann continued to compose and perform songs.

Musical Works

Biermann's musical career includes numerous albums, such as "Warte nicht auf bessere Zeiten" (1973), "Es gibt ein Leben vor dem Tod" (1976), "Gut Kirschenessen * DDR - ça ira!" (1989), and many more. He also performed live concerts and held readings of his poetry.

Later Years

In the 1990s, Biermann traveled to Russia and performed concerts there. Throughout his career, he remained a prominent figure in the German music scene and continued to make significant contributions to political discourse through his songs and poems.