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The history of popular music in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is marked by disproportion on the one hand and gaps on the other. The majority of studies focus on phenomena that are assigned subversive qualities and the potential to lead to fundamental social change: jazz, blues, folk, and various styles of rock music. These genres are well documented in the archives that have opened up since the fall of the Berlin Wall. As Schlager, musicals or the operetta are considered to be light entertainment rather than culture, they are rarely researched. Gaps also exist with regard to the analysis of the musical artefact itself. Most research projects are dominated by an interest in historical events and focus on political forces and social effects, and the music itself is often ignored in favour of a discussion of the socio-political framework. This special issue presents new findings and invites a discussion on those methods that may contribute to a broadening of the perspectives on the history of popular music in the GDR.

The development of popular music in the GDR was managed and controlled by the state. The state monopolized the production and distribution of music and kept its social use under surveillance, enacting a multitude of laws intended to shore up its own claim to power. While the administrative hold of the state left behind deep marks on the aesthetics and attitudes of East German rock and pop music, its grip was never absolute. Leading political ideas were continually being undermined by musicians and fans, but also by the state apparatus itself. In practice, the principle of expediency held court, and the path of least resistance was chosen. Small capitalist structures became increasingly prevalent, while everyday music culture atomized into niches. The fissure between intention and reality, with its attendant contradictions and tensions, operated as an important source of impetus and momentum for popular music in the GDR. Historical research that looks to advance to the heart of the subject must keep a view to the intricate processes of negotiation and power structures. This article considers the specific dynamics at play in light of three examples: the means of production, of publicity, and of interpretation.

This chapter outlines popular music’s particular conditions of existence in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and how those were reflected in the meaning and significance of that genre. It describes the power struggles linked to opposing identity ascriptions through an analysis of music-based youth cultures in socialist East Germany. The GDR was founded as a socialist state in 1949. It defined itself as the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and was led by the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), which was guided by Marxist-Leninist principles. Youth cultures created around popular music thus possessed a special quality due to the effect of the social and political relations in the country. They moved within a field of tension determined by both global influences and contradictions within the socialist system. GDR youth cultures can be distinguished from communities in other countries by looking at their stylistic repertoire, only partly inspired by the images and behavior codes transferred from the West.

In the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR), the Church entered into a long-term, complex and productive symbiosis with popular music. Beginning in the 1950s, reform-minded pastors opened their doors to jazz, and, later, almost the entire spectrum of popular music could be found in their churches: from pop hits, beat, rock, blues to singer/songwriters and punk. The interplay between the Church and popular music gave rise to a highly unique communicative space, a counterpart to the rigidly organized public realm. Here, political dissidents took refuge from a repressive system and were free to examine their society critically. This political force infused the alliance of the Church and popular music in East Germany with an explosive quality. To examine the specifics of this alliance, this article traces three major trends: the assimilation of African-American music, the reform of the traditional religious hymn, and the linking of youth ministry with popular music. The analysis of these three t...

Uber das gesellschaftsverandernde Potential von Musik wird seit Jahrtausenden spekuliert und gestritten. In der Bibel bringen die Posaunen von Jericho Mauern zum Einsturzen, und Sokrates warnt in Platons Der Staat vor der subversiven Macht der Tone: » Denn eine neue Art von Musik einzufuhren muss man sich huten, da hierbei das Ganze auf dem Spiele steht. Werden doch nirgends die Tonweisen verandert ohne Mitleidenschaft der wichtigsten staatlichen Gesetze. « (Platon 1923: 140) Die Gegenstimmen sind nicht minder laut und zahlreich.

Published version of an article from the journal: Norsk tidsskrift for musikkforskning. Also freely available oon the Internet:http://journal.uia.no/index.php/NTM/article/view/63 Within different political systems, youth cultures use similar symbols and styles which are charged with distinct and specific meaning. In the German Democratic Republic, the socialist part of Germany, youth cultures were identified as being a political threat. They created space for communication that was in sharp contrast to the propagandistic ideal of the so-called „socialist personality“ and hardly to control by the state. Based on the example of the hippie phenomenon in the East, the essay explains the way global youth cultures had been differentiated culturally and loaded with political sense under the circumstances of socialism