Wolf Biermann & Freunde - "Warte nicht auf beßre Zeiten - Anniversary Concerts for the 90th Birthday"

Warte nicht auf beßre Zeiten!
Wolf Biermann & Friends - Concerts for the 90th Birthday

Singer-songwriter and poet Wolf Biermann turns 90 in 2026 - and the year also marks the 50th anniversary of his legendary 1976 Cologne concert, which led to his consequential expatriation from East Germany and established him as a central figure in the history of divided Germany.

During the GDR dictatorship, Biermann proved through his stance and art that freedom must be seized: "Take your freedom, or it will never come!" - rather than waiting for the regime to grant minor liberties. For this he was subjected to a total 12-year ban on performing and publishing. The aim was to isolate him completely. Biermann refused to yield, remaining the most outspoken critic of the GDR dictatorship. Through books and music recordings smuggled secretly to the West, he quickly became well known; his works were translated into nearly all Western European languages and into Japanese. His popularity largely shielded him from arrest.

In 1976, the ruling authorities decided to expatriate the unsilenceable poet and musician by stealth - using a method favoured by the Nazis. The unexpectedly large wave of protest that followed - in the West, figures such as Yves Montand, Joan Baez, Luigi Nono, and Arthur Miller expressed solidarity, but above all the resistance within the GDR itself, especially among ordinary people - is regarded by historians as the beginning of the end of the GDR.

Wolf Biermann remains a man of strong opinions who continues to spark debate. To this day he does not shy away from speaking uncomfortable truths in often sharp, vivid language, and from weighing in on current politics.

This autumn Wolf Biermann turns 90. His legendary 1976 Cologne concert marks its 50th anniversary. The global political landscape is shifting...