»Freiheit für alle Beatfans« – Graffitis und Flugblätter gegen den Staat

On the 59th anniversary of the Leipzig beat demo:

On October 31, 1965, hundreds of outraged young people demonstrated on Leipzig's Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz against the SED's clear-cutting of the beat scene. "The Butlers" and other popular Leipzig bands were no longer allowed to play, as they were considered too "western-decadent". The GDR state forces violently broke up the peaceful beat demo and temporarily arrested 267 young people. 162 of them were punished with 2 to 4 weeks of "work education" in the lignite mines. Numerous leafleting and graffiti campaigns by the horrified young people in the Leipzig city area followed.

This protest event is still too little known in Leipzig, which is why the Leipzig Civic Movement Archive commemorates this largest public confrontation in Leipzig between June 17, 1953 and the Peaceful Revolution every year. 59 years after the Beatdemo, the aim is to preserve the memories of contemporary witnesses and make them more present in Leipzig's collective memory. The audience will be invited to contribute ideas and wishes for the 60th anniversary of the Beatdemo in 2025. Of course, there will also be live beat music again, this year by Thomas Spillner from Leipzig, who played in the Leipzig Beat Quintet and later with the GDR cult band "Winni 2"!

Admission: Free