Musik und Gesellschaft in der DDR und im Iran

"They’re arresting and convicting us because we love the new beat," two girls wrote on flyers in Leipzig in early November 1965, expressing their anger at the security forces’ brutal crackdown on beat fans just a few days earlier.
On October 31, 1965, hundreds of young people had gathered in Leipzig to protest the crackdown on the beat scene. 267 young people were “taken into custody.”
Courts imposed penalties on 162 beat fans—many of whom were forced to perform hard labor in open-pit lignite mines. This made the Leipzig Beat demonstration the largest protest event between June 17, 1953, and the Peaceful Revolution of 1989–90.
The event draws parallels between the repression of youth and music culture in the GDR at that time and the current situation in Iran. There, music, dance, and Western influences are subject to strict censorship; women, in particular, are prohibited from making music in public. The panel discussion will explore how female artists in exile from Iran are continuing this fight for artistic freedom today.

Program: Screening of the film “Für Mick Jagger in den Knast” (2006, 45 min.) followed by a panel discussion with Gerhard Pötzsch ( eyewitness, Leipzig), Udo Gebhardt ( eyewitness, Halle), Juliane Thieme ( historian, Leipzig Citizens’ Movement Archive), and Faravaz ( Iranian artist and singer in exile). Moderated by Dagmar Hovestädt ( author/moderator).

Venue: Stasi Headquarters. Campus for Democracy, Building 22. The building is not wheelchair accessible.

Pre-event program: Guided tour of the Stasi Records Archive, starting at 5:00 p.m., duration: 45 minutes
Meeting point: Stasi Headquarters. Campus for Democracy, “Building 7” foyer

To register for the guided tour, email: einblick-ins-geheime@bundesarchiv.de