Wolf Biermann

Now, in the 21st century, we Germans are standing at yet another crossroads: between a bold advance to a liberal, cosmopolitan Europe and a cowardly retreat to 19th-century petty nationalisms.

I have lived through two dark eras: the Nazi dictatorship and the Communist dictatorship of East Germany. My Jewish, communist father was murdered in Auschwitz. In East Berlin, I spent 12 years of my life barred from performing. It was a good time despite it all — my rebellious songs and critical poems spread all the more effectively for being illegal. In 1976, I was expelled against my will to the western side of the Iron Curtain, exiled from Germany into Germany.…  Seguir leyendo »