Thorsten Philipp - short interview about the history of DDR punk (2026)

Short interview about punk scene in DDR/GDR with Thorsten.

In 1983, he moved to Berlin to study nursing at a technical college, while also working as a sound engineer for a church band under the auspices of the Evangelical Diakonie (a Protestant social welfare organization).

Hi Thorsten, 

I have a few questions about the East German punk scene.

1. The punk lifestyle in East Germany was characterized by state repression. What were the biggest problems? 

I dropped out of my vocational training and started an apprenticeship with the Protestant Church. Since this church invested heavily in the dilapidated East German healthcare system, employees weren't harassed. These apprenticeships were very rare and highly sought after. In my case, it was a vocational school program in nursing.

2. The system—schools and police—suppressed any signs of nonconformity. How did you manage to break through this "barbed wire fence"? 

See 1.

3. You was part of the Berlin scene. What opportunities were there to start a punk band? What were the rehearsal spaces and recording facilities like? You're currently working on remixes/remastering and restoring archival recordings and demo tapes. Which bands would you recommend? One of my most important sources of information on East German punk is the blog TAPE ATTACK. Are you involved there? I also remember the label Tape Utopia, which also promoted the former East German scene. Do you have any contact with them?

All the rehearsal spaces I know of were in vacant buildings. Bands were practically illegal unless they were under the auspices of the Free German Youth (FDJ). Bands were formed within one's circle of friends and acquaintances. Recordings in my area (until 1985) took place in rehearsal rooms using boomboxes and built-in microphones. Armin Bautz and I were among the very few who had converted a rehearsal room into a kind of recording studio. I don't work with Tape Attack. I'm not familiar with Tape Utopia. You can see my music biography here:

https://parocktikum.de/wiki/index.php?title=Thorsten_Philipp

4. Concerts also took place in church gardens and churches. Were some members of the punk scene religious, or was it simply due to the church's willingness to help those persecuted? 

More the latter.

5. How much pressure did the secret police exert on the punk movement? I know that, for example, some members of L'ATTENTAT gave in to the pressure and cooperated.

There are many stories about this. From banning the band to revoking their playing licenses to influencing employers to fire them, many things were possible. Musicians like Jana Schloßer were even imprisoned for 1.5 years just for their lyrics. There were many musicians who cooperated, worked as informants for the secret police, or toned down their lyrics.

6. Where did the band recordings, demo tapes, etc., come from? Did you have contact with the West beyond the Wall? Are you a collector of recordings? Which recording in your collection do you consider the most interesting?

https://parocktikum.de/wiki/index.php?title=Thorsten_Philipp

Happy Straps, Rosa Extra, Trötsch Tröger, Hard Pop, Der demokratische Konsum Yes, I collect recordings; I had no contacts in the West.

7. Please explain the term "Church from Below." Could you describe its activities? How did it come about that the church became so open to nonconformist punks? 

The Church from Below (KvU) was an oppositional, grassroots democratic movement, primarily within the Protestant Church in East Germany, which took on a clear shape from around 1986/87 and was active until 1989/90. Origin & Background: Many younger Christians, grassroots groups, peace circles, and nonconformist youths were frustrated by the official church leadership's perceived overly state-oriented and conformist stance ("Church in Socialism," diplomacy towards the SED and the state).

[The sentence about Church from Below is incomplete and appears to be a fragment from a different source.] They demanded a prophetic and critical church, one that emerged from below, instead of hierarchical conformity. The decisive impetus for its founding came in 1987:

Several grassroots groups announced their intention to hold an alternative "Church Congress from Below" (some even threatening occupation), because they had been excluded from or severely restricted by the official Protestant Church Congress.

The counter-convention of the Church Congress at the Pentecostal Church in Berlin-Friedrichshain was a great success (approximately 6,000 attendees). From this emerged the Church from Below, a loose association with regional groups (primarily in Berlin, but also elsewhere). Its content and demands (typical):

Criticism of the Church leadership's accommodation of the established order

"Jesus comes from below" – preferential option for the poor, marginalized, and oppressed.

Linking peace, justice, and the preservation of creation (specifically: antimilitarism, ecology, human rights, and democracy) 

Open youth work, punk and alternative scene, blues masses, and concerts 

More radical language and actions than the official Peace Decade Significance 1988–1989: The Church from Below was among the most visible and radical parts of the church's opposition base (alongside the International Movement for Peace, The Ark, the Solidarity Church, and others). 

Criticism of the Church from Below was a key element of the Church's opposition movement. She was an important part of that church-based counter-public sphere which, in 1989, supported the peace prayers, Monday demonstrations, and the change of system.

Painting by Yves Drube

Thanx. Mišo