Geralf Pochop: Tanz auf dem Vulkan. Widerständige Punk-Frauen in der DDR
In a blend of storytelling, readings, and visual segments, Geralf Pochop presents a little-explored chapter of GDR history, giving voice to several women and their experiences as rebellious punk women in the GDR: “Being a punk was a provocation in and of itself. But for a girl to go around like that meant breaking two taboos at once—something like sacrilege in the GDR’s understanding of real existing socialism.” (Nancy)
The 23 protagonists (selection):
Dana, born in 1969, was the first punk girl in Aschersleben; she wrote emotional, critical poems and, at the age of 13, typed out a copy of the book *1984*, which was banned in the GDR. Because of her punk affiliation, she came into conflict with the state authorities and her educational path was blocked. In the mid-1980s, she moved to Halle (Saale), played in the GDR’s only all-girl punk band, “Die Rote Zora,” and became involved with the Christuskirche, about which she says in retrospect: “The Christ Church congregation was a home for us punks. To be honest, my impression is that it was something of a rat hole. If they had opened that up, where would we have run? They would have simply crushed us.”
Kim, born in 1964, was the first female punk in Karl-Marx-Stadt. The Stasi labeled her the “punk instigator of a negative and decadent youth group” and opened the “Park” investigation. Hundreds of pages now document how the Stasi and numerous informants attempted to combat her and persuade her to leave the country. Not least, they tried to exploit Kim’s open identity as a lesbian and discriminate against her. In 1985, Kim left the GDR.
The author:
Geralf Pochop, born in 1964 in Halle (Saale), came into conflict with the authorities as a squatter, East German punk, and conscientious objector. In 1983, he was arrested for the first time while attempting to form a human chain between the Soviet and U.S. embassies and was transferred to the Stasi detention center “Roter Ochse.” In 1987, he was arrested again and sentenced to six months in prison in a sham trial. In April 1989, he was deported to West Germany as part of the Stasi operations “Symbol 89” and “Nelke89.” Since his rehabilitation and recognition as a political prisoner of the GDR, he has been intensively engaged with the GDR’s past. He is the author of the autobiographical books *“Underground Was Strategy. Punk in the GDR: Between Rebellion and Repression”* and *“Between New Beginnings and Riots. The Wild East in the Turmoil of the Post-Reunification Era”*, as well as *“Dancing on the Volcano. Rebellious Punk Women in the GDR”*.
A joint event with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Saxony-Anhalt and Miteinander e.V. as part of the “UND NU?!” event series
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