1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel and the crisis in the Middle EastGerman coalition collapseUS election
A photo by Wolfgang Kumm, taken in Berlin on November 7, 2015: Wolf Biermann, wearing a blue shirt, sits and sings at a microphone while playing an acoustic guitar.
Image: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture allianceImage: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture alliance

Wolf Biermann

A famous former East German dissident, singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann's expatriation from the German Democratic Republic in 1976 triggered a wave of protests in both East and West Germany.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

Wolf Biermann sitting next to a microphone, hand on a guitar.

Germany's eternal dissident: Singer Wolf Biermann

A new exhibition about singer-songwriter and GDR dissident Wolf Biermann reflects the history of a divided Germany.
MusicJuly 7, 2023
Two people carrying wood on bicycles along a muddy path.

Intellectuals call for support of Ukraine

The signatories of the open call demand more support for Ukraine to help the country survive winter during the war.
CultureNovember 17, 2022
Eva-Maria Hagen

Eva-Maria Hagen, the 'Bardot of the East,' dies

The actor and singer Eva-Maria Hagen, one of communist East Germany's biggest stars, has passed away.
CultureAugust 19, 2022
A Ukrainian soldier stands next to a tank in the snow.

Celebrities call for de-escalation in Ukraine

In an open letter, celebrities from around the world have called for an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
CultureFebruary 5, 2022
Wolf Biermann with guitar, singing at the microphone

Wolf Biermann shows solidarity with Belarus

The German singer-songwriter is giving his 2020 OVID Prize to Belarusian activist Maria Kolesnikova. He tells DW why.
MusicOctober 5, 2021
Deutschland Nina Hagen

Godmother of punk: Nina Hagen turns 65

Singer-songwriter, mother, activist, punk — for Nina Hagen it's a fine line between madness and genius.
MusicMarch 10, 202012 images
Wolf Biermann

Wolf Biermann: To call the Nazi era 'bird shit' is criminal

Even 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, dissident singer Wolf Biermann is as provocative as ever.
CultureNovember 7, 2019
Wolf Biermann

How a 1976 concert shook the Berlin Wall

In November 1976, East German musician Wolf Biermann took the stage in West Germany — with historic consequences.
HistoryNovember 4, 2019
external

Berlin's International Literature Festival opens

Donna Leon and Arundhati Roy are just two of the big names about to descend on the annual event.
CultureSeptember 7, 201702:03 min
Bundestag 25 Jahre Mauerfall 07.11.2014 Biermann

Interview - "We wanted to transform East Germany" - Interview with Wolf Biermann

He was a committed communist and voluntarily moved to East Germany. There, he became a dissident and was stripped of his citizenship. Wolf Biermann tells DW about his disillusionment with socialism and his conviction that people must speak up.
December 18, 201612:03 min
DW Arts.21 logo

Arts.21 - The Cultural Magazine | 12.11.2016

Arts.21 reviews the dirtiest US election campaign of modern times. Plus: Africa’s new temple of art.
CultureNovember 14, 2016
external

"We wanted to transform East Germany“

Interview with singer-song writer and poet Wolf Biermann
November 11, 201612:03 min

A bit of Bundestag fun!

Dissident songwriter Wolf Biermann took hefty swings at the Left party, says DW's Felix Steiner.
November 8, 2014
Wolf Biermann

Nonconforming communist

An interview with Wolf Biermann, a 75-year-old advocate turned opponent of the Berlin Wall.
August 12, 2011

Berlin Debates Biermann

Berlin is heatedly debating whether a former East German dissident should get honorary citizenship.
January 16, 2007
Wolf Biermann with his guitar and a mic on stage

The Prickly Balladeer

Wolf Biermann, one of Germany's best-known and most controversial balladeers, turned 70 this week.
November 16, 2006