In the GDR, singing political songs from around the world was a way to embody internationalism and solidarity. On GDR radio, recordings of formal agreements and music by individuals were primarily played. Later, recordings from GDR music festivals, such as the Festival of Political Songs (FdPL), organized by the Oktoberklub from 1970 to 1990, were broadcast. The FdPL, possibly the first world music festival, brought artists from all continents to East Berlin. Festival events, recordings, and songbooks helped singing clubs expand their repertoire, and Latin American songs like “Venceremos” were especially popular.
During the talk “Second World Music,” festival organizers and Oktoberklub members reflect on the international connections and relationships forged through songs, while DJ Yuriy plays selected festival recordings for collective listening. Perhaps the audience will even join in and revive the soundscapes of the Second World! This is followed by a guided tour of the exhibition “Across Borders,” where former employees discuss the international relations of GDR radio. After listening to excerpts from the GDR radio’s Latin American program, the audience is invited to learn one of the many “new social dances” invented in the GDR and spread through the radio system in the 1950s and 1960s. These dances aimed to promote the “new socialist personality” and might even help you discover a “new self.”
Participants
After earning her tourism diploma at the Dresden University of Transport, Elke Bitterhof studied singing at the “Hanns Eisler” Academy of Music in Berlin. She toured through 21 countries with the legendary song group Oktoberklub. Additionally, she spent 15 years as the vice-director of the Festival of Political Songs. During this time, she performed on stage with Harry Belafonte, sang alongside Ernst Busch, and hosted concerts by artists such as Silvio Rodriguez and Mercedes Sosa.
In the GDR and reunified Germany, she worked as a television presenter and then spent several years as an editor at the film and television company Provobis, as well as 11 years with the monthly MDR TV show “selbstbestimmt.”
During her extended stay in South America, she taught at the Santiago Film School and served as the director of the German-Chilean Cultural Institute. In 2008, she was appointed to the board of the “World Association of Women and Writers” in Santiago de Chile.
Most recently, from 2021 to 2024, she was Germany’s producer for the Catalan television station TV3, but decided to return to the creative scene as a freelance author, presenter, and singer.
Alexander Neumann grew up in Dresden, where he studied mathematics starting in 1968 and received his doctorate in mathematical statistics in 1976. Most recently, he worked in Berlin at an IT company in the field of production planning. During his studies, Alexander organized many cultural events, and he continued this in his free time in Berlin, especially at the “Haus der jungen Talente.” In 1975, he began volunteering at the annual “Festival of Political Songs,” where he held various responsibilities (organizational office, program design, political fair). Throughout the year, he was involved in other song-oriented events, such as the Berliner Liedersommer and the Folklore Festivals at the HdjT from 1978 to 1982. In addition, he actively collected records and other materials, especially related to politically engaged songs. Currently, he oversees an archive of the Festival of Political Songs at the “Lied und soziale Bewegungen e.V.” association.
Dr. Sydney Hutchinson is an ethnomusicologist and author or editor of five books on Latin American and Caribbean music and dance. She previously held the professorship in ethnomusicology at Syracuse University (New York); now, she is part of the Institute for Music and Media Studies at Humboldt University, where she leads the project “Second World Music: Latin America, the GDR, and the Sound Circuits of Socialism.
