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Stephan Krawczyk

Stephan Krawczyk

Website von Stephan Krawczyk

References

  • Krawczyk, Stephan: Das irdische Kind (1996)
  • Krawczyk, Stephan: Der Narr. Roman (2003)
  • Krawczyk, Stephan: Der Himmel fiel aus allen Wolken. Eine deutsch-deutsche Zeitreise (2009)

Born in 1955 in Weida, Stephan Krawczyk joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1976 after serving in the military. In 1978, he began to pursue a degree in classical guitar in Weimar. In 1981, he was awarded with the prize for the best vocalist of the GDR. After moving to Berlin in 1984, he befriended the director Freya Klier. In 1985, he resigned from the SED and, due to his critical texts, was banned from work. As a result, his performance venues were limited to churches and community spaces. His lyrics and songs were soon very popular in ecclesiastical opposition circles, which prompted the Ministry for State Security (Stasi) to conduct extensive surveillance and subversive measures.

In November 1987, Freya Klier and Krawczyk wrote a letter to the SED Politburo member Kurt Hager about respect for human rights, revoking their work bans, and the independence of art and culture in the GDR. On the way to an official demonstration in which he wanted to participate with his own banner, he was arrested and taken to the remand prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen in January 1988. Under the threat of a long prison sentence, he was compelled to accept deportation to the West. Together with Freya Klier, he was deported to the Federal Republic of Germany in early February 1988. He played numerous concerts and tours abroad. In 2002, he performed in concert for the first time at the Memorial Berlin-Hohenschönhausen.