Upon finishing school at the age of 17, Biermann emigrated from West to
East Germany where he believed he could live out his Communist ideals. He lived at a boarding school near
Schwerin until 1955, and then began studying
political economics at the
Humboldt University of Berlin. From 1957 to 1959, he was an assistant
director at the
Berliner Ensemble. At university he changed courses to study philosophy and mathematics under Wolfgang Heise until 1963, when he completed his thesis. Despite his successful defense of his thesis, he did not receive his diploma until 2008, when he was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree. In 1960, Biermann met composer
Hanns Eisler, who adopted the young artist as a protégé. Biermann began writing poetry and songs. Eisler used his influence with the East German cultural elite to promote the songwriter's career, but his death in 1962 deprived Biermann of his mentor and protector. In 1961, Biermann formed the
Berliner Arbeiter-Theater ("Berlin Workers' Theater"), which was closed in 1963 before the production of Biermann's show
Berliner Brautgang, which documented the building of the
Berlin Wall. The play was officially banned and Biermann was forbidden to perform for six months. After the
Wende, documents available from Biermann's file at the
Stasi Records Agency revealed that the reviewers were under the impression that he was a regular user of stimulants, leading to the rejection of his application. In 1964, Biermann performed for the first time in West Germany. A performance in April 1965 in
Frankfurt am Main on
Wolfgang Neuss' cabaret program was recorded and released as an LP titled
Wolf Biermann (Ost) zu Gast bei Wolfgang Neuss (West). Later that year, Biermann published a book of poetry,
Die Drahtharfe, through the West German publisher Klaus Wagenbach. In December 1965, the Central Committee of the
Socialist Unity Party of Germany denounced him as a "
class traitor" and placed him onto the performance and publication blacklist. At this time, the
Stasi developed a 20-point plan to "
degrade" or discredit his person. While blacklisted, Biermann continued to write and compose, culminating in his 1968 album
Chausseestraße 131, recorded on equipment smuggled from the west in his apartment at Chausseestraße 131 in
Mitte, the central borough of Berlin. To break this isolation, artists including
Joan Baez and many others visited him at his home during the
World Festival of Youth and Students in 1973.
Karsten Voigt, chairman of the West German Social Democratic Youth (
Jusos), protested against the suppression of the freedom of opinion and information by the state security. ==Deprivation of citizenship==