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Michael Sallmann

Michael "Salli" Sallmann

References

  • Auerbach, T.: DDR – konkret. Geschichte und Berichte aus einem real existierenden Land (1984)
  • Salli Sallmann, Badetag (2009)

Born in 1953 in Chemnitz, Sallmann studied at the School of Engineering Sciences in Leipzig. In 1975, a few weeks before his expected graduation, Sallmann was ex-matriculated because of his relationship to the singer and songwriter Wolf Biermann and his "anti-socialist activities in the cultural field." Prior to his ex-matriculation, the Culture Department of Leipzig had revoked his permit as a lyricist and vocalist of the Leipzig "Songgruppe."

During his military service in the National People's Army and after Biermann's expatriation in November 1976, Sallmann illegally played songs and recited poems for soldiers and officers in his barracks. In 1977, Sallmann was arrested for "subversive propaganda" by the Ministry for State Security (Stasi). Given the choice between a long-term stay at Berlin-Hohenschönhausen or to leave the GDR, he was eventually deported from the remand prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen to West Berlin, where he has since lived. In West Berlin, he engaged in journalistic, musical, and political work. Since 1997, Sallmann has been an editor at the rbb Kulturradio radio station.