Bettina Wegner

Although the German folk singer Bettina Wegner was born in West Berlin in 1947, her parents were good party members and when the German Democratic Public was created in 1949 her communist parents moved to East Berlin. Not only did the young singer grow up behind the Iron Curtain she was also on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall and experienced the oppression and control of the communist state during her formative years. Her experiences in the communist sector of Berlin turned her into a political activist and she began distributing leaflets expressing concern about the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In East Germany in 1968 such an activity was enough to get sent to jail and Wegner was incarcerated for 19 months. The problems she endured as an East German citizen influenced much of her writing and eventually after years of protesting about the state the German Democratic Republic expelled her to West Germany in 1983.

In the free West Wegner built up a successful career as a folk singer performing with artists such as Joan Baez, Konstantin Wecker and Angelo Branduardi. After 30 years of performing and recording she retired from public appearances with a farewell tour in 2007.