»Wir sind die Türken von morgen« von Ulrich Gutmair

»We are the Turks of tomorrow. New Wave, New Germany« is about a cultural revolution. At the end of the 1970s, intellectuals recommended »German identity« as a therapeutic agent against a supposedly disorientated society. Young punks preferred to reinvent themselves. As garish, loud and provocative as possible.

The holes in their T-shirts and jeans were a reference to the general breakdown of conditions. They were a scandal in post-war Germany because the ideal world was not supposed to show any cracks.

Germany had long since become a country of immigration. But the majority of society found it difficult to accept this. Gabi Delgado-Lopez’s satirical response to German fears of foreign infiltration was: »We are the Turks of tomorrow.« He and several other children of migrants made a significant contribution to the invention of a German pop language. Soon the new movement was called the »Neue deutsche Welle«. The »German« in its name referred to the language, not the country.

The artists of the New Wave reflected everyday life in a society that was still characterised by authoritarian standardisation constraints. The punks made fun of old and new Nazis. Young women formed bands against the resistance of wide-legged men. Then they cheerfully sang about their desires to annoy the patriarchy. Last but not least, the styles and lyrics of the New Wave played with gender roles. They propagated a playful form of queerness. »Who are the girls? Who are the boys?« asked The Wirtschaftswunder from Limburg, for example. Their singer was a young guest worker from Sicily.

Moderation: Anja Wasserbäch