Meanings of fanzines in the beginning of Punk in the GDR and FRG

Abstract

This article is examining the different cultural meanings of fanzines in the early punk scene in both German states. Since 1977 more and more of these journals had been published in the FRG. These autonomous publications used to media between staging, communication and the construction of collective identities. In case of punk fanzines in the FRG, they meant self-empowerment, the overcoming of isolation and the constitution of a social and cultural community. While these journals became an important part of the scene in West-Germany, there was a lack of them in the GDR. The government’s control over publishing and the missing means and possibilities of production prohibited the development of autonomous publications such as fanzines. The comparison of the development of punk fanzine culture in both German states show that these media and their cultural meanings must always be seen in front of the greater societal and political framework they appear in.

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