Social or political resistance would be unthinkable if it did not find expression in media such as newspapers, radio or TV. The event series "Media History of Protest", organised by the German Museum of Books and Writing, sheds light on this interaction. The events examine both historical and present-day protest movements and how they are reflected in visual, textual and audio media. These range from 15th-century pamphlets and the Bückware (articles sold under-the-counter) in the GDR to the #metoo debate, and show public protest as the primary instrument of democracy and rule of law. The format of the events is open and could consist of a reading, a workshop, a "World Café", a lecture, a fishbowl discussion or even a summer festival of democracy.

With this event series, the German Museum of Books and Writing is continuing its engagement with the subject of protest culture in various contexts. The exhibition "Disruptive elements. Art, protest and the end of the GDR", for example, showed how artist magazines, graphic mail art projects and other media successfully circumvented the GDR's censorship apparatus. In 2024, a jazz festival was held to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution and remind listeners of the importance of music as a medium of resistance in the GDR. This event also marked the handover of the Jazzwerkstatt Peitz archive to the German Museum of Books and Writing. This archive is a significant testimony to the history of media and democracy, and is now a permanent part of the collection.

Past events

Mediengeschichte des Protests #4: 60 Jahre Leipziger Beatdemo
31. Oktober 2025
1965 protestierten in Leipzig hunderte Jugendliche gegen das Verbot von Beatmusik. Zum 60. Jahrestag diskutieren Zeitzeug*innen und Musiker*innen über Politik und Musik als Protestform damals und heute.

More (only available in German)

Mediengeschichte des Protests #3: Der deutsche Heftroman
20. Juni 2025 (jeweils 18:00 Uhr und 20:00 Uhr)
Der Einblick in die Heftromane ist die dritte Veranstaltung in der Reihe „Mediengeschichte des Protests“, die das Deutsche Buch- und Schriftmuseum im Frühjahr 2025 startete.

More (only available in German)

Mediengeschichte des Protests #2: Freiheit – Zensur. Bücherverbote und Social Media
6. Mai 2025

More (only available in German)

Mediengeschichte des Protests #1: The sound of rebellion - zur politischen Ästhetik des Jazz
4. April 2025

More (only available in German)