Rock me!:Rock n Roll becomes the soundtrack of a generation

Frowned upon by parents, rock 'n' roll became the soundtrack of a young generation in the mid-1950s that was fascinated by the American way of life and longed for new beginnings and freedom. At least in the West.

by Ulrike Bosse, NDR Info

Even when the occupation statute was lifted ten years after the end of the Second World War, parts of the Allied troops remained in Germany as a result of the Paris Agreement reservations. The occupiers become protective powers and allies - and they leave their cultural traces behind. In Northern Germany it is the British. The Americans are mainly stationed in southern Germany - and with GI Elvis Presley in 1958 they have a star with them:the idol of millions of young people and a projection surface for freedom and rebellion.

The "Moldau" on the turntable:"Everything pissed us off"

"We wanted to be free, we wanted to have our own culture," recalls Claus-Kurt Ilge at the time. As a teenager, he fell in love with rock 'n' roll and American culture. Because he has contact with US soldiers - including Elvis Presley. But also because he and his friends are simply fed up with their parents' lifestyle:"Sundays we had breakfast together. Then records were put on from the music closet. Moldova flowed slowly, flowed quickly. It all pissed us off, you can say that say."

50s not glamorous for most

Kidney-shaped table, petticoat, milk bar and the sun of Capri:The 1950s are not really the way they are often portrayed. At least not for most Germans and not for most of the decade. What is often shown in films today may be possible towards the end of the decade and in wealthy families. However, everyday life for most people initially looks different:a lot of work, little free time, a lack of housing, traditional role models, authoritarian social structures. And until the middle of the decade, the Germans live under an occupation regime.

Life under the Allies felt disgrace

Claus-Kurt Ilge, born in 1942, grew up in Bad Nauheim in Hesse. American soldiers are stationed in neighboring Friedberg. At first his father felt that their presence was quite a disgrace. They are in charge and let the Germans feel it:"There was the big Grand Hotel, there was General Patten. And the officers went to the mayor and said:'We need so and so many apartments by 6 p.m or so and so many houses.' Some of the people were thrown out, some had to go into the attic. And that's where the winners lived."

Ice cream and cigarettes:coveted items from the USA

Conversely, as a kindergarten child, Claus-Kurt Ilge had positive experiences with the Americans who invited the little ones to the barracks:"There was the canteen, that's where we were served. And that's where I ate the first donut, the first American, this icing -exaggerated things."

The difference between the sparse life in their parents' homes and the opulence in which Americans obviously live is imprinted on the children:"The big cars. Ice cream, cigarettes, whiskey, shrimp:everything was there," says Ilge. "They already had the jeans, the Mustang jeans cost us 19.50 - and they were rarities."

Ban on fraternization prevents personal contacts

Ilge found it all fascinating back then - even if he only noticed it from afar at first:"The Americans were among themselves." During and after the war, soldiers were initially prohibited from fraternizing with the Germans:in the spring of 1944, the Western Allies issued a decree that fraternization between Allied troops and German officials and the population was to be strictly prohibited. It was only two years later that this was officially replaced by an occupation policy in which collaboration and cooperation came to the fore. However, the fraternization ban fell long ago because many US soldiers did not comply with it anyway.

"Roteins" soften the ban on contact

Ilge remembers that in practice it was initially softened by the "Fräuleins" - German girlfriends of Americans. Then Germans are hired by the Americans - for example in the canteen or as cleaning staff. And finally there is cooperation at the political level:German district administrators are assigned American officers. "Then they inspected parades or opened some festivities together, the Americans with the Germans."

That doesn't mean that the relationship between US troops and the population at this time is always easy. In the mid-1950s, for example, areas were created in residential areas near certain American barracks that GIs were not allowed to enter in order to protect Germans from attacks. In addition, the American headquarters in Heidelberg ordered exit restrictions for all GIs stationed in the Federal Republic.

Rock 'n' roll and jeans as an expression of rebellion

Claus-Kurt Ilge's contact with the Americans and his love for the American way of life are conveyed through music. "Radio AFN, the American Forces Network, was great," he says. He and his friends hear Elvis, Bill Haley and Doris Day for the first time on the American soldier radio station. For the young Claus-Kurt, the American becomes a means of rebelling against his parents and teachers.

At that time, no jeans were allowed to be worn at his school - the reason:These were primitive American work clothes. "If someone came with it, he was sent home again," says Ilge. Which doesn't stop him from doing it again and again.

Devaluation of US culture as compensation for powerlessness

The rejection of the American also continues in the parental home. "My grandma used to say, 'How can you go there?!' Those are our enemies.' So I said:'Grandma, these are not our enemies, these are the winners.'" According to Ilge, the adults in his family feel subjugated and patronized:"Everything American was bad - they talked everything down." And since the culture of the Americans is foreign to them, it is said that they have no real culture.

Even conservative intellectuals equate "Americanization" with cultural emptiness and judge the cultural change that is taking place in Germany - not least because of the economic miracle - negatively. Sociologists say today that the Europeans also tried to compensate for feelings of powerlessness in the face of the military, political and economic superiority of the Americans.

Despite all reservations:US cinema is appreciated

As always, reality is more complex than theory. For example, going to the cinema in the 50's is one of the most popular pastimes when going out. There are films with old German stars like Heinz Rühmann or Hans Albers, and homeland films are particularly popular. But on the other hand, statistics show that between 1949 and 1963 almost half of the films released in theaters were US productions.

"Youth culture" in the GDR a tight educational apparatus

In the GDR, the American way of life is further away, but the leadership is watching developments in the West very closely - and doesn't want them to spill over the border. Unlike in the Federal Republic, there is something like a "youth culture" in the GDR, a system organized from above that is intended to turn children and young people into "socialist" people. As early as the summer of 1945, the Soviet military administration began to organize "youth committees". On March 7, 1946, the Free German Youth (FDJ) was officially founded, and in 1948 the pioneer organization "Ernst Thälmann" for children of primary school age was added. There is no compulsory membership in the FDJ, but the FDJ leaders, for example, can decide whether someone is admitted to the Abitur and may study. So you can't get far in the GDR without the FDJ.

Jeans and rock 'n' roll:Red handkerchiefs for the GDR leadership

According to the GDR leadership, the blue shirt of the FDJ is the appropriate piece of clothing for young people - and not the blue "rivet pants" from the West, as the jeans are called. It's just as frowned upon as music from America, which young people in the GDR naturally also know and like from the RIAS Berlin radio program. Rock 'n' roll clubs also spring up - but as soon as the authorities get wind of it, they shut down. And the FDJ central organ "Junge Welt" writes about Elvis Presley:"His singing resembles his face:stupid, dull and brutal. The boy was completely unmusical."

Elvis with a quiff and swinging hips:"Our pioneer"

Claus-Kurt Ilge, who listens to Elvis' music on AFN, is enthusiastic about him from the start. On a "mirror" cover photo he sees a picture of himself for the first time. "He had the Schmalztolle. And we thought that was great." In 1957, the film "Love Me Tender" was released in German cinemas under the title "Pulverdampf undhot Lieder":"I went to the film three times." Elvis becomes the boy's idol with his way of singing and rebelling, which was criticized even in America at the time. "Some of it wasn't allowed to be played there. On television, it was only allowed to be shown above the waistline and so on. That was our pioneer. We wanted to be free."

The "King" comes as a GI

Then Elvis Presley comes to Germany as a GI. The American troop transport arrives in Bremerhaven on October 1, 1958 - greeted by an enthusiastic crowd and several camera teams. Claus-Kurt Ilge is also there:"He shouldered his duffel bag, went down the ramp and then took the bus to the barracks." To Friedberg.

From then on, Ilge made it his hobby to always know exactly where Elvis was in and around Friedberg. Elvis' family is accommodated in a hotel in Bad Nauheim. There the now 16-year-old Claus-Kurt hangs around and tries to catch a glimpse of Elvis. But the first personal contact came through an acquaintance who Elvis hired as his personal chauffeur. Ilge gets his first autograph - and is enthusiastic about the star's appearance:"Friendly, courteous, laughed. He wanted to know what I was doing, how things were going at school. He was approachable, always happy. That was our idol, our role model , and we've had it up close."

Ilge becomes the "Boy from Friedberg"

After that, Ilge manages to meet Elvis regularly:he works as a magazine deliverer and can bring the star the latest articles about him before they are available at the kiosk. "I was then his 'Boy from Friedberg' and provided him with newspapers every week."

In return, Ilge accepts Elvis' signatures on postcards, records, posters and much more. Word of his contact spreads and fans around the world start asking him for Elvis' autographs. He's angry at first because he thinks his "Boy from Friedberg" would make a deal out of it, as Ilge says. He shows Elvis the letters he gets from teenagers in England, Holland and Belgium. "They ran away somewhere in Sweden and elsewhere and were found again in Bad Nauheim. They wanted to see Elvis - and had to go back." They write to Ilge from home, who has postcards and records signed and sends them back to the fans. And the star understands. "And then he patted me on the shoulder and said:'You do a lot of work for me.'"

Rock 'n' Roll:Revolt - and escape to a slightly lighter world

The friendly US soldier Elvis Presley - that's one side. The other is the musician:lard, provocative sexual gestures on stage, the attitude of the rebel. And it's not just Elvis's, it characterizes the rock musicians of the time as a whole. There are concerts that end in riots. The social establishment therefore often equates rock 'n' roll with the so-called hooligans:young people who take to the streets and fight with the police.

"Bravo" star cut brings idols to the parties

For Ilge, rock 'n' roll is simply a perfect means of distancing oneself from one's parental home, of rebelling. And also to escape to another lighter world. One that doesn't consist of adults traumatized by war and strict parenting rules. Rock 'n' Roll and its stars give him and his friends a new attitude towards life. Without YouTube and Instagram - but with the youth magazine "Bravo" and their photos of the stars. "These star cuts from 'Bravo' in the past - you glued 17 parts together. And then you have life-size Elvis," Ilge revels. Or Peter Kraus, Brigitte Bardot and other trendy people. They glued them to wallpaper and hung them up in the party room:"When you've had parties, you've had your idols with you."

The rock 'n' roll movement is gaining momentum as a way of rebelling against the adult world. And prevails. Ilge's conclusion:"That was liberation."