Press release, 1988
© Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft / Radio 100
15 Schöneberg
Radio Glasnost
In 1987 in West Berlin Radio Glasnost – Außer Kontrolle (Radio Glasnost – Out of Control) broadcast for the first time and developed into a key initiative by East Berlin’s opposition during the late 1980s. The private alternative station Radio 100, based in the West Berlin district of Schöneberg, made its airtime available. Content was smuggled out of the GDR to West Berlin and then broadcast from there back into the East.
In a total of 27 broadcasts, opposition figures spoke openly about their ideas for reform and their experiences of everyday life in the GDR. Music by GDR songwriters, independent bands and punk groups was also broadcast. The initiators and coordinators of the project were Radio 100 editor Dieter Rulff and the forcibly denaturalised GDR civil rights activist Roland Jahn. The programme soon reached a large audience in the GDR. Its listeners included the State Security Service, which on the personal order of Minister Erich Mielke attempted to prevent transmission through signal jamming while at the same time preparing a widespread programme of measures to counter the programme.
Logo Radio 100
© Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft / Radio 100
Cassette Radio Glasnost, recording from 29 August 1988
© Archiv Bürgerbewegung Leipzig e.V.
Press release, 1988
© Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft / Radio 100
For What If Berlin, Akira Takayama transposes unrealised projects from the archives of the Berliner Festspiele and other Berlin cultural institutions, as well as from architects and artists, into the present and asks us which vision we want to realise in the future.
The future vision for the project Radio Glasnoste, that will be presented in the frame of What If Berlin from 28 August 2026 onwards, will respond to the following question: What if Berlin opened a ham radio station for silenced voices?
Which of the 27 visions for the future is the most exciting? Which project does Berlin need in future? Which idea should actually be realised?
Until 30 September 2026, you can vote for up to three of the 27 visions for the future. The results will be displayed live to give the latest impression of the public’s reactions.