Lugau, a village in the middle of nowhere between Brandenburg and Saxony, was the Mecca for independent music fans in East Germany in the 1980s and early 1990s. Sandwiched between a coal mining area and the Spreewald forest, a vibrant scene developed in the narrow strip of land – with thousands of people making the pilgrimage to Lower Lusatia every year to revel in punk and independent music at the parties and concerts of the Extrem youth club. Nearly 200 post-punk, new wave and later techno bands and DJs played here between 1984 and 1989. Punks, rockabillies, poppers (devotees of a 1980s youth culture), and the general public celebrated the dance on the volcano in collective harmony in order to escape socialism, at least for a few hours.

It is due to the photos taken by Henri Manigk and Frank Kiesewetter that this revolution has not been forgotten. In particular it was Kiesewetter who pressed the shutter release on his Praktica over four thousand times, thus creating a veritable treasure trove of historical footage: irretrievable moments from a world of excess and freedom that was not officially allowed to exist until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Even after reunification, club life continued unabated. In the nineties, international rock bands and techno DJs flocked to Lugau and the neighboring villages, whose halls and open-air stages were used by the Extrem youth club.

Over two hundred of the best photos are presented to the public for the first time in this illustrated book, alongside flyers, Stasi files and records of the memories of prominent contemporaries, organizers, musicians, and guests. Exotic punks clash with NVA soldiers in uniform, young farmer boys with exalted popper girls, urban with provincial life.