»Aus Ruinen« mit Betterov

Betterov, Hendrik Bolz

What is the state of civil society in East Germany today? What remains of origin, transformation, and the long shadows cast by reunification? In his conversation series »Aus Ruinen«, author and musician Hendrik Bolz speaks with people who live and work in eastern Germany. As part of the Pop-Kultur Festival, he meets Betterov, who grew up as Manuel Bittorf in a village on the former inner-German border in Thuringia. His father fled to West Germany in 1989, and the aftereffects of that story continue to run through his music to this day. On his current album »Große Kunst«, Betterov writes about home and estrangement, shame and new beginnings, and the strange ghosts of the past. Together, Bolz and Betterov discuss East German realities beyond familiar clichés and explore how personal memories can be transformed into art.

Hendrik Bolz first became known as one half of the hip-hop duo Zugezogen Maskulin, long regarded as one of the sharpest observers of contemporary Germany. Alongside his musical work, he has developed under his real name into an important literary chronicler of the post-reunification era. His debut book »Nullerjahre« painted a precise portrait of youthful disorientation amid the prefabricated housing estates of Stralsund and the upheavals of transformation. With the book »Aus Ruinen«, published this year, he continues this exploration, writing about crisis, masculinity, and the attempt to find one’s place in a contradictory present. His perspective is both analytical and empathetic, always shaped by the experiences of East Germany.

Betterov combines indie rock, post-punk, dark wave, and shoegaze into a sound that oscillates between euphoria and melancholy. With his debut album »Olympia«, he emerged as a defining voice of a new generation of German-language guitar music. His 2025 album »Große Kunst« deepens this approach, pairing sweeping melodies with autobiographical reflections on origin, family, and identity.