GERMAN! Reprinted with a new cover color, released on September 13th, 2024, to coincide with the new sampler of the same name on Tapete Records. Now available for pre-order.

A chronicle of the emergence and development of punk and new wave in German-speaking countries until 1985.

When the world was ending... many things were possible. The apocalyptic mood around 1980 gave punk and new wave the boost they needed. It provided an incredible burst of activity and creativity. Against the backdrop of the nuclear arms race, no one believed in a great future anymore - so suddenly everything was allowed, regardless of losses. This book tells about that.

Frank Apunkt Schneider unfolds the history of the Neue Deutsche Welle and the German punk underground, extending into the regional, cassette and fanzine scenes. In addition to the now canonized classics of this movement (e.g. DAF, Fehlfarben), he focuses on chart breakers such as Trio or Extrabreit as well as underground acts such as Kosmonautentraum, Familie Hesselbach etc. Schneider shows historical intersections, talks about friendships and enmities, places epicenters in the provinces against the metropolises and always ties in with the here and now. As a profound expert, he provides a detailed insight into the (counter-) cultural history of the Federal Republic of Germany between 1976 and 1985.

'When the World Ended' is by far the most comprehensive book on the Neue Deutsche Welle. With annotated discography and a cassettography.