GDR | Always faithfully playing the tuba for a better Germany

Hilmar König is 89 years old and is taking his toll on his age. He uses a walker to move around a Berlin nursing home and receives oxygen through a tube in his nose. Nevertheless, König hoists his heavy tuba, reaches behind him for a 1947 FDJ songbook, and plays the old workers' song "Brothers, to the sun, to freedom" in powerful tones. Peace and justice are still important to him today.

Hilmar König learned to play the tuba in the Protestant church's brass band. From 1957, he served in the guard regiment of the GDR Ministry for State Security, where he played tuba in the regiment's orchestra until the beginning of 1990. The 89-year-old has decorated his room with souvenirs from his vacations, including colorfully painted rumba rattles from Cuba, and with many photos. The largest photo shows his wife, who died three years ago, as a 16-year-old girl. Hilmar König himself can be seen at his orchestra's performances. The old uniforms hang in the closet. He has also kept a cap from the Reichsbahn, where König once completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic.

Around 60 men and one woman belonged to the orchestra. König still keeps in touch with several of them. But he has already had to put a cross next to many of the names on his telephone list. The orchestra had rehearsed almost all of the world's national anthems. At the inauguration of ambassadors or the reception of state guests, the musicians marched to the State Council building in Berlin, playing resoundingly and alongside an honor guard. The repertoire also included classical pieces and dance music, and the musicians also performed for Baltic Sea holidaymakers, at Women's Day celebrations, and at company events. Concerts were broadcast on radio and television. Hilmar König's tuba is now pictured on page 46 of a brochure about the Felix Dzierżyński Guard Regiment . Also pictured is a volume of the band's chronicle, which the 89-year-old has preserved. Six pages are dedicated to the orchestra.

Otherwise, the brochure contains uniforms, medals, and certificates, as well as service regulations and an operational order. There is very little text. The oath of allegiance is included. The soldiers swore to "serve their fatherland, the GDR, faithfully at all times," to "protect it against every enemy," to "obey unconditionally," and to uphold the honor of the Ministry for State Security. Should they ever violate their oath, they "may be met with the harsh punishment of the laws of our republic and the contempt of the working people."

In a brief introduction, former political officer Lothar Tyb'l describes the regiment's history. Formed on November 4, 1949, as a guard battalion of the People's Police, it was placed under the command of the Ministry for State Security in January 1951 and secured its facilities. From 1967 onward, the regiment bore the name of Felix Dzierżyński, head of the Soviet Russian secret service, the Cheka. At the beginning of 1990, 11,000 men served in the guard regiment, who were discharged by the end of March. The regiment ended its service "peacefully, without armed force," as Tyb'l notes.

Fourteen men helped compile the publication, which sells for €23.50. Erwin Meißler, who was neither a member of the regiment nor had ever served in the military, was responsible for the design. But the now 69-year-old, who studied economic planning in the Soviet Union's Donetsk region, no longer had any prospects for his career after the fall of the Wall. Therefore, Meißler founded a small military science publishing house with his father-in-law, a former East German colonel in the East German People's Army (NVA). "I'm not a military person, not at all. But I'm interested in history," says Meißler.