IFA Wartburg

For East German automobile brands, see Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau and Wartburg (marque).

IFA Wartburg was a Swedish band formed by Magnus Michaeli and Nils Lundwall under the aliases Rolf Kempinski and Heinz Klinger.^[2] The band was formed in 1984 in Upplands Väsby and disbanded in 1999.^[1]

IFA Wartburg
Logo of IFA Wartburg, a circular version of the Flag of East Germany with slight modifications.
Background information
Origin	Upplands Väsby, Sweden
Genres	Satirical eclectic bossa nova pop ska jazz swing
Years active	1984 (1984)–1999 (1999)[1]
Labels	Plattenmeister
Past members	Magnus Michaeli (Rolf Kempinski) Nils Lundwall (Heinz Klinger)
Website	plattenmeister.de/ifa-wartburg/index.htm (old website) ifawartburg.se/index.htm (new website)

Named after the East German auto brand Wartburg, as built by IFA, their lyrics are written in German and evoke the vocabulary of the GDR in a playful tone. Their songs are satirical.^{[citation needed]} Some song titles include Frau Gorbatschowa tanzt Bossanova (lit. 'Mrs. Gorbachev dances bossa nova'), Es ist nicht so schlimm auf der Insel Krim (lit. 'It's not so bad on the island of Crimea'), Agrarwissenschaft im Dienste des Sozialismus (lit. 'Agriscience in the Service of Socialism'), "Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ)" (lit. 'Free German Youth'), "Der Alte Böse Kapitalismus" (lit. 'The Old Evil Capitalism'), and "Zwei Tage in Berlin" (lit. 'Two Days in Berlin').

Their music is eclectic in influence, ranging from bossa nova (Frau Gorbatschowa tanzt Bossanova) and pop/ska (Freie Deutsche Jugend) to jazz and swing (Spassjazz). The band itself stated that the genre of their music was 'Mauer Power' (a reference to the Berlin Wall) and 'Russian Roll',^[3] although this was likely a joke.^{[citation needed]}

Günther Raubschaentze, who claims to be affiliated with IFA Wartburg, runs a YouTube channel and a website for the band.^[4][5] As of December 2024, the YouTube channel had amassed 3.1 million views and over 9,600 subscribers.^[4] IFA Wartburg also had a Spotify account that, as of July 2024, had over 50,000 monthly listeners.^[6] In September 2024, IFA Wartburg's music was removed from online music streaming services after a person named Losi Gaydyn copyrighted the songs from the album Im Dienste des Sozialismus,^{[7][better source needed]} although the songs could still be accessed through the band's YouTube channel. In January 2025, the album was released again on streaming platforms but was removed swiftly two days later, only to be restored a few days after. After another removal and restoration four days later, the songs can now be found on most streaming platforms.

Discography

• Im Dienste des Sozialismus, CD Album, 1998
• Der Berliner, CD EP, 1998
• Im Dienste des Sozialismus, Vinyl LP (picture disc) with the faces of Erich Honecker and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Im Dienste des Sozialismus

Im Dienste des Sozialismus
Studio album by IFA Wartburg
Released	Mid 1998
Studio	Gorbyland Studios
Genre	Folk, synth-pop
Length	56:57
Language	German
Label	Plattenmeister

The only IFA Wartburg album released to date, Im Dienste des Sozialismus (lit. 'In the Service of Socialism'), was released in 1998 on vinyl and CD. The two front-men of the band are credited with writing the album and appear on the front CD sleeve.^[8] The album is 56 minutes and 57 seconds long and was produced by the label Plattenmeister.^[9]

IFA Wartburg toured Im Dienste des Sozialismus in Germany and Switzerland from 1998 to 1999,^[10] attracting the attention of the German media.^[11][3]

Other media

Many IFA Wartburg recordings saw little commercial distribution, and some are now exclusive to the IFA Wartburg channel on YouTube. They include:

• Meine Möbeln in Köln, live^[10]
• Sessel aus Kassel, RealAudio digital download, 1998^[12]
• Wenn IFA Wartburg Spielt (1999), YouTube music video, May 2023^[13]
• Das Mauer Power, YouTube music video, Nov 2009
• Im Dienste des KGB, YouTube music video, Feb 2015
• Wo ist mein Kassler?, YouTube music video, Dec 2023
• Biologie und Pathologie des Weibes, YouTube music video, Dec 2017
• Sorbisches Fischerlied, on Medikamentedose, 1999^[14]

In the aftermath of their sudden surge in popularity online, the band returned to YouTube, uploading a complete live set from 1999^[15] and the previously unheard songs Wenn IFA Wartburg Spielt^[16] and Wo ist mein Kassler?^[17]