the prehistory
The 20th Century in Germany and particularly in East Germany is dominated by extreme change. Today's Karl-Liebknecht-Straße was known as south road during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) but when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they renamed it Adolf Hitler road. After the defeat of Germany in 2nd World it got its current name. The house No.46 Karl-Liebknecht-Straße was destroyed during the war and the empty lot was used to build a wooden pavilion for the "Nationale Front* " a cross party union of the SED with the so-called coalitions of the GDR, it served as a centre for political meetings, and for the organisation of the reconstruction of the local area. During the rebellion on 17 June 1953 the original building was burnt to the ground. The "naTo" was rebuilt in its current form and during the 60´s and 70´s its functions where extended to hosting dance classes and showing films.
(*The naTo has no connection to the English far right party)

the birth
In 1982 Goetz Lehmann took over responsibilities at the naTo. The foundation-stone of the naTo as a place for alternative culture was laid, when friends of Lehmann, who where operating a youth club for medical students/workers moved to the naTo after problems with their previous residence. At first they organised private parties more or less, or all night table tennis marathons and "open evenings" but the variety of events soon expanded. As well as the official name "National Front" there were various nicknames like "NaFro" or "NaTo" in the end naTo became the name of choice though "NATIONALE FRONT" is still written large over the threshold of the house - which is now listed.

the era Lehmann
Under Lehmann´s direction the NATO over the next two-three years made a name for itself as an alternative culture venue within and also beyond the borders of Leipzig. Lehmann organized jazz concerts and experimental film performances including the work of artists like Lutz Dammbeck. A network, started to form in the city between the naTo with the "Grafikkeller" in the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB), and the Moritzbastei contacts were formed between artists and people generally interested in culture. An important partnership was formed between the naTo and the gallery "Eigen + Art", which was opened to 1983 close to the naTo in the Körnerplatz by Judy Luebke and Thorsten Schilling and the two institutions often held art performance parties together. The naTo became the hub of a group creative people, whose members came from Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin and Chemnitz this mix of people from different cities in the GDR ensured ever changing intellectual and creative inputs. The group were interested in testing the limits of the system and having fun.

how did things get this far? Why Leipzig?
Chemnitz and Dresden with there historic past were centres of conservative culture, Berlin was a political a hot spot and therefore heavily controlled but in Leipzig and especially Süd-Vorstadt there was the freedom to explore new cultural ideas. This was due in part to Mrs. Jutta Duclaud a particularly dedicated and intelligent town councillor who often gave support to the alternative culture scene and created room for them to work.

the dark side
But another network also grew in No.46 Karl-Liebknecht-Straße: Starting in 1985 the house was used twice a month by the district police authority for the distribution of passports and West German money to pensioners, who were allowed to cross the border.
And Before and during the Leipzig fair the secret service of the GDR met in the naTo. They met secretly naturally, and exchanged information over coffee and cake. This is part of the ambivalent history of the naTo this situation came to a head when the "Abschnittsbevollmächtigte" (ABV), a policeman responsible for policing in a small section of town, and Goetz Lehmann shared the same desk and It could not to be avoided that the calls for one where received by the other. Dort wo Lehmann mit seinen Freunden neue kulturelle Aktionen ausheckte, eben diese Freunde wenig später dem ABV Rede und Antwort stehen mussten.

bureaucracy and happening
The GDR Bureaucracy demanded a monthly or a yearly plan, which was approved by the Süd-Vorstadt office for culture. This of course was not enough the police must also be informed of the events. The application forms asked where, when, and why and for the socialist government spontaneous art happenings were a completely foreign concept. Artists who of course where very vague about there intensions where regarded with suspicion and it was difficult to show work from artists not approved by the state.

the free jazz
Brigitte Schreier-Endler, Goetz Lehmann and Thomas Kroeger with there connections to the Leipzig cultural scene were able to persuade musicians performing in the Leipzig "Jazztage" to perform impromptu in the naTo. The legendary sessions produced classic scenes such as a twelve piece brass ensemble made up of among others Itaro Ouki from Japan, Peter Broetzmann, Dietmar Diessner and Lars Rudolf playing to an ecstatic public until seven in the morning. The underground concerts became highlights and Insider tips. Also Eastern European musicians were brought undercover into the GDR and performed on the naTo stage. The "Zeit weekly paper" wrote in August 1995 in an article about the GDR jazz scene: "… the cultural centre naTo is the most important place for contemporary jazz scene in the 80's…"
Also under the cover of puppet theatre and Pantomime it was possible to present experimental artistic forms and performances by Mensching and Wenzel, which were prohibited in Berlin, also found a place on the naTo stage becoming groundbreaking highlights for the venue.
One of the most politically charged events was "Endeiszeit" (The end of the ice age), at the end of the 80's. 4 of bands, among them "Feeling B" and Sascha Andersen. It was full, it was hot, and Andersen was banned from appearing in the GDR in short: the official description was not the event that was taking place and in the middle of it sat the new local minister for culture, the urban district party chief and the head of the district police. Sascha Andersen gave a speech with incomparable, diplomatic skill, which seemingly prevented the police who were waiting outside from storming the event. But After the fall of the wall it was revealed that he maybe had a little extra help, Sascha Andersen was exposed as an "unofficial informer" (IM) for the state security service.

the end of the era Lehmann
In 1989 Goetz Lehmann gave up running the naTo and now he lives and works in Berlin. Goetz Lehmann´s is responsible for the shaping of the naTo into the institution that it is today. He got his hands dirty, and from time to time fiddled the books, and the naTo is indebted to him for his contacts and ideas.
After Lehmann Paul Froehlich took over the running of the naTo.

from Germany to Germany, establishment of association
As the GDR regime began to crumble and the Monday demos took place in Leipzig, fuelling the freedom movement in East Germany which forced Honecker to step down followed by Krenz, the culture and art scene became over shadowed, but after the fall of the wall the possibility emerged of establishing new connections with the West. With these new possibilities in mind a meeting took place on the 15.05.1990, in which the naTo coordinators along with Sigrid Wrann founded the culture and communication centre naTo e.V. everything was contested even the name, the GDR was still a member in Warsaw Pact! After all.
In the time of change starting from 1989, there were suddenly undreamt-of possibilities that opened themselves up, many venues were not used to there new freedom and the increased expectations of the public. The naTo was one of the first venues in Leipzig where people desperate to explore world culture could see musicians from Brazil and Switzerland or theatre groups from France or Japan. The artists from all over the world were also happy to perform in East Germany in front of a fresh and enthusiastic crowed. Mainstream music performers that had been banned during the Socialist regime were also very popular. The highlights of this era are without a doubt the slide show of the American photographer Nan Goldin, the first concert of Ramstein and the appearance of Debbie Harry. In the mid 90´s the naTo concentrated on theatre hosting three groups "Inselbuehne", "OFF Theater Büro" "Wolfgang Krause-Zwieback" and various guest theatre groups.

the parties
The Beginning of the 90's was also the time of the legendary costume parties in the naTo. E.g. the "Prohibitions party" in 30's the style, with casino and shit loads to drink, with an announcement in the LVZ: "for the friends of the Italian opera, on Saturday 8 o'clock, No.46 Karl-Liebknecht-Straße ". On the night of monetary union the naTo celebrated the "fall of the Titanik". The entrance was a passenger-loading stairs which went through the window followed by a gangway down the hall.
When Leipzig public got interested in and demanded dance music new party nights were organised, which influenced the night life of Leipzig. First "jazz blind" in co-operation with the MoJo club in Hamburg bringing Dance jazz to the city. Also the legendry Krakow Beat. The 80's music party filled the naTo to bursting and is still an influence on the party scene today.

the summer events
The naTo organises summer events that attract increasingly large crowds: the bathtub race, the soapbox derby and naTo-cup. In 1989 48 teams played in 1st round of the naTo-cup. In the beginning it was a normal football tournament. But in the 2nd Year a drastic redirection was taken creating a silly but definitely fun event. The soapbox derby took place for the first time 1991 on the Fockeberg and in 1992 there followed the third public magnet the bathtub race in the pond in front of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. Today 80 teams play in the naTo-cup, and 10,000 people come to watch the soapbox derby and the bathtub race attracts 20,000.

city exchange
In the years after reunification several city exchange programs were developed. Based on partnerships with a venues in each city. The first exchange was with Nuernberg and the Komm e.V. - At that time the largest collective cultural centre in Germany. In a touring bus art and artists were taken for approximately one week to the Bavarian city and presented a cross section of projects. The cities Cologne, Munich, Hanover, Berne (Switzerland), Moscow (Russia) and Malmoe/Lund (Sweden) followed. With fifty Leipzig artists, from hardcore bands to classical musicians a tour was organised in Malmoe/Lund and the surroundings areas. Though music was part of the program the emphasis of the exchange was theatre and so a group from Malmoe performed half a year later in Leipzig for the opening of Werk II. Although unfortunately there are no more exchange projects today, many of the contacts made at the time are still maintained and provide interesting events.

the literature
Also within the literary circles naTo has an important place, not least due to the numerous readings during the Leipzig book fair and the "literary autumn". The list of the authors that have presented work in the naTo includes: Heiner Mueller, Harry Rohwolt, Matthias Politycki, Bora Cosic, Jáchym Topol, Alexej Slapovsky, and Juli Zeh amongst others. In the last few years the literature program of the naTo has expanded and there plans to place more emphasis on this field in the future.

films in the naTo
Up to the end of the 70's the "Lichtspielbetriebe" Leipzig set the film program in the naTo, by organising child and weekend presentations. In the 80's films were mostly one off performances or were integrated into appearances by musicians like "AG Geige" from Chemnitz. Though the HGB occasionally showed its in-house works in the naTo, it mostly used its own "Grafikkeller". The "Progress-Filmverleih"( The only East German film distributor) only had a limited selection of films on offer and to get them was often difficult so up to reunification if there were films shown in the naTo, then they were art films and "Dammbeck" films. With the fall of the wall that suddenly changed. Now everybody wanted to catch up on the films they could not see for the last ten years. Thus Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave, Monthy Python and Stanley Kubrick films were shown in the naTo. When the pent-up demand was covered and it became ever more difficult to select a suitable program "AG Kommunales Kino Leipzig" was found to provide films. The "AG Kommunales Kino Leipzig" was at that time a kind avant-garde travelling cinema that used several locations in Leipzig. Today it concentrates on providing films for the naTo the monthly program has increased from the initial 8 to approx... 20 per month. The AG has made itself a name for presenting numerous unusual films, with films from all parts of the world if possible OmU (original with sub-title). The naTo is today an important address for fastidious film buffs.

other associations in the naTo
As in the case of the "AG Kommunales Kino" it is the tradition of the naTo that the venue finds room for different associations and initiatives to present events. Beside numerous others this possibility was used in the beginning of the 90's by a group from the left hardcore scene, in order to organize concerts. Among the most spectacular of these concerts was with the Spermbirds. The "Reaktionskonzertemacher", the Anarchist leaning group used there naTo experience as a platform to organise there own venue "Conne Island".

concerts in the naTo
There have been and will be artists from all parts of the world in the naTo. The naTo tries to balance the cultural dominance of America and England, by organising artists from Japan, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Kiew, Newfoundland, Iceland, Serbia, and Finland.
The naTo has a unique atmosphere with an intimate relationship between the artist on the stage and the public. The diverse interests of the naTo lead to weekend program mixes such as a North Korean film Friday, free experimental jazz on Saturday, and Sundays a Mongolian throat singer holding the public spellbound. Due to this variety ZDF German Televisions Second Channel in its "Aspekte" called the naTo "… the most important centre for free culture in Leipzig".
With the concert program East Wind created in 1995 the NATO started a singular podium for Eastern, European and Asiatic music culture in Germany. The project includes all kinds of music Klezmer, Gipsy, jazz, Folk… and is committed to tradition as well as innovation. East wind demonstrates the rich Eastern European music culture, just over the chart music horizon. Under Jens-Paul Wollenberg direction the concerts have gained importance in and outside Leipzig. The list of Performers includes The Klezmatics, Manana Menabde, the Kocani Orkestar, Muzikas, the Black Sea Trio, Bratsch and Kroke.
Another current concert program is "Weltempfänger". Since 1998 under this title, sounds and artists from the whole world are presented. It showcases improvised and experimental music styles, with performers manipulating technology, styles and instruments to produce fresh styles under the banner jazz music. Jazz meets fusion, Groove, Soul, radio, Brazil, Samba, Salsa. Lee Konitz, Mal Waldron, Willem Breuker, Perry Robinson, Aki Takase, the Balanescu Quartett, Kenny Wheeler, Günther “Baby” Sommer, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Mardi Gras.BB and many others. The events concentrate on progressive jazz, preferably as live listening performance.
In the concert program "Noise club" music amplified to unimaginable levels, experiments between Sonic Youth and the Pixies. Electric Guitars and more electric guitars dominate the concerts which have become insider tip in the Indie scene. Bands include JUD, Karate, Slut, Blackmail, Yuppie Flu, Mother Tongue and Bottom 12.

today
Today the naTo´s program is based on six main points: music, film, art, literature, theatre and politics, and in the summer the naTo also organises fun / sport events.
And finally there is a new events and artist agency in the pipeline.