Erpenbeck was in various engagements, including at the Lessingtheater and the Piscator stage in Berlin, where he also worked as a director and dramaturge.

There he worked as an editor for various magazines and became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD).

[3] On 30 April 1945, before the end of the war, Erpenbeck returned with her to Germany, where he joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1946.

From 1951 he was head of the main department for performing arts and music at the GDR Council of Ministers.

[4] In 1956 Erpenbeck received the Lessing Prize of the GDR, in 1957 the Ernst Moritz Arndt Medal and in 1972 the clasp of honor for the Patriotic Order of Merit.