[1] Koepp was born in Stettin, a German port city then subjected to a sustained campaign of bombing during World War II.
By the time the city was taken over by the Red Army in April 1945, Stettin was virtually deserted, with approximately 6,000 ethnic Germans remaining.
On leaving school Koepp trained as a machinist, emerging with a qualification certificate from the Dresden Turbine Factory in 1963.
Shortly before his graduation, he was deregistered because the authorities noticed his friendship with Thomas Brasch, who had distributed leaflets opposing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
He produced a student film called: We have already built an entire city (Wir haben schon eine ganze Stadt gebaut) in 1968, and in 1969 received his degree as a director and script-writer.