The Soviet Officer’s House in Weimar was built in 1974 for the higher commanders of the 8th Guards Unit. It was used as a cultural center, meeting place and restaurant. Two monuments dedicated to Lenin were erected in this complex: a bust made of bronze and a stained light box. Weiterlesen
To imagine Lenin participating in some kind of competition or duel against Schiller sounds like one of the weird ideas of the British comedy group Monty Python, which are known for their absurd sketches, such as the one showing a football match between German and Greek philosophers. But as implausible as it may shine: In a small town in Thüringen Schiller and Lenin actually had to compete for a place on a little square. Weiterlesen
Since the 19th century, red carnations have been considered a symbol of the international labor movement: Back then they were carried out by the participants of illegal meetings in Germany and France. During the period of the Cold War these flowers would become a distinctive mark of Socialist ideology in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. To celebrate special holidays, people would put them down – and actually still do nowadays – at the grave of soldiers fallen in war or in front of monuments dedicated to the adored state-idols. In Nohra, on a sunny spring day, we found red carnation lying in front of the statue of Lenin. They were not real, but plastic-flowers, maybe because they are cheaper and last longer. Weiterlesen
ENGLISH
In the form of a statue, Lenin is known almost exclusively in a heroic pose and with a serious look – the great founder of the first socialist state in the world. But in Gera we can find something completely different: In a shady corner in the backyard of the historical court complex in the district of Untermhaus, Lenin is sitting with a very human, quotidian posture and a thoughtful expression. It’s not a big hero, who is represented, but rather a thinker. And the knitted red sock on his left foot definitely completes the uniqueness of this figure, which seems more an existential piece of art than an image of a politic revolutionary. But it’s doubtful that the red sock actually intended to complete this piece of art. It’s rather probable, that this little piece of clothing knitted by the members of a cabaret group, which plays here in the summer season, is a satirical allusion to the pejorative expression „red sock„, used in the past to ridicule left orientated politicians. Weiterlesen
LENIN IS STILL AROUND 