The abandoned airfield in Wittstock an der Dosse presents a contrasting scene: Lenin is standing at the lectern in a Statesmanly pose, but he is covered with fissures and moss. His head is smashed. In the background is a red brick building erected by the Wehrmacht with broken windows and crumbling walls. A time document of the last 100 years of German history in the form of a post-apocalyptic setting. Weiterlesen
On the former airfield in Sperenberg (Brandenburg) there is still a flaking Soviet mural with Lenin inside an abandoned building. It is a difficult discovery even for experienced Urbex explorers, because the corridor to the room can only be reached through a small hole in a wall. But first you have to find the right building in this vast ghost town. Weiterlesen
While imperial and even colonial or Nazi monuments can easily be put under monumental protection in Germany because of their historical value, after the fall of the Berlin Wall attempts were made to demolish all representations of Lenin. Some of them survived the iconoclasm in former military complexes of the Soviet Army. Now they must resist abandonment and vandalism. Weiterlesen
The chronicle of the Lenin-monument in Großenhain in Sachsen resembles the plot of a Hollywood film. After the German reunification, the 4,80-metre-high concrete block weighing over ten tonnes was dismantled and hidden in a secret operation with the intention of preserving it from a possible destruction. For 25 years, the colossal monument was considered „disappeared“ until its surprising comeback in 2017 to be re-erected in front of the local Bunker Museum. Weiterlesen
The abandoned military area of Wittstock has turned into a ghost town. Entire apartment buildings, schools, office-blocks and hangars are falling apart. In front of the former cultural center we find an image, which is rich in contrasts: Lenin is standing there with his typical statesmanlike pose, but he is mutilated and completely covered with lichen. It was not possible to get more information about this act of vandalism, but the view of this half-destroyed statue seems like an exemplary representation of the neglect of the East-German monumental landscape. Weiterlesen
During the GDR, Lenin, Marx and Engels were an omnipresent triumvirate of Socialism, but nowadays it has become really difficult to find them together on German soil. The former airfield in Köthen is one of those few exceptions: At the exterior wall of a big pavilion you can still find their image as simple two-color wall-paintings. Weiterlesen
Though the style of Soviet Realism, which dominates amongst the public monuments with politic relevance in the entire Eastern Block, was not precisely known for its variety, it’s quite surprising, in how many different forms it was able to represent Lenin. For instance in the 3 meters statue of Eberswalde made of red granite, the role of strong statesman isn’t specially emphasized, being Lenin rather presented as a dreamy thinker: With one hand in the pocket and the other grabbing his coat collar, his glance gets lost in the distance. He is wearing the Swedish fisherman cap, which he bought in 1917 in Stockholm, on his way back to Russia after many years of exile in Central Europe, and looks a little bit fatter than usual. If it wasn’t for the unmistakable facial features, one could think to be standing in front of the figure of a Scandinavian Fisherman, looking into the infinite ocean…
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
Constructed during the Third Reich, taken over by the Red Army after the war, abandoned in the early 90s. This chronological sequence, typical for many Soviet military areas in East Germany, also applies to the old airport in Brand. This complex is out of use since 1992 and if you walk along its paths it feels like being in a horror movie… Everywhere you look, you find ruins and empty buildings, camouflaged behind the trees that are growing wildly around this area. The soundscape, which accompanies this desolating scenario is specially scaring: windows crunch, squealing panels balance from the ceilings, you hear doors slamming – the little ghost town just can’t find a rest! In the middle of this spooky atmosphere the mosaic of Lenin is like an oasis of vivacity: The strong colors, the harmonic blue and yellow combination and the friendly facial expression of the communist leader form a clear contrast to the dusky surrounding. Weiterlesen
LENIN IS STILL AROUND 