In the permanent exhibition „Our History – Dictatorship and Democracy after 1945“ in the Zeithistorisches Forum Leipzig there is a larger-than-life statue of Lenin. However, not much is known about this black statue made of zinc alloy. Neither its creator, nor the year of its erection, nor its former location are documented; all that is known is that it came from the holdings of the socialist youth organization Free German Youth (FDJ). Weiterlesen
In contrast to other Soviet Army sites that today are crumbling apart, the Officers‘ House in Brandenburg an der Havel is in a perfect state of preservation. The association „Jugendkulturfabrik“ is based there and uses the facilities for cultural events. The history of the house and especially the Soviet period is not forgotten, but deliberately emphasized, so that Lenin is also still a present figure. Weiterlesen
In the Rathenau Park, at the southern end of Hennigsdorf, there is a Soviet war cemetery that cannot be overseen. The red stars, especially the big one on the central monument, stand out against the surrounding green and brown tones. Weiterlesen
Old photos of the Soviet barracks in Möhlau show a relief with a side portrait of Lenin. For years it was thought to have been lost when the Soviet army left, because the remaining stele was blank. But after a quarter of a century of weathering, the top layer of the stele began to peel away and surprisingly, the red colour of the former monument and the outlines of Lenin’s head appeared, although diffuse and blurred. We immediately set out in the hope of restoring the original relief.
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
Die Gemeinde Dallgow-Döberitz liegt südlich von Falkensee, nur wenige Kilometer von Berlin entfernt. Im dortigen sowjetischen Kriegsfriedhof – einer von den vielen hierzulande – liegen 628 im Kampf um Berlin gefallene Soldaten und Offiziere der Roten Armee und einige Armeeangehörige, die nach 1945 auf deutschem Gebiet stationiert waren und hier verstorben sind. Das Ehrenmal entstand unmittelbar nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg und steht unter Schutz des deutsch-russischen Kriegsgräberabkommen. Es wurde 2014 gründlich saniert. Weiterlesen
Once hundreds of neat soldiers of the Soviet Army marched here past the tribune of honour and the two freshly painted murals. Today, however, this is only a pale memory of times past. As pale as the colour of the two Soviet steles: One shows a Red Army soldier, the other Lenin. Although the Soviet revolutionary leader has been abandoned for almost 30 years, his stony gaze and charisma still remain on the former parade trail. 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
With a fresh, golden layer of paint Lenin shines again in its old splendour. This bust certainly deserves it; after all, its history is one of the most spectacular monumental chronicles in Germany. It is a sculpture from the Soviet Union stolen during World War II, which was to be melted down in Küstrin-Kietz and turned into raw material for the arms industry. Out of ideological conviction, however, two workers of the scrapping company hid the bust and thus prevented its destruction.
Weiterlesen
At the beginning of the 1970s, some impressive murals were painted in the Halle-Neustadt district of Halle, which are still preserved today. The artist Erich Enge erected the mural „He stirred the sleep of the world“, dedicated to Lenin, on the outer wall of the building in Schieloer Straße, at the corner of Harzgeroder Straße. Weiterlesen
