Berlin Wall photographers

August 11th, 2011

For almost half its lifetime, the Berlin wall has existed in a strange afterlife — not as a border, but as a tourist attraction, a surreal remnant of Berlin’s history. The wall — fifty years old this week — is one of the most visited attractions in Europe.

The images below are of the wall, and its daily army of photographers, during this anniversary week. The remains of the Berlin wall are a living part of a living city, and this daily influx of onlookers brings the city’s past into its present, day after day, year after year, even as the grim past of the wall is commemorated.

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Berlin wall photographers

Soviet war graves, Stolzenhagen, eastern Germany

August 9th, 2011

The colossal number of Soviet soldiers and citizens killed in World War II is almost beyond imagining. The deaths, variously estimated at somewhere between twenty and twenty-six million people, continue to cast an enormous shadow over Russia and the former Eastern Bloc. Anyone hoping to understand the history and politics of Europe has to attempt to understand this vast sacrifice. The Soviet (predominantly Russian) war dead are, in a sense, the real ghosts who are haunting Europe.

One of the legacies of this terrifying history is the presence of Soviet war graves throughout Eastern Europe. The largest ones, such as the Treptower Park war memorial, were built as triumphalist assertions of Soviet dominance. But many more exist in hidden and semi-forgotten places. One such place is the woods outside Stolzenhagen, Brandenburg — a small and quiet village near the German-Polish border. On a hilltop clearing, there are ten graves, enclosed by a low fence.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

The graves.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

Boulder with plaque.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

The plaque beside the entrance. In Russian, the text reads:

Вечная слава Советским воинам павшим в боях за свободу и независимость нашей Родины
Живущие бесконечно
благодарны Вам

Approximate English translation:

Undying glory to the Soviet soldiers who fell in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our homeland
Living eternally
Thank you

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

View of one side.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

Two graves, with the forest beyond.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

Inside the enclosure.

Soviet war grave, Stolzenhagen

The site is maintained as an official memorial (denkmal) and marked as such.

In step with the times

June 26th, 2011

As was reported during the week, the Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, Bulgaria, was given a pop-art makeover last week. The heroic proletarian soldiers of the postwar sculpture were reimagined as comic-book superheroes, and the punchline “в крак с времето” (Russian for “in step with the times”) was added to the plinth.

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

The tone of coverage of the story by different media outlets is revealing. RIA Novosti, the Russian media portal, had this lede:

Bulgarian policemen are looking for a vandal who defiled a monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia on Saturday night.

Whereas the Guardian (UK) had a different tack:

There was Superman in red leather boots, Ronald McDonald clutching a bottle of beer, and Santa Claus about to look through a pair of binoculars.

Historical raw nerve touched, it would appear.

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Reimagined Red Army, Sofia

Pictures from Budapest Avant-Garde.

Things: ‘Dinosaurs Who Are Communist For Some Reason’ t-shirt

June 19th, 2011

‘Dinosaurs Who Are Communist For Some Reason’ t-shirt, by MJ:

“What killed the dinosaurs? Capitalism. Only through a keen understanding of the theory and praxis of class struggle can any species hope to break the free market’s brutal cycle of boom and extinction.”

Dinosaurs Who Are Communist For Some Reason

1950s matchbox cover designs, Poland

June 12th, 2011

A selection of Polish matchbox designs of the 1950s and early 1960s, originally put online by Jane McDevitt of Maraid Design (her Flickr set of matchbox designs has more from around the world).

Matchboxes were used in communist Poland (and elsewhere in the eastern bloc) as a cheap method of disseminating information — sometimes commercial, sometimes propagandistic, sometimes just practical.

1950s Polish matchbox - "A radio in every home - battery-powered Barbara radios"

“A radio in every home – battery-powered Barbara radios”

1950s Polish matchbox - "The Sixth Soviet Film Festival - A Roundup of the World's Leading Cinematography"

“The Sixth Soviet Film Festival – A Roundup of the World’s Leading Cinematography”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Reduce water use - in industry and the home"

“Reduce water use – in industry and the home”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Emulsion paint from Chemifarb Gliwice"

“Emulsion paint from Chemifarb Gliwice”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Children + Matches = Fire"

“Children + Matches = Fire”

1950s Polish matchbox - "10 Years of the People's Republic of Poland"

“10 Years of the People’s Republic of Poland”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Death favours careless people"

“Death favours careless people”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Hospital. Prison."

“Hospital. Prison.” (An anti-drink-driving campaign)

1950s Polish matchbox - "Obey the laws on right-of-way"

“Obey the laws on right-of-way”

1950s Polish matchbox - "Get to know the road signs"

“Get to know the road signs”