In Germany It Was Proposed To Rename Streets With Soviet Names

More than a dozen Lenin streets are preserved in East Germany.

German authorities are discussing the possibility of renaming streets named after GDR and Soviet period figures, including Vladimir Lenin. This is reported by Bild with reference to a statement by Evelyn Zupke, the Bundestag commissioner for victims of repression from the Socialist United Party of Germany (SED).

According to the publication, more than a dozen Lenin streets remain in East Germany, as well as streets named after representatives of the GDR leadership Otto Grotewohl and Wilhelm Pieck. Municipal authorities in different cities have different views on whether they should be renamed, but the topic regularly sparks debate.

Zupke emphasized that such names need a more careful approach. "Thirty-five years after [Germany's] reunification, no street should be named after Lenin, Otto Grotewohl or Wilhelm Pieck anymore. The naming of a street is an expression of recognition by our democratic society today. These same personalities, on the contrary, represent the suffering of thousands of victims," Zupke told the newspaper.

After the end of World War II, Germany was divided into two parts, West Germany (FRG) and East Germany (GDR). The former was under the control of the Western Allies, the latter under the control of the USSR and was part of the socialist camp. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, which marked the beginning of German unification. The process was completed on October 3, 1990.

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