A two-meter statue of the revolutionary Vladimir Lenin installed in the town of Gelsenkirchen at the initiative of the Marxist-Leninist party of Germany (MPG), it happened despite the opposition of right-wing radicals, the city administration and party, the Christian democratic Union, which includes Chancellor Angela Merkel, told RIA Novosti on the phone the official party Peter Weispfenning.
"the Statue was cast in Czechoslovakia in 1957, it was the first freestanding monument to Lenin in Czechoslovakia. We bought it on ebay from a seller from Austria – after "velvet revolution" she was there. We decided to purchase it and install, because in Western Germany, there was still no bust or statue of Lenin" – said Weispfenning.
According to the representative mlpg, we are talking about a cast iron statue with a height of 2 meters 15 centimeters, she stands on a pedestal, which is decorated with a sign with information about Lenin. The decision to erect the monument initially caused an outcry from the city administration, right-wing parties and centrist-conservative CDU – one of the largest parties of Germany.
"First, the city administration said that the monument cannot be set due to… of the law on the protection of monuments, as the facade of the building, which belongs to us and which is about 30 metres from the statue, protected as a historical monument. With this position, according to our information, was made by the mayor himself, but we went to court, who said that the statue, of course, can be installed", – told Weispfenning.
Then the city administration filed a complaint with the Higher administrative court of North Rhine-Westphalia, which again rejected the claim of the authorities.
"After that, the CDU has made an online petition against the monument, which had been signed across the country for many months as many as 204 people. After that petition has been withdrawn from publication. A Pro-fascist organizations also oppose Lenin, today they held a protest rally in Gelsenkirchen. However, the population largely supports the idea of the monument", – told Weispfenning.
He added that Marxist-Leninists conducted an online poll on the installation of the statue in the city, and 68% of its members voted for it.
With regard to the evaluation of the personality and activity of Lenin, Weispfenning added that the party is familiar with the latest publications relating to the history of the revolution of 1917 in Russia and the ensuing civil war, which killed millions of people, but "it is impossible to blame only one of Lenin". In addition, a statue of Lenin should be "a counterpoint against numerous statues of the heroes of the First and Second world wars in Western Germany", which were the imperialist and predatory character, he added.
