A battle over the statue between the leftist MLPD (Marxistisch–Leninistische Partei Deutschlands) resulted in a court decision which allows to erect a monument of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, former communist leader of the Soviet Union, The Guardian reported last week. 

Gelsenkirchen is the first western German city where a statue of the emblematic communist leader is going to be erected, however, on the territory of the former GDR, Lenin was a natural part of city street views. 

The court has given permission to the MLPD to erect the statue outside of its headquarters, against which local authorities appealed to prevent that from happening since according to their argument, it would “disturb the view” of a neighbouring listed building. 

The local council of the district of West Gelsenkirchen was trying to halt the establishment of the monument arguing that “the communist leader Lenin is representative of violence, suppression, terror and immense human suffering.

All this makes him incompatible with the free democratic constitutional order in Germany, and means he is a symbol of the fight against and the abolition of our democracy”.

The 2.5 meters tall Lenin figure was made in 1930, which the MLPD bought following an auction in the Czech Republic. It is due to be unveiled on 14 March, so the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lenin can attract leftist supporters from all over Germany. This is not the first time that a former communist’s statue is erected on the territory of the former FRG.

In 2018, former president of the European Comission Jean-Claude Juncker participated on the inauguration of a Karl Marx statue in Trier.

The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany has been under surveillance of German intelligence due to its unconstitutional and extremist ideologies.

Photo is courtesy of Unsplash.