German Official Urges Removal of Socialist-Era Street Names

(MENAFN) A German parliamentary commissioner has proposed renaming streets that honor Vladimir Lenin and other socialist leaders from the Cold War period.

Several cities still have roads named after politicians from socialist East Germany, which merged with the US-aligned West Germany following the Berlin Wall’s collapse.

Evelyn Zupke, the Bundestag commissioner representing former East German political prisoners, told the outlet that names linked to the socialist era should be eliminated from public areas.

“Thirty-five years after reunification, no street should be named after Lenin, Otto Grotewohl, or Wilhelm Pieck. Naming a street is an expression of appreciation by our democratic society today. These individuals, however, symbolize the suffering of thousands of victims,” she stated on Saturday. Zupke emphasized that altering these names “would send the right signal on the 35th anniversary of German unity.”

According to a media outlet, over a dozen cities in the former East Germany, including Nauen in Brandenburg, still feature streets named after Lenin.

A spokesperson from Nauen told the newspaper that street names are determined by the city council and that this topic was not currently under consideration.

Meanwhile, a representative from Weissenfels noted that while Mayor Martin Papke “supports the [name] remaining in the long term,” the ultimate decision lies with local residents.

In the Saxony-Anhalt community, streets are named after Lenin and Wilhelm Pieck, East Germany’s leader from 1949 to 1960, as well as a road commemorating German-Soviet friendship.

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