Free Republic

One of the most famous paintings on the Berlin Wall, depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing his East German counterpart Erich Honecker, has been destroyed by the authorities. The artist is fuming, but he says he will paint a new image. It was an image that went around the world. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev leaning in to kiss his East German counterpart Erich Honecker, a larger-than-life painting daubed onto a remnant of the Berlin Wall. Before long it became one of the most famous pictures on Berlin's East Side Gallery, the mural bedecked Wall which is now Berlin's longest remaining...

Holidaymakers feeling nostalgic for the Cold War can now tour what was once a top secret bunker in the former East Germany. Opened to the public for the first time on Friday, it was meant to house the ruling Communist elite in the event of a nuclear attack.Something some visitors said they were relieved was no longer a concern:“What goes through my mind is that it is quite nice to stand around here, look at the bunker and talk to each other peacefully,” one man said.Close to the size of a football field, the bunker was designed to function...

Jeremiah Duggan's death baffled German police and was labelled suicide. Now, 18 months on, new evidence has prompted a reinvestigation His death at a bleak road junction in Germany seemed destined to remain shrouded in mystery. Shortly after leaving a meeting staged by far-right extremists, British student Jeremiah Duggan inexplicably ran in front of speeding traffic. Now the chain of events that led to the 22-year-old sustaining fatal head injuries early one morning on a Wiesbaden ring road are to be re-examined by police. For his mother, Erica, it is the culmination of an 18-month battle to discover what happened...

Jaruzelski recalls Honecker's 'disgusting' kisses Tue May 3,11:01 AM ET BERLIN (Reuters) - Being kissed by East German Communist leader Erich Honecker was "disgusting," former Polish communist leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski was quoted as saying Tuesday. In an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper, Jaruzelski said that meetings with Honecker always began with hugs and fraternal socialist kisses on the cheeks. "I exchanged many embraces with Honecker. He had this disgusting way of kissing," Jaruzelski, who was prime minister of Poland from 1981 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1990, was quoted as saying. Honecker, who ruled East Germany...

...But this crisis is more than a test for Ukrainians. It is a test for those in the West who claim to favor democracy. Will the West sell out the Ukrainians? Does the West accept the notion that Ukraine belongs in Russia's sphere of influence, if not its actual empire? And will the West hold Mr. Putin to account if his ally Mr. Kuchma is allowed to steal the election for his designated successor? On present evidence the answers are not encouraging. The Europeans were quick to call the November 21 ballot a fraud, and some EU governments -- particularly...