[lbo-talk] The Return of Lenin

[John Norem]

  BERLIN (Reuters) - Left-wing Berlin senators want to reassemble a 
giant statue of Russian Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that was 
removed from the former eastern half of the city in 1991 shortly after 
German reunification.

A scene showing part of the 19-metre statue being borne through the air 
by a helicopter featured in the 2003 hit film "Goodbye Lenin!". Today it 
lies buried in pieces in a forest on the outskirts of Berlin.

Tourist industry experts say the monument would appeal to many of the 
German capital's six million visitors each year.

"The Communist period is the most asked-after period by tourists in 
Berlin," said Natascha Kompatzki of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH.

One proposal is for the granite statue to be housed in Berlin's Museum 
of German History, Germany's Bild newspaper said on Monday.