НРБ, ГДР, СССР: небитието на химните в битието на спомените
Тhe PRB, the GDR and the USSR: the non-existence of the anthems in the existence of the remembrances

(based on Bulgarian, German and Russian comments from internet users)

Summary/Abstract: The anthems of the three „brotherly states“ – the PRB (the People’s Republic of Bulgaria), the GDR (the German Democratic Republic) and the USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) – are related to their common past in the socialist bloc. The three hymns reflect historical and political constellations, ideological dominants, valid (respectively imposed) community values, and we could even classify them as an „extract“ of that turning time. A general definition of them as an artistic „mirror“ of life itself in the recent past is confirmed by many Bulgarian, German and Russian comments from Internet users, which share personal impressions or memories of their loved ones. With this dimension, the postings approach the „cultures of Remembrance“ – a well-known trend in the modern literature. A common feature of the commentaries on these anthems today is their controversy over a wide range from sacralization to intolerance and stigmatization. This controversy in turn is a kind of „mirror“ of a life full of contradictions in the so-called „Real socialism”.

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