WELCOME to the third week’s instalment of our DDR Diary, documenting our travels around what used to be East Germany, or the Deutsche Demokratische Republik.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the first two weeks, we really appreciate you reading them and we’ve continued to receive great feedback, so thanks again. A big thank you also goes to comrades at the Morning Star for the support. 

We are now onto the third instalment of our “redcation” where we visited Lebus, Seelow and Schwerin.

We were able to visit an impressive Soviet War Memorial, a very interesting Second World War Museum and one of the last remaining Lenin statues in Germany. A great day!

Lebus

So after a good night’s sleep, we hit the road early for what was a heavy day of driving ahead.

First stop for us was the village of Lebus and the second Soviet memorial of the trip, around 15 minutes’ drive from Frankfurt de Oder.

As outlined earlier in our trip, we recommend using the “Traces of War” website for basic information on these memorials, as most of them are written in Russian and or German.

We also recommend using the Google Translate photo-scanning app to help you get more from these visits. As you enter, there is a large information board, which is ideal for translating. 

Info is readily to hand

This stunning and powerful memorial is vast and being in a small village is very quiet for the visitor. 

Seelow

From Lebus, we were back in the car again towards Seelow to see the incredible Seelow museum and war memorial.

This is a must-visit for all Red Tourists out there. On arrival you will see the forecourt with tanks and other military vehicles from this famous battle. 

Seelow Heights Memorial Site and Museum has transformed a former battlefield into an internationally recognised place of remembrance, commemorating and documenting the battle of the Seelow Heights in April 1945.

The museum was originally built in 1972 to replicate the bunker of the General Georgy Zhukov who led the Soviet offensive against the Nazis in the area.

We were led by a member of the museum staff, who were located in a building in front of the actual museum, to the museum itself. 

They opened it up and guided us to our introduction to the area and the conflict that took place here.

As you walk through the small but incredibly detailed exhibition in the bunker building, you end up in a small cinema-like space where an introduction video coupled with a large interactive model map, guides you through the development of the battle and the liberation of this important part of Germany. 

After the introduction you can walk around the exhibition at your own leisure, with first-hand accounts from those living in the area available through narrated accounts.

There is also a host of information on the battle that happened around Seelow, as well as on the history of the museum and the use of the area it sits upon during DDR times.

There is a particularly interesting and revealing message book in the museum as well. 

Often celebrations of the liberation of Germany and thanks to the Soviet soldiers who died were intersected with the area used for youth events during the DDR.

Since unification the museum’s contents and presentation of the exhibition have changed quite drastically. 

As you finish the exhibition the next part of this vast site is to walk up the stairs to the memorial site itself.

With individual headstones and also the huge statue in the middle (pictured). Just watch out for the sprinklers. 

Due to being slightly higher in the air you can also look across the countryside, seeing in front of you the battlefield. 

Schwerin

As brilliant and impressive Seelow was, it was time to move on as our next stop of Schwerin was around a three hours’ drive away.

Continuing through the countryside and several areas of large roadworks on the motorway, we arrive at Schwerin. 

Our first stop in Schwerin is the 13-foot bronze Lenin denkmal, on Hamburger Avenue.

Despite ongoing debates about its removal, as one of the few remaining Lenin statues in Eastern Germany, the monument by Estonian sculptor Jaak Soans still stands.

Unveiled on June 22 1985, the base of this impressive statue has the words “Dekret uber Grund und Boden” (the Decree on Land, written by Lenin in 1917) that abolished private property and decreed the redistribution of the landed estates among the peasantry.

In 2006 a vote on the removal of the statue was lost by two votes within the town and subsequently in 2014 a company offered to melt down the statue and make it a church bell — this was also declined by the people of Schwerin.

Many claim this is the last original Lenin statue from the DDR era left in its original space, with many being removed or sold to private collectors, as is the case with Lenin Square in Berlin. 

So in short, make sure you plan your trip soon and go and see the last Lenin in Germany! 

After all the excitement of Lenin and after a long day in the car, we headed to Schwerin Badestrand, a “man-made” beach of the lake of Schwerin.

With a small beach shack to grab a cold drink and something to eat, this lakeside is a great way to relax after a long day. 

One of us did even go into the water on what was by then a slightly cloudy but humid day. Safe to say the dip did not last long, though the feeling of victory remained for longer. Our next stop was to find our accommodation in the city centre, so after the beach we headed there.

Once we had checked in and dumped our bags we headed straight out to find somewhere to get a drink and explore the inner centre of Schwerin.

Our “blue guide” describes Schwerin as “the elegant capital of  Mecklenburg Vorpommern,” with beautiful and majestic arrangements of buildings, including the castle.

As we were now into  the evening, unfortunately we did not have the time to take in any further sights. 

Through a bit of Googling and through intrigue we headed for a bar called The Scotsmen, which seems to be an alternative to the traditional “Irish bar” that you may find in many cities and towns. They still sold Guinness though.

As we headed into this busy bar full of local people enjoying a whisky or two, we were taken with the sheer “Scottish” decoration with tartan patterns across all the walls.

This bar unusually has two areas. The front is a non-smoking bar area with tables, but the back is a cowboy-like saloon full of smoke that you enter through the swingback doors of any Western-style movie.

Many beers are available though we settled on Guinness, our choice for the night. When in Rome …

What makes this bar interesting is its owner Heiko Steinmueller. A local guy, and ex-HGV driver living in Stranraer for over nine years, he is both warm and generous in speaking to all those in the bar.

Two electronic dart boards took our fancy and so we settled into a not very competitive evening, where it was clear one of us was in need of some practice, and that feeling of victory from the beach earlier had swung back the other way.

As our darts game continues, we speak more with Heiko, who explains to us his political development from communist revolutionary as a younger man to social democrat these days.

He explains his love of Scotland and we begin to explore attitudes towards the former DDR.

Heiko very clearly explains that although DDR had issues, and no system is perfect, that reunification hadn’t been all it was promised for the people of the former DDR.

He explains the rise of the far right in parts of Eastern Germany and is quick to talk of the election of more “right-wing” governments in Britain. 

After several kind and generous drinks provided by Heiko, we finished our night with a short walk back to our hotel.

With another long day of driving ahead, we discussed the best part of these trips is speaking with people and, although our language skills are poor, we are lucky that so many around the world speak English.