A well-known anti-Communist song has been censored by a show co-funded by the German Government, local media have reported.
Udo Lindenberg’s Sonderzug nach Pankow — Special Train to Pankow — openly mocks the Communists that formerly controlled the country’s east, with the song taking particular aim at the then-Soviet-backed state’s strongman lex-eader, Erich Honecker.
This part of the song will now be censored at an official event put on by the Humboldt Forum Foundation, with the government-funded organisation complaining that one part of the song mocking the former East Germany tyrant was offensive.
The particular jibe being refused mockingly referred to Honecker as East Germany’s “Chief Indian”. That part of the song is to be axed at the event, with the foundation now insisting that the Communist will simply be referred to as a “Chief I”.
“After an open discussion with the choirs and the artistic director, we decided to sing the song Sonderzug nach Pankow’and to leave out the word that, from today’s perspective, can be perceived as discriminatory,” the foundation confirmed on October 30.
“Even if the word in the song had a metaphorical connotation when it was written in 1983 — and at the time it was a satirical and critical reference to Erich Honecker — we are also aware that the word echoes the violent history of the colonisation of indigenous population groups.
“The word is perceived as discriminatory and racist by many indigenous people but also by many of our national and international visitors. We take this view seriously and respect it,” the body added.
The move has provoked outrage in Germany, with many taking to social media to defend the song, while others suggested it may be that “chief indians” in Berlin friendly to the Honecker regime may be behind the move.
Gerald Ullrich, a Bundestag representative for the Free Democratic Party, defended the “funny neologisms” present in the song, before expressing concern that such censoring of anti-Communist rhetoric was being implemented.
“Cancelling individual words, especially in this context, is reminiscent of dark times,” he said.
The Tusk government and his political party stayed silent on the 40th anniversary of the killing of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko by the Communist secret police. https://t.co/z14ZULqr2Q
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 23, 2024
