This mural of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in a fraternal embrace is one of the most famous pieces of art on the Berlin Wall. These two girls were keen to interpret the image in their own photo pose.
The actual kiss took place in 1979 in East Berlin, when Brezhnev and Honecker met at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic. It was captured on camera by Régis Bossu and the image was widely published.
When the Wall stood between East and West Berlin, the west side was a popular location for colourful and vocal political graffiti. The east side, on the other hand, remained a white, blank wall as the public could not gain safe access. When the Wall fell in late 1989, artists soon corrected this and a painted portion of the Wall still remains.
Господи! Помоги мне выжить
среди этой смертной любви
My God! Help me survive
this deadly love
Dmitri Vrubel painted his famous mural in 1990. Sadly, as with much of this street art, it suffered from both vandalism and general deterioration, and in 2009 the work was erased and the artists of the original pieces were invited to return and repaint their murals in more durable paint. The recreated works are still subject to vandalism, but this is an amazing place to wander and enjoy the art nonetheless.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 11 March 2016
Linked to Monday Mural
Travel with Intent 
One of my favorite works at the East Side Gallery.
Here’s my take on it: http://berlin-365.blogspot.de/2014/11/november-theme-day-landmark.html
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kissin’ cousins
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i took the same photo in September 2015.
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This is a nice one, I have seen it too. A shame to paint graffiti on it.
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Yes, a great shame
On Mon, Mar 14, 2016 at 9:28 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Excellent image for the theme, Debbie. I wasn’t aware of this wall art or the history of the embrace.
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When I saw the mural, I had no idea of its truth
On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 8:28 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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I loved the East Side Gallery when we were there in (I think) 2012. I remember reading since that part of it was to be demolished to create an access road to a new hotel – I don’t know if that ever happened. Maybe you do if you were there last year?
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Great “document”!
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Great take on this theme, Debbie. 🙂
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Thanks Stefano
On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 8:00 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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Hats off, Debbie 🙂 This is a kiss to remember!
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Isn’t it just!
Apparently it was quite common for communist leaders to embrace in this way if they were close countries – politically rather than geographically
On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 9:02 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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I was wrecking my brains trying to remember if Tito had ever kissed any politician this way, but nah….
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😂
On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 9:07 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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That was a great choice for your 50th (and I also note that your a year younger than me!)
I had been a couple of times before, once when the Wall was still in place, but on my trip in 2015 I absolutely adored the place. And the East Side Gallery was one of the highlights!
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I visited in 2010 for my fiftieth birthday. You are right there is much grafitti there but I found it to be a place of such iconic resonance that I was reduced to tears. This image is one of the most profound, of course and an exemplar of the challenge this week 🙂
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