Giant Lenin statue could return to Berlin streets

BERLIN - 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.

- REUTERS