When Walls Talk: The Graffiti From History
When Walls Talk: The Graffiti From History
From the Red Army in the Reichstag to the Taliban in Afghanistan, 22 examples of graffiti that capture the passions and pain of history.
1
Most of the writings, made with chalk or charred stumps of wood, were soldiers' names, and often their hometowns. Some troops left threats such as, “Hanses and Fritzes, you will never forget this. If necessary, we will come again.”
2
Germany’s Reichstag building covered in the scrawls of Red Army soldiers after they had captured Berlin in 1945, near the end of World War II.
3
Much of the writing has been preserved, though the most obscene messages -- some referencing violent rape -- were removed.
4
Outside the Reichstag, a message left by Nazi loyalists had urged Berliners to fight the Red Army, promising passersby the bleak choice, “Victory or Siberia.”