It was 50 years ago today,
Walter Ulbricht lied his ass away (as in off).
He’s been going in and out of style (mostly out),
but he’s still guaranteed to raise a smile.
Some world-class lies are better (and more complex) than others, especially when they are answers to questions that nobody ever asked. Was his just a Freudian slip? Did he purposely bring up not building a wall to bring the issue (everyone leaving East Germany) to a head and finally get Krushchev’s permission to build the thing? Or was he just a fun-loving prankster. At the moment I’m inclined to think it’s that last one. If you listen closely to his little laugh, it sounds way too much like Barney Rubble’s (the German synchronization).
Das hämische Lachen, das die Dreistigkeit der Lüge auch 50 Jahre danach noch zu steigern vermag, trägt comichafte Züge. Kein Wunder, erinnert es doch stark an Barney Geröllheimer, den besten Freund von Fred Feuerstein aus der US-Zeichentrickserie „The Flintstones“. Zumindest in der deutschen Übersetzung gleicht Barneys – von Gerd Duwner synchronisierte – berühmte „Hehehehe“-Lache der von Walter Ulbricht, als der DDR-Staatsratsvorsitzende am 15. Juni 1961 in einer legendären Pressekonferenz Geschichte schreibt – in dem er auf eine Frage antwortet, die gar nicht gestellt worden ist.
Observing Hermann 
But the bright side is, Walther Ulbricht gave us Pink Floyd 😉
(Well, Roger Waters, at least) 😉
Strangely enough, I see him more of a dupe and a flunky than a villain.
“Nobody has the intention of building a wall”
Perhaps. By the same measure, no-one in Vancouver wanted to turn their dull, clean city into a Krazy Kanadian Kristallnacht.
Joe,
Note in contrast the Bombastic Boston Bruins Duckboat parade with 1.5 million well behaved parade watchers. This parade exceeded the 2004 Red Sox attendance.