Ben Lewis Bücher

Satire im Kommunismus: lediglich ein Ventil für Unmut oder der Anfang vom Ende des Unzumutbaren? Jeder Witz, so George Orwell, ist eine kleine Revolution. Ein Flaschengeist, der sich, einmal in der Welt, von keiner noch so repressiven Staatsgewalt wieder bannen lässt, ein Refugium für die Würde der Menschen, denen man die Hände gebunden und den Mund verboten hat. In seiner profunden Reportage „Das komische Manifest“ vollzieht Grimme-Preisträger Ben Lewis nach, wie die Bürger des ehemaligen sogenannten Ostblocks vom Sturz des Zaren 1917 bis zum Fall der Mauer 1989 die Meinungsfreiheit unter kommunistischen Regierungen am Leben hielten. Ob leeres Einkaufsregal dank verfehlter Planwirtschaft oder hohl dröhnende Staatspropaganda, Ausreiseverbot oder Strafgefangenenlager, die Sowjetära beschwor satirischen Widerstand herauf wie kaum ein politisches System zuvor, und viele nahmen lieber eine Gefängnis- oder, zu Zeiten Stalins, gar Todesstrafe in Kauf, als auf einen guten Witz zu verzichten. Lewis dokumentiert subversive Arbeiten wie die des ins Exil geflohenen tschechischen Künstlers Ivan Steiger oder des inhaftierten Studenten Peter Sodann anhand von Archivmaterial und Interviews. Lewis vermittelt die Geschichte des Kommunismus so nah wie nie - nämlich durch Volkes Stimme.

In 2017 the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction for $450m. But is it a real da Vinci? In a thrilling narrative built on formidable research, Ben Lewis tracks the extraordinary journey of a masterpiece lost and found, lied and fought over across the centuries.

Through the subversive jokes and cartoons used by those under the thumb of Communist regimes, the author shows what the average citizen truly thought about Lenin, Stalin, the Stasi, and even Gorbachev, in a book that captures how an oppressed people found solace in shared humor.

Q: Why, despite all the shortages, was the toilet paper in East Germany always two-ply? A: Because they had to send a copy of everything they did to Moscow.Communist jokes are the strangest, funniest, most enchanting and meaningful legacy of the eighty years of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe. The valiant and sardonic citizens of the former Communist countries—surrounded by secret police, threatened with arrest, imprisonment and forced labor, a failed economic system, and bombarded with ludicrous propaganda—turned joke-telling into an art form, using them as a coded way of speaking the truth and coping with the absurdity of the system. In this poignant and historically revealing book, rare and previously unpublished archive material, including cartoons, caricatures, photographs, and oral transcripts take the reader on a unique journey through the real experience of the Communist era.

Exploring the connections between philosophy and politics, this work re-evaluates Oswald Spengler's influence during the Weimar Republic. It highlights his active engagement with political events and his efforts to shape them, revealing a complex relationship between his meta-historical theories and the practicalities of Realpolitik. The book sheds light on how Spengler's ideas were not merely theoretical but deeply intertwined with the socio-political landscape of his time, offering a fresh perspective on his legacy and impact.