Hilfe, es kommt Besuch!
(Sternstunden des DDR-Humors 1975-1976)

Hilfe, es kommt Besuch!
(Sternstunden des DDR-Humors 1975-1976)

Russians/Soviets visiting East Germans in a comedic skit

This skit is emblematic of the relationship between the USSR and the DDR during this period. It begins by saying that “Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft ist uns nicht nur Herzenssache, sondern auch ein Lippenbekenntnis” and the characters go on to confuse Soviet identity with Russian identity multiple times throughout the skit. In the skit, the East Germans are awaiting unexpected Soviet guests. While they wait, one of the East Germans asks another to speak Russian to the guests when they arrive, to which the other replies he only know how to read menus and he “kann sie doch nicht mit »Soljanka, Soljanka!« begrüßen!” At the end of the skit, the visit is averted as the Soviets only came for a “Vortrag über Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft” and not to see how it actually worked. In this skit, Soljanka again appears as a part of Russian culture that is foreign, but still familiar to the East Germans.

Heinz Helm

Weltbild

2008

PDF

German

Humor