Stalin Avenue enigma solved
This spring, neighbourhood photographer Louis Hofman discovered a street sign saying ‘Stalinlaan’ (Stalin Avenue) at the Vrijheidslaan. “Restalinisation in the Rivierenbuurt? A forgotten piece of scenery in a movie set between 1953 and 1956? Or just a joke from a confirmed old-fashioned follower of Soviet Communism?” – weblog Rivierenbuurt wondered.
After the Second World War, Stalin got his own street in the Rivierenbuurt, just like Churchill and Roosevelt. In 1956, after the Soviets had invaded Hungary, the Stalinlaan was renamed Vrijheidslaan (Freedom Avenue).
Last Friday, NRC Handelsblad reported that the Stalinlaan sign has been an initiative of artist Jonas Staal. Staal is known among other things for his Geert Wilders Works, a parody of the posthumous Pim Fortuyn worship.
Photo: Louis Hofman / from Rivierenbuurt website