Talk:Erich Honecker

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A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on May 3, 2019 and May 3, 2021.

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This is such a crucial person in german history. surely there is more to be written about him. I propose to nominate for expansion. opinions? Sophia 81 01:58, 14 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to read reference number 7, but it is in German. I would really appreciate it if someone could translate it or find the article on the website's English version. I was unable to pull the English version up. Thanks.Mylittlezach (talk) 19:17, 29 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Honecker wrote an autobiography in 1980 called, 'From My Life', does he state in there that he is an atheist? Can anyone verify that?Mylittlezach (talk) 19:25, 29 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Erich Honecker virus

I recall reading that a computer virus was created in which Erich Honecker appeared - and the comment was that this was the first time a Communist had become a ghost. Any more details?

Jackiespeel 18:38, 10 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I’m Chilean, living at this moment in Germany. Let alone the fact that Honecker died in my country (which is certainly not something to be proud of), I know that this man was responsible of serious crimes against humankind. Not only in relation to all those East Germans who died trying to cross the border to West Germany – and to freedom -, or against all those people who were seriously oppressed by the Stasi and by the system itself, but in relation to humanity as a whole, for his crimes affected, in my opinion, the entire world. It is very true that his crimes cannot be compared with Hitler´s, but they can surely be compared, to some extent, with A. Pinochet´s in Chile. Although the political context is hardly similar, the procedures undertaken by the leaders were pretty much the same: oppression, murder, etc. Hence, and correct me if I’m wrong, this man should be remembered by humanity as responsible for crimes against humankind, and, as such, should be an example of how history should not be written down.

P1nkfl0yd 10:05, June 1, 2008

Last time I checked, the reason many Chileans are living in Germany is because the Stasi smuggled them out to save them from certain death or torture under Pinochet. If I were you, Id've been grateful, but that's just me I guess.

Length of first marriage

There is a discrepancy between the English and German versions of this article as to when Honecker married his first wife. Here, it says 1950, but in the German version it says 1947.--Tabun1015 22:52, 4 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

He had been living with her since 1947, but married only in 1950, when she was pregnant of their daughter already. Some sources say he had been married before, and may have been waiting for his divorce from a previous wife having gone through legally. Fact is that in GDR-publications all this was stated differently, contrary to the truth. Kraxler 19:59, 23 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Was Erich Honecker Bisexual?

Recently, i found a picture online, not the one from the Berlin Wall where there is a picture of him kissing Leonid Brezhnev, but a real picture of Erich Honecker and Mikhail Gorbachev physically kissing each other. I just have to wonder if Erich Honecker was bisexual or was the picture doctored to look that way? I found this picture while looking at pictures of Erich Honecker on Yahoo! and that picture was right down at the bottom of the page. If Wikipedia Administrators want to see the picture and have experts look at it and see if it's fake or not, that is ok with me, but i do not know if this picture is copyrighted or not. --Alexandergungnahov (talk) 06:23, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In the Eastern Bloc it was a usual procedure during state visits that the communist leaders exchange "socialist brother kisses". Der Eberswalder (talk) 12:53, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

- I keep getting this image in my head of them doing that and then calling 'no homo'.

How come nobody has answered my question yet? --Alexandergungnahov (talk) 01:42, 8 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, here i go : the picture is genuine, but it is not a sexual kiss at all. It is the (once) famous "socialist fraternal kiss" (de:Sozialistischer Bruderkuss). RCS (talk) 12:42, 17 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Image copyright problem with Image:Honecker.jpg

The image Image:Honecker.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --15:25, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Exile?

Are we right to call it "exile" (first paragraph) when I understand he went to live with his family of his own free will (further down)? --here@llyis@dj (talk) 20:15, 10 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Files for deletion/2011_April_2#File:Breznev-Honecker 1979.jpg

All opinions welcome. Thank you. ^walk victor falk^talk 15:17, 5 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Where is his final resting place ?????

Where is his final resting place ????Milton (talk) 02:58, 2 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

That's a good question, I would want to give flowers. Proletarian Banner (talk) 23:18, 3 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

"Disgusting" kiss?

"According to former Polish Communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski Honecker kissed many politicians in a disgusting way." This line comes across as homophobic and doesn't belong in an encyclopedia, IMHO. It should be reduced to 1) "...kissed many politicians.", 2) otherwise edited, or 3) removed altogether. I vote for 1). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gunnstein (talk • contribs) 09:53, 28 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Such kissing was merely the Socialist Fraternal Kiss which is closely related to the cheek kissing which was custom in European nations, with the Socialist Fraternal Kiss being popular within Socialist ones and being exchanged amongst leaders, in rare cases on the mouth if they were especially close. Proletarian Banner (talk) 00:02, 4 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Request for Comments

There is an RfC on the question of using "Religion: None" vs. "Religion: None (atheist)" in the infobox on this and other similar pages.

The RfC is at Template talk:Infobox person#RfC: Religion infobox entries for individuals that have no religion.

Please help us determine consensus on this issue. --Guy Macon (talk) 02:09, 26 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

A son born in 1975?

Does he really have a son born in 1975? If he does, it sure as hell not with Margot, who was 48 at the time. There's nothing about it in her page as well. Can any one ellaborate on this issue?--79.177.48.19 (talk) 09:50, 3 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, the random mention of a son is confusing, and probably incorrect. Is this another illegitimate child? Should be deleted if there is no source for the claim.

You forgot to sign your comment! Proletarian Banner (talk) 23:17, 3 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Biases

The article contains various biased, erroneous, and oxymoronic terms and phrasing intended to evoke negative reaction out of readers. Terms such as regime are present when terms such as government, leadership, or country could be substituted in their place. Proletarian Banner (talk) 23:17, 3 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Now I have removed most instances of the term regime as it refers to the GDR, the Socialist government, Honecker's leadership, etc. Proletarian Banner (talk) 23:54, 3 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

With a name such as "Proletarian Banner" alone it is laughable to assume you edited in good faith. Synotia (talk) 09:04, 24 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

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Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:25, 16 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

NPOV issues

This article has issues with presenting a neutral point of view. In the first sentence, it mentions that Honecker was a "dictator". This is not consistent with other articles for heads of state of the GDR or other socialist countries, especially those that had more political influence.

Also concerning is that one editor repeatedly reverts the addition of the NPOV template without having a good reason to do so. Michael60634 (talk) 16:25, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

All that matters is whether reliable sources describe him as such. Volunteer Marek 18:21, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The wording also matters. Wikipedia is supposed to be neutral. And the Wikipedia pages of other people known as dictators do not mention that the person is a dictator in the lead. Consistency is important. Michael60634 (talk) 18:48, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

"Neutral" means follows reliable sources. If he's referred to as dictator by reliable sources then neutrality requires we do so as well. I have no idea nor care how "other pages" do it. If "other pages" fail to accurately reflect sources then it's those that need to be corrected. Volunteer Marek 22:32, 28 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]