The statue of Karl Marx prize from China was inaugurated in Trier City, Germany, which was the birthplace of the originator of Marxism. However, the inauguration of the statue on Saturday sparked pros and cons.
An anti-communism group opposed to the statue of Marx said the city of Trier should not accept the 18-foot statue's gift. To them, Marx's figure has inspired Stalin's regime.
The inauguration of the statue coincided with the birthday of the 200th birth of Karl Marx. Karl Marx, the founder of the ideology of communism, was the founder of the anti-capitalist movement.
The statue was unveiled in front of prominent people in the City of Trier, including the Chinese delegation and head of the German Social Democratic Party (AfD).
"We want to protest strongly against the opening of Marx's statue and raise our voices against the glorification of Marxism," said Dieter Dombrowski, president of the Union of Communist Tyrannies.
He said Trier's decision to accept the prize from China was an "irreverent and inhuman" act for those who suffered under communism.
However, the AfD Party, which enjoys strong support in areas that are former East German states, called for a silent march with the theme "Get Marx off the Pedestal" downtown Trier.
Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in the western German city, which lies near the border with Luxembourg. He developed his theory when the Industrial Revolution grew faster.
His works, such as the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, became a compulsory subject in the countries under the communist regime. His ideas became role models of the revolutionary movement from Vladimir Lenin to Mao Zedong.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says the Chinese Communist Party will forever remain a "guardian and practitioner" of Marxism. While the Vietnamese leader, Tran Dai Quang also paid tribute to Marx.
But Marx, considered the Father of Communism, was mocked in the former West German state of the capitalist school of thought during the Cold War.
Rainer Auts, director of a company set up to oversee the exhibition for Marx's life, work, and heritage, says that more than a quarter of a century after reunification, it is time to reexamine the philosophers who left Germany deeply divided.
"We are not looking to glorify or slander, but we want to show it as a man of his time, and show where he may be wrong," he said.
The head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that Marx is not responsible for all the atrocities that must be answered by his heir.
Responding to criticism of the reception of the gift of a statue of Karl Marx from China, Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe said the statue was just a friendly cue from China.
"There is not a single Chinese company in Trier, we do not have economic ties with China and that means we make this decision independently, we are not vulnerable to extortion," he was quoted as saying by Sky News on Sunday (6/5/2018).
Marx died at the age of 64 years in London due to bronchitis and inflammation of the lining of the chest in March 1883. He was buried in the Highgate Tomb.