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Hammer & Tickle: A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes
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 In this poignant and historically revealing book, rare and previously unpublished archive material, including cartoons, caricatures, photographs, and oral transcripts take the reader on a unique journey through the real experience of the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.
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 In this poignant and historically revealing book, rare and previously unpublished archive material, including cartoons, caricatures, photographs, and oral transcripts take the reader on a unique journey through the real experience of the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.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published May 29, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
September 22, 2013
This book had potential but alas it was researched and written by someone who I can only describe as a "jerk". Ben Lewis, it seems, knows all about communism and life in the USSR... except he doesn't, not really. He interprets events and people's actions in ways that just do not add up, and he often makes absolutely horrendous remarks - there were parts where it seemed he was upset that "only" a few hundred people had their (and their relatives') lives changed or destroyed because they told a joke! Even one life is one too many! Moreover, the interviews and his recollection of his life with his ex-girlfriend show that he has absolutely no respect for people who do not share his views. An open mind might have rendered this book much better.
Throughout the book, the author talks about his theories about "communist jokes" and from that I gathered he thought he was trying to scientifically approach the question. The main problem was that he only ever had theories and did not, at all, use the scientific method to test out any hypotheses he might have had.
Finally, the few jokes that were listed were not actually the best ones and not the ones I would consider representative of soviet humour. The fact that all the play-on-words jokes were ignored (because the author apparently did not want to waste time in explanations) was a let-down... but that might just be my very biased point of view, having grown up in a household with parents who had fully experienced the USSR and having experienced it myself for six years.
Throughout the book, the author talks about his theories about "communist jokes" and from that I gathered he thought he was trying to scientifically approach the question. The main problem was that he only ever had theories and did not, at all, use the scientific method to test out any hypotheses he might have had.
Finally, the few jokes that were listed were not actually the best ones and not the ones I would consider representative of soviet humour. The fact that all the play-on-words jokes were ignored (because the author apparently did not want to waste time in explanations) was a let-down... but that might just be my very biased point of view, having grown up in a household with parents who had fully experienced the USSR and having experienced it myself for six years.
August 24, 2008
An interesting book that could be so much better.
While the concept of a study of Communist jokes, their origins, and their effect (or non-effect) on the downfall of the Soviet Bloc sounds interesting in theory, the book ultimately leaves one unsatisfied. Too much is spent with the author's "Am I right? Am I wrong?" musings, and the snippets of his interactions with others do little but make one wonder how much more he could have discovered had he not let his biases and dismissive attitude show so clearly.
While the concept of a study of Communist jokes, their origins, and their effect (or non-effect) on the downfall of the Soviet Bloc sounds interesting in theory, the book ultimately leaves one unsatisfied. Too much is spent with the author's "Am I right? Am I wrong?" musings, and the snippets of his interactions with others do little but make one wonder how much more he could have discovered had he not let his biases and dismissive attitude show so clearly.
May 26, 2024
What is the definition of Capitalism?I got this book for the jokes. It wasn’t the wisest choice, but there is not much to choose from. Political jokes need, most of the time, context, otherwise they are not funny. I know enough about Communism, but local details may not be familiar to me.
The exploitation of man by man.
And what is the definition of Communism?
The exact opposite.
An old man with a big bushy grey beard knocks on the door of Heaven.
Peter Petrovich greets him and asks him firmly: ‘Who was your father?’
‘An industrialist.’
‘And your mother?’
‘The daughter of a merchant.’
‘And your wife?’
‘An aristocrat.’
‘And what did you do all your life long?’
‘I travelled and wrote books.’
‘Bourgeois stock,’ Peter notes. ‘It will be difficult, but tell me your name?’
‘Karl Marx.’
At a concentration camp in Siberia, several inmates are talking with each other about why they are in the camp. One says, ‘I am here for saying that Karl Radek was a counter-revolutionary.’Ben Lewis researches Communist political jokes across the Soviet bloc. He seems serious about it. He mentions that there are different lines of thought. First comes the minimalist position that considers political jokes an expression of public opinion, nothing more, and that they had no effect on the system. The maximalists argue that the jokes brought down Communism, because ‘every joke is a tiny revolution’ (George Orwell). And then there are the denials that say joke-telling actually helped prolong Communism, because it was a way to blow off steam, and so it was advantageous to the system.
The second says, ‘Isn’t that interesting? I am here for saying that he was not a counter-revolutionary.’ They turned to the third man and asked, ‘What are you here for?’
He answered: ‘I am Karl Radek.’
How do the Czechs know that the Earth is round?
In 1945 the imperialists were driven out to the west and in 1968 they returned from the east.
A donkey is standing next to a Trabant. He turns to the car and asks it, ‘What are you?’
‘I am a car,’ says the Trabant. ‘What are you?’
‘Oh,’ says the donkey, laughing, ‘I am a horse.’
After the October Revolution, God sends three observers to Russia: St Luke, St George and St Peter. They send him three telegrams.Lewis is a maximalist. From the beginning he wants to prove that jokes were the reason Communism failed. As his research advances, he can’t prove that.
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St Luke.’
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St George.’
‘All’s well. Doing fine. Cheka Superintendent Petrov.’
An old peasant woman is visiting Moscow zoo, when she sets eyes on a camel for the first time. ‘Oh my God,’ she says, ‘look what the Bolsheviks have done to that horse.’
A dissident arrives at a remote village, to which he has been exiled.He writes a history of Communism through jokes. He uses underground humour and official satire. He discovers, to his disappointment, that only 200,000 people were sent to the Gulag by Stalin for anti-Soviet propaganda (jokers), and even more disappointment that in other countries it was a few thousand or a few hundred. How can he prove this theory if ‘only’ 200,000 people were sent to the Gulag for jokes?
Everywhere seems deserted, but as he gets towards the centre of town he notices an overpowering horrible smell. In the main square he comes across a big crowd of people standing quietly in a lake of sewage coming up to their chins. Suddenly he falls in. He starts flailing his arms and shouting in disgust, ‘Yuk! I cannot stand this! How can you people just stand here not doing anything?’
They reply, ‘Shut up and keep still, you are making waves.’
A clerk hears laughing behind the door of a courtroom. He opens the door. At the other end of the room, the judge is sitting on the podium convulsed in laughter.Another one of his disappointments is when he is told that most jokes are recycled throughout history. He was aware that Communist jokes were re-adapted and re-used in different times with only minor alterations, some of them even coming from Nazi Germany or the 19th century, but somehow he didn’t consider the fact that they can date back to much earlier times, in many cases even impossible to date exactly.
‘What’s so funny?’ asks the clerk.
‘I just heard the funniest joke of my life,’ says the judge.
‘Tell it to me.’
‘I can’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘I just sentenced someone to five years’ hard labour for doing that.’
Who dug the White Sea canal?
The right bank was dug by those who told jokes…
And the left bank?
By those who listened.
A man was reported to have said: ‘That Nicholas is a moron!’ He was arrested by the policeman for insulting Tsar Nicolas II.In the end he does not prove anything, and he reaches no conclusion. He has no method. He goes from place to place and talks to a few people and that’s it. As his quest progresses, he discovers that joke-telling become a part of daily life. People were not sentenced and deported for it anymore. The subjects changed and after the fall of Communism they disappeared completely.
‘No, sir,’ said the man, ‘I did not mean our respected Emperor, but another Nicholas!’
‘Don’t try to trick me,’ replied the policeman. ‘If you say “moron”, you obviously refer to our Tsar.’
Goebbels was touring German schools. At one, he asked the students to call out patriotic slogans.
‘Heil Hitler,’ shouted one child.
‘Very good,’ said Goebbels.
‘Deutschland über alles,’ another called out.
‘Excellent. How about a stronger slogan?’
A hand shot up, and Goebbels nodded. ‘Our people shall live for ever,’ the little boy said.
‘Wonderful,’ exclaimed Goebbels. ‘What is your name, young man?’
‘Israel Goldberg.’
He goes to a few former Communist countries, but not too many. The biggest contribution to his research comes from a Romanian statistician, who catalogued the jokes in the '80s and attempted a scientific statistical analysis.
Polish, Hungarian and Romanian dogs get to talking. ‘What’s life like in your country?’ the Polish dog asks the Hungarian dog.Most of the time, Lewis collects jokes and re-tells them. The jokes are used to support the points and claims he is making. I was hoping for more jokes or, if not, a more serious/scientific research. I got neither. The entire corpus of Radio Yerevan corpus of Communist jokes is only briefly mentioned. He travelled to different countries, but he missed or ignored the jokes with local popular characters.
‘Well, we have meat to eat but we can’t bark. What are things like where you are from?’ says the Hungarian dog to the Polish dog.
‘With us, there’s no meat, but at least we can bark,’ says the Polish dog.
‘What’s meat? What’s barking?’ asks the Romanian dog.
A Romanian cosmonaut goes to the moon. He leaves a note for his mother on the kitchen table: ‘Gone to the Moon, back in a week.’ He comes back and the house is empty. There’s a note on the table from his mother: ‘Gone to buy cheese. Don’t know when I’ll be back.’
A teacher asks his class: ‘Who is your mother and who is your father?’This felt more like a book about another (academic) book. Like the adventures and musing of a social scientist in his research. Like a behind-the-scenes of a real book. Otherwise, what purpose do his long pages about his relationship serve?
A pupil replies: ‘My mother is Russia and my father is Stalin.’
‘Very good,’ says the teacher. ‘And what would you like to be when you grow up?’
‘An orphan.’
Stalin is giving a speech to an assembly of workers in a big factory. ‘The thing we hold most precious in the Soviet Union is a human life,’ he says.
Suddenly someone in the audience has a fit of coughing.
‘Who is coughing?’ bellows Stalin.
Silence.
‘Okay, call in the NKVD,’ says the dictator.
Stalin’s political police, the NKVD, rush in with semi-automatic weapons blazing. Soon only seven men are left standing.
Stalin asks again: ‘Who coughed?’
One man raises his hand.
‘That’s a terrible cold you’ve got,’ says Stalin. ‘Take my car and go to hospital.’
Stalin is in his limo, alone with his driver. ‘Let me ask you a question,’ he says to the chauffeur. ‘Tell me honestly, have you become more or less happy since the Revolution?’
‘In truth, less happy,’ says the driver.
‘Why is that?’ asks Stalin, his hackles raised.
‘Well, before the Revolution I had two suits. Now I only have one.’
‘You should be pleased,’ says Stalin. ‘Don’t you know that in Africa they run around completely naked?’
‘Really?’ the chauffeur replies. ‘So how long ago did they have their revolution?’
One day Stalin is in his office in the Kremlin and notices that there are mice in his study. He complains to President Kalinin about this.
The President thinks for a moment and then suggests: ‘Why don’t you put up a sign reading “Collective Farm”? Half the mice will die of hunger and the other half will run away.’
Two Gulag inmates are talking about why they got put away. ‘I’m here for laziness, ’ says one.I was disappointed. But at least I got to save some funny jokes.
‘What do you mean? Did you fail to turn up for work?’ asks the other.
‘No. I was sitting with a friend telling jokes all night, and I thought, at the end, I’ll go to bed, I can report him to the police in the morning.’
‘And why was that so lazy?’
‘He did it the same evening.’
You remember the police investigator who asks the accused: ‘What were you doing five years ago on 23 October at 17.15?’
The accused replies promptly: ‘I remember exactly. I had one eye on my clock and the other on my calendar.’
What is the definition of a Russian string quartet?
A Soviet orchestra back from a US tour
Brezhnev is walking with his grandson. ‘Granddad, when I grow up, will I be General Secretary?’
‘What are you saying, boy? How could there be two general secretaries?’
January 13, 2022
Ben Lewis provides a fascinating and first-rate account of the history of humor behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, both jokes from people opposed to Communism (mostly covertly, for obvious reasons, but some surprisingly and boldly overt) and the official state propaganda organs (showing that, contrary to popular assumption, Commie government thugs, for all their evil flaws, actually *did* have a sense of humor) alike, and provides fascinating insights into Cold War Eastern European history in genera (from the USSR to Hungary to Poland to Romania to Czechoslovakia to East Germany, though Bulgaria is conspicuous by it absence from the discussion). The book is also interspersed with the author's own personal first-hand story of his rather interesting political debates with his East German girlfriend who refused to get rid of Communist delusions, er, ideals...good riddance to her!
Mr. Lewis also makes some profound observations that even "capitalist" countries have their decidedly socialistic aspects, especially the social democratic safety nets of the Western European countries.
However, there are some flaws that prevent me from assigning this book a perfect 5-star rating. For one thing, like many pundits in Western journalism and academia, Mr. Lewis gives waaaaaayyyyy too much credit to Mikhail Gorbachev, the *loser* of the Cold War, and not enough to Ronald Reagan, who, more than any other U.S. President, helped accelerate the Soviet collapse (if you don't want to take my word for it, then ask high-ranking officials like former KGB General Oleg Kalugin). Speaking of Mr. Reagan, the author levels against him the disingenuous and misleading accusation of "funding the future Al-Qaedai n their war against the Soviets in Afghanistan." Okay, let's get something straight here: while Osama Bin Laden *was* a *partial* beneficiary of the CIA's support of the mujahideen in the 1980s, the fact remains that the primary beneficiary of the aid program was Ahmed Shah Masood AKA "The Lion of Peshawar," who later became the leader of the Northern Alliance that *opposed* Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and was indeed assassinated by Bin Laden's goons the day before the 9/11 attacks.
Those nitpicks aside, the book is still well worth reading, and here are some of my favorite passages...
--from p. 50 of the original hardcover edition: "What were Mayakovsky's last words before he committed suicide? 'Comrades, don't shoot!'"
--p. 55: "The age-old genre of gallows humour, in which a person threatened with death and misfortune makes light of his impending doom, achieved an unprecedented sale and depth in the popular Communist jokes of Stalinism."
--p. 68: "Most political jokes in other social systems are told about an *other* -- Jews, Arabs, Irishmen. Communist joke-tellers overwhelmingly told jokes about themselves." (author's original emphasis)
Mr. Lewis also makes some profound observations that even "capitalist" countries have their decidedly socialistic aspects, especially the social democratic safety nets of the Western European countries.
However, there are some flaws that prevent me from assigning this book a perfect 5-star rating. For one thing, like many pundits in Western journalism and academia, Mr. Lewis gives waaaaaayyyyy too much credit to Mikhail Gorbachev, the *loser* of the Cold War, and not enough to Ronald Reagan, who, more than any other U.S. President, helped accelerate the Soviet collapse (if you don't want to take my word for it, then ask high-ranking officials like former KGB General Oleg Kalugin). Speaking of Mr. Reagan, the author levels against him the disingenuous and misleading accusation of "funding the future Al-Qaedai n their war against the Soviets in Afghanistan." Okay, let's get something straight here: while Osama Bin Laden *was* a *partial* beneficiary of the CIA's support of the mujahideen in the 1980s, the fact remains that the primary beneficiary of the aid program was Ahmed Shah Masood AKA "The Lion of Peshawar," who later became the leader of the Northern Alliance that *opposed* Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and was indeed assassinated by Bin Laden's goons the day before the 9/11 attacks.
Those nitpicks aside, the book is still well worth reading, and here are some of my favorite passages...
--from p. 50 of the original hardcover edition: "What were Mayakovsky's last words before he committed suicide? 'Comrades, don't shoot!'"
--p. 55: "The age-old genre of gallows humour, in which a person threatened with death and misfortune makes light of his impending doom, achieved an unprecedented sale and depth in the popular Communist jokes of Stalinism."
--p. 68: "Most political jokes in other social systems are told about an *other* -- Jews, Arabs, Irishmen. Communist joke-tellers overwhelmingly told jokes about themselves." (author's original emphasis)
December 17, 2008
This book has a lot of good jokes and a lot of interesting historical information, but to get to it you have to wade through a good deal of crap.
July 5, 2014
If you think obscure jokes unearthed from forgotten archives in Eastern Europe by a self-confessed pseudo-intellectual can offer a serious replacement for legitimate politico-philosophical debates about the USSR then you'll love this book. The author's main point is that he believes the fact that people told jokes in the USSR in some way discredits the ideological aims of the soviet system to create a better society. When in reality all these jokes show us is that a portion of the population were critical of the system of government. Lewis presents no statistics on the public opinion held by the citizens of the USSR towards their government.
No doubt there are legitimate criticisms to be levelled at many aspects of the former soviet states but jokes are not a legitimate format as they present only a biased and shallow debate which is little more than simple propaganda.
The title of the book is also highly misleading. For a start a joke made by an anti-Communist about Communism (note the big 'C') is not a Communist joke it's an anti-Communist joke. A more accurate subtitle would be A History of Communism Told Through Anti-Communist Jokes.
Ben Lewis also presents a tremendously misogynistic side. He frequently talks about his East German Communist girlfriend in massively condescending and sexist ways. I think this is due to his jealousy of her becoming a successful modern artist in the USA in capitalist circles he evidently feels he has a god-given right to move amongst due to his straight white male status and evident love of neoliberalism. Besides the fact that Mr Lewis' relationship with his girlfriend is not Communist history. I find it bemusing that he decided to include his personal life in a supposedly serious historical debate.
I feel there is also a reason why Lewis decides not to tackle highly successful current and past Socialist governments such as Cuba, Venezuela and Chile. Because of their success and relative popularity they are much harder to criticise. Pick a system that is unpopular in the West that owes its existence in a large part due to Cold War bias and play on the mild Slavophobia it generated and Bob's your uncle you are ready to make a few bucks from your book.
It gets two stars because I think there is something to be said about analysing political jokes in particular systems of government. Perhaps the author would like to write one about jokes under neoliberalism:
'I’d jump for joy at Thatcher’s passing were it not for my fragile bones brought about by a lack of milk as a child.'
No doubt there are legitimate criticisms to be levelled at many aspects of the former soviet states but jokes are not a legitimate format as they present only a biased and shallow debate which is little more than simple propaganda.
The title of the book is also highly misleading. For a start a joke made by an anti-Communist about Communism (note the big 'C') is not a Communist joke it's an anti-Communist joke. A more accurate subtitle would be A History of Communism Told Through Anti-Communist Jokes.
Ben Lewis also presents a tremendously misogynistic side. He frequently talks about his East German Communist girlfriend in massively condescending and sexist ways. I think this is due to his jealousy of her becoming a successful modern artist in the USA in capitalist circles he evidently feels he has a god-given right to move amongst due to his straight white male status and evident love of neoliberalism. Besides the fact that Mr Lewis' relationship with his girlfriend is not Communist history. I find it bemusing that he decided to include his personal life in a supposedly serious historical debate.
I feel there is also a reason why Lewis decides not to tackle highly successful current and past Socialist governments such as Cuba, Venezuela and Chile. Because of their success and relative popularity they are much harder to criticise. Pick a system that is unpopular in the West that owes its existence in a large part due to Cold War bias and play on the mild Slavophobia it generated and Bob's your uncle you are ready to make a few bucks from your book.
It gets two stars because I think there is something to be said about analysing political jokes in particular systems of government. Perhaps the author would like to write one about jokes under neoliberalism:
'I’d jump for joy at Thatcher’s passing were it not for my fragile bones brought about by a lack of milk as a child.'
May 14, 2014
This book has a nice compilation of jokes from the Soviet era, as well as a few useful comments apropos their historical significance along the way. That said, it's a shame that the author should break the fourth wall and appear to the reader as a cynical self-entitled bitch so often. Most of the times Ben Lewis tries to drawn insightful thoughts about psychology, philosophy and so on are nothing but cringeworthy. This is the kind of book that must be read as fast as possible, as the jerkness of its writer may cause one to just give up.
July 31, 2010
While reading this you might get the impression that the author is a complete asshole. But the parts that are not about his amazing ego and natural Capitalist intelectual superiority are very interesting, and it makes for an enjoyable read.
November 25, 2019
It is true that the author of the book is a jerk. However, the moments when this is obvious are sparse. You can easily skip them and have 50 pages where he only describes events and people and the jokes surrounding them without being mean or condescending.
The real joy to be found in this book is looking at the index at the end and searching for specific jokes surrounding certain topics. I have inadvertedly memorised countless anekdots about a wide variety of communism-related topics from the book. They are simply good humour!
The book, through its structure, also becomes a short history of communism through its jokes (the title of my translated version capitalizes this). This makes memorising events in the period easier, and also introduces more obscure, but interesting topics, like Trofim Lysenko, Karl Radek and Khrushchev's CORN.
Overall, Ben Lewis' book is a must for everyone interested in life under soviet rule, and can become a good reference book for its aspects. Yes, the author is a jerk, and his question over the effectiveness of illegal jokes is never answered, but they are minor gripes compared to the vast array of caricatures and humorous stories presented.
The real joy to be found in this book is looking at the index at the end and searching for specific jokes surrounding certain topics. I have inadvertedly memorised countless anekdots about a wide variety of communism-related topics from the book. They are simply good humour!
The book, through its structure, also becomes a short history of communism through its jokes (the title of my translated version capitalizes this). This makes memorising events in the period easier, and also introduces more obscure, but interesting topics, like Trofim Lysenko, Karl Radek and Khrushchev's CORN.
Overall, Ben Lewis' book is a must for everyone interested in life under soviet rule, and can become a good reference book for its aspects. Yes, the author is a jerk, and his question over the effectiveness of illegal jokes is never answered, but they are minor gripes compared to the vast array of caricatures and humorous stories presented.
November 9, 2019
Presenting itself as a history of communism told through communist jokes, I fully expected to love this book. And while many of the jokes Lewis compiles are hilarious, they are detracted from by his self-important digressions (endless screeds of prose are given over to an internal debate on the methodology of joke-collection), his painful attempts to be funny on his own terms (a toe-curling skit on ‘The Simpsons’ as if written for a Soviet audience), and the basically shitty way he writes up his interactions with the various activists, archivists and experts who consented to be interviewed for his ultimately soulless book.
September 5, 2013
This book has not been written by a historian and it shows. If you can skip descriptions of author's personal life and his often patronising and dismissive treatment of his interviewees you will be able to get through this book. It presents very simplistic treatment of Cold War and life in countries behind iron curtain.
February 19, 2019
While reading Hammer And Tickle: A History Of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes by Ben Lewis, I began to wonder why a colleague would offer me such a book. Because I would be a stalinist? Because on the contrary, I should be careful about being too critical? Or more simply because big institutions would always have a tendency to become bureaucracies. Well i do not know and it does not matter as much as the fact I enjoyed reading these jokes despite the terrible background which explains their existence…
In a similar style, I would also encourage you to watch Une exécution ordinaire (in French) [see the IMDB link here], a beautiful and terrible movie. Here is the trailer. The jokes mentioned below from the book might push you to read more.
What is colder in Romania than the cold water? The hot water. [Page 3]
‘There was another joke that was almost true – true to life. Ceaușescu is very angry because he is not hearing any jokes about him. So he orders a huge mass meeting, and announces, ‘from now on you are going to work without pay.’ And nobody says anything. ‘Okay,’ he continues, ‘and from now on you are all going to work for me.’ Nobody says anything. ‘Tomorrow everybody is condemned to death by hanging,’ he adds. Nobody says anything. ‘hey,’ he says ‘are you crazy? Don’t people have anything to say? Aren’t you going to protest?’ there’s is only one tiny guy who says, ‘Mr President, I have a question: do we bring our own rope or is the trade union going to give it to us?’ [Page 3 again]
After the October Revolution, God send three observers to Russia: St Marc, St Peter and St Matthew. They send him three telegrams.
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St Marc.’
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St Peter.’
‘All’s well. Doing fine. Cheka Superintendant Matthias.’
[Page 25]
Anti-Semitism is unfortunately never very far, but as the Jews themselves are often the authors … I allow myself to quote two:
A Jew talking to his friend: ‘My son Moses and I are doing very fine. Moisha works in the Comintern as a black African Communist, while I sit in the Kremlin, at the top of Ivan the Great Bell Tower, waiting to ring the bell for the World Revolution.
‘Well it must be a rather dull job to wait for the World Revolution,’ his friend says.
‘Oh yes, but it is a job for life.’
[Page 27]
A stagecoach full of passengers is travelling from Zhitomir to Kiev when a band of robbers attacks. Their leader commands, ‘Halt. Nobody move. Hands up!’ All the passengers obediently climb out of the stagecoach and put their hands up. One of them turns to the bandits’ leader and says, ‘Mr Chief, you’re gonna take everything from us in a couple of minutes. Let me go into my pocket with one hand for a moment. I have to give something to the guy standing next to me.’
‘Hurry it up!’ he points the barrel of his revolver at the traveller.
The passenger goes into his back pocket, takes out one hundred roubles and, turning to his neighbour, says, ‘Solomon! Didn’t I owe you a hundred roubles? Here, take it. And keep in mind that we’re even now.’
[Page 29]
A classic: What were Mayakovsky’ last words before he committed suicide? ‘Comrades, don’t shoot!’ [Page 50]
Humour in Absurdistan: A flock of sheep are stopped by frontier guards at the Russo-Finnish border. ‘Why do you wish to leave Russia?’ the guards ask them.
‘It’s the NKVD,’ reply the terrified sheep. ‘Beria’s ordered them to arrest all elephants.’
‘But you aren’t elephants!’ the guards point out.
‘Try telling that to the NKVD!’
[page 58]
About progess and innovation [Page 66]
– Who discovered the electric razor?
It was discovered by Ivan Petrovich Sidorov … in the dustbin behind the American Embassy.
– There were two portraits on the museum wall, one of the scientist Ivanov who invented the locomotive, the steamship and the aeroplane, and the other of scientist Petrov, who invented the scientist Ivanov.
A teacher asks his class ‘Who is your mother and who is your father?’
A pupil replies: ‘My mother is Russia and my father is Stalin.’
‘Very good,’ says the teacher. ‘And what would you like to be when you grow up?’
‘An orphan’
[Page 89]
More to come… and here it is (on June 15)
One housewife to another: ‘I hear there’ll be snow tomorrow!’
‘Well I’m not queuing for that.’ [Page 132]
A man dies and goes to Hell. THere he discovers that he has a choice: he can go to Capitalist Hell or Communist Hell. Naturally, he wants to compare the two, so he goes over to Capitalist Hell. There outside the door is the devil, who looks a but like Ronald Reagan. ‘What’s it like in there?’ asks the visitor.
‘Well,’ the devil replies, ‘in Capitalist Hell they flay you alive, then they boil you in oil and then they cut you up into small pieces with sharp knives.’
‘That’s terrible!’ he gasps. ‘I’m going to check out Communist Hell!’
He goes over to Communist Hell, where he discovers a huge queue of people waiting to get in. He waits in line. Eventually he gets to the front and there at the door to Communist Hell is a little old man who looks a bit like Karl Marx.
‘I’m still in the free world, Karl,’ he says, ‘and before I come in, I want to know what’s it like in there.’
‘In Communist Hell,’ says Marx impatiently, ‘they flay you alive, then they boil you in oil and then they cut you up into small pieces with sharp knives.’
‘But…but that’s the same as Capitalist Hell!’ protest the visitor. ‘Why such a long queue?’
‘Well,’ sighs Marx, ‘sometimes we’re out of oil, sometimes we don’t have knives, sometimes no hot water…’ [Page 133]
Why is it not possible to control the birth rate in Soviet Bloc countries?
Because the means of production remain in private hands. [Page 145]
Is Marxism-Leninism a science?
No. If it was, they would have tested it on animals first. [Page 145]
Khrutshchev is walking through the Kremlin, getting worked up about the Soviet Union’s problems, and spits on the carpet in a gesture of disgust.
‘Behave yourself, Nikita Sergeyevich,’ admonishes his aide. ‘remember that the great Lenin walked through these halls!’
‘Shut up’, responds Khrushchev. ‘I can spit all I like here; the Queen of England gave me permission!’
‘The Queen of England?’
‘Yes! I spat on her carpet in Buckingham Palace too, and hes said, “Mr Khrushchev, you can do that in the Kremlin if you wish, but you can’t behave like this here…”‘ [Page 154]
Why do Vopos always travel in three?
One who can read, one who can write, and one to keep his eye on these two intellectuals. [Page 158]
‘Hmm’, he says opening the letter, ‘he told me if things were going badly out there, he’d write to me in red ink.’ The letter is in blue ink. He reads it: ‘Dear Ivan, I am having a wonderful time in Kazakhstan. The weather is warm, I have a big apartment and plenty to eat…’
He interrupts the letter, turns to his son and says ‘you see, we are progressing along the road to Socialism…’ The he reads the last line of the letter: ‘There is only on e problem – I can’t find any red ink.’ [Page 164]
The author has a comment in the end, which is interesting. ‘The problem with you is that you refuse to take anything seriously – not Communism, not me… Not even yourself.’ ‘That’s true,’ I said ‘but I take not taking anything seriously very seriously.’ [Page 307]
´The Communist economy was very bad at producing everything – except jokes. They were very good at jokes.´ [Page 222]
Many Communist jokes were adapted into ones referring to the shortcomings of Western economies. ´Why does an Austin Allegro have a heated rear window? So you can keep your hands warm when you push it’. [Page 300]
How does a clever Russian Jew talk to a stupid Russian Jew?
by telephone from new York. [Page 211]
What is the definition of a Russian string quartet?
A Soviet orchestra back from a US tour. [Page 212]
Do you know why Romania will survive the end of the world?
Because it is fifty years behind everyone else! [Page 263]
My favorite one follows…
Leonid Brezhnev wanted to commission a portrait to be entitled ´Lenin in Poland’. Russian painters, being schooled strictly in the Realist school, were unable to paint an event that had never actually occurred,
´Comrade Brezhnev, we would like to do it, but we cannot. It goes against our training,´ replied each of the man artists approached by Brezhnev. Finally, in desperation, Brezhnev was forced to ask the old Jewish painter Levy.
´of course, I prefer to portray actual events, but I’ll do the painting for you, Comrade. It would be my great honour.´ Levy commenced work on the painting.
Finally the day of the unveiling arrived. Everyone gasped as the cloth was removed to reveal the picture of a man in bed with a woman who looked like Lenin’s wife.
Brezhnev asked, horrified, ´Who is that man?
´That’s Trotsky said the artist.
´And who,´ Brezhnev enquired, is that woman?´
´That is Lenin’s wife, Comrade Brezhnev.´
´But where is Lenin?´
´He’s in Poland,´ Levy explained.
[Page 207]
Now you may want to explore your favorite ones…
In a similar style, I would also encourage you to watch Une exécution ordinaire (in French) [see the IMDB link here], a beautiful and terrible movie. Here is the trailer. The jokes mentioned below from the book might push you to read more.
What is colder in Romania than the cold water? The hot water. [Page 3]
‘There was another joke that was almost true – true to life. Ceaușescu is very angry because he is not hearing any jokes about him. So he orders a huge mass meeting, and announces, ‘from now on you are going to work without pay.’ And nobody says anything. ‘Okay,’ he continues, ‘and from now on you are all going to work for me.’ Nobody says anything. ‘Tomorrow everybody is condemned to death by hanging,’ he adds. Nobody says anything. ‘hey,’ he says ‘are you crazy? Don’t people have anything to say? Aren’t you going to protest?’ there’s is only one tiny guy who says, ‘Mr President, I have a question: do we bring our own rope or is the trade union going to give it to us?’ [Page 3 again]
After the October Revolution, God send three observers to Russia: St Marc, St Peter and St Matthew. They send him three telegrams.
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St Marc.’
‘I’ve fallen into the hands of the Cheka – St Peter.’
‘All’s well. Doing fine. Cheka Superintendant Matthias.’
[Page 25]
Anti-Semitism is unfortunately never very far, but as the Jews themselves are often the authors … I allow myself to quote two:
A Jew talking to his friend: ‘My son Moses and I are doing very fine. Moisha works in the Comintern as a black African Communist, while I sit in the Kremlin, at the top of Ivan the Great Bell Tower, waiting to ring the bell for the World Revolution.
‘Well it must be a rather dull job to wait for the World Revolution,’ his friend says.
‘Oh yes, but it is a job for life.’
[Page 27]
A stagecoach full of passengers is travelling from Zhitomir to Kiev when a band of robbers attacks. Their leader commands, ‘Halt. Nobody move. Hands up!’ All the passengers obediently climb out of the stagecoach and put their hands up. One of them turns to the bandits’ leader and says, ‘Mr Chief, you’re gonna take everything from us in a couple of minutes. Let me go into my pocket with one hand for a moment. I have to give something to the guy standing next to me.’
‘Hurry it up!’ he points the barrel of his revolver at the traveller.
The passenger goes into his back pocket, takes out one hundred roubles and, turning to his neighbour, says, ‘Solomon! Didn’t I owe you a hundred roubles? Here, take it. And keep in mind that we’re even now.’
[Page 29]
A classic: What were Mayakovsky’ last words before he committed suicide? ‘Comrades, don’t shoot!’ [Page 50]
Humour in Absurdistan: A flock of sheep are stopped by frontier guards at the Russo-Finnish border. ‘Why do you wish to leave Russia?’ the guards ask them.
‘It’s the NKVD,’ reply the terrified sheep. ‘Beria’s ordered them to arrest all elephants.’
‘But you aren’t elephants!’ the guards point out.
‘Try telling that to the NKVD!’
[page 58]
About progess and innovation [Page 66]
– Who discovered the electric razor?
It was discovered by Ivan Petrovich Sidorov … in the dustbin behind the American Embassy.
– There were two portraits on the museum wall, one of the scientist Ivanov who invented the locomotive, the steamship and the aeroplane, and the other of scientist Petrov, who invented the scientist Ivanov.
A teacher asks his class ‘Who is your mother and who is your father?’
A pupil replies: ‘My mother is Russia and my father is Stalin.’
‘Very good,’ says the teacher. ‘And what would you like to be when you grow up?’
‘An orphan’
[Page 89]
More to come… and here it is (on June 15)
One housewife to another: ‘I hear there’ll be snow tomorrow!’
‘Well I’m not queuing for that.’ [Page 132]
A man dies and goes to Hell. THere he discovers that he has a choice: he can go to Capitalist Hell or Communist Hell. Naturally, he wants to compare the two, so he goes over to Capitalist Hell. There outside the door is the devil, who looks a but like Ronald Reagan. ‘What’s it like in there?’ asks the visitor.
‘Well,’ the devil replies, ‘in Capitalist Hell they flay you alive, then they boil you in oil and then they cut you up into small pieces with sharp knives.’
‘That’s terrible!’ he gasps. ‘I’m going to check out Communist Hell!’
He goes over to Communist Hell, where he discovers a huge queue of people waiting to get in. He waits in line. Eventually he gets to the front and there at the door to Communist Hell is a little old man who looks a bit like Karl Marx.
‘I’m still in the free world, Karl,’ he says, ‘and before I come in, I want to know what’s it like in there.’
‘In Communist Hell,’ says Marx impatiently, ‘they flay you alive, then they boil you in oil and then they cut you up into small pieces with sharp knives.’
‘But…but that’s the same as Capitalist Hell!’ protest the visitor. ‘Why such a long queue?’
‘Well,’ sighs Marx, ‘sometimes we’re out of oil, sometimes we don’t have knives, sometimes no hot water…’ [Page 133]
Why is it not possible to control the birth rate in Soviet Bloc countries?
Because the means of production remain in private hands. [Page 145]
Is Marxism-Leninism a science?
No. If it was, they would have tested it on animals first. [Page 145]
Khrutshchev is walking through the Kremlin, getting worked up about the Soviet Union’s problems, and spits on the carpet in a gesture of disgust.
‘Behave yourself, Nikita Sergeyevich,’ admonishes his aide. ‘remember that the great Lenin walked through these halls!’
‘Shut up’, responds Khrushchev. ‘I can spit all I like here; the Queen of England gave me permission!’
‘The Queen of England?’
‘Yes! I spat on her carpet in Buckingham Palace too, and hes said, “Mr Khrushchev, you can do that in the Kremlin if you wish, but you can’t behave like this here…”‘ [Page 154]
Why do Vopos always travel in three?
One who can read, one who can write, and one to keep his eye on these two intellectuals. [Page 158]
‘Hmm’, he says opening the letter, ‘he told me if things were going badly out there, he’d write to me in red ink.’ The letter is in blue ink. He reads it: ‘Dear Ivan, I am having a wonderful time in Kazakhstan. The weather is warm, I have a big apartment and plenty to eat…’
He interrupts the letter, turns to his son and says ‘you see, we are progressing along the road to Socialism…’ The he reads the last line of the letter: ‘There is only on e problem – I can’t find any red ink.’ [Page 164]
The author has a comment in the end, which is interesting. ‘The problem with you is that you refuse to take anything seriously – not Communism, not me… Not even yourself.’ ‘That’s true,’ I said ‘but I take not taking anything seriously very seriously.’ [Page 307]
´The Communist economy was very bad at producing everything – except jokes. They were very good at jokes.´ [Page 222]
Many Communist jokes were adapted into ones referring to the shortcomings of Western economies. ´Why does an Austin Allegro have a heated rear window? So you can keep your hands warm when you push it’. [Page 300]
How does a clever Russian Jew talk to a stupid Russian Jew?
by telephone from new York. [Page 211]
What is the definition of a Russian string quartet?
A Soviet orchestra back from a US tour. [Page 212]
Do you know why Romania will survive the end of the world?
Because it is fifty years behind everyone else! [Page 263]
My favorite one follows…
Leonid Brezhnev wanted to commission a portrait to be entitled ´Lenin in Poland’. Russian painters, being schooled strictly in the Realist school, were unable to paint an event that had never actually occurred,
´Comrade Brezhnev, we would like to do it, but we cannot. It goes against our training,´ replied each of the man artists approached by Brezhnev. Finally, in desperation, Brezhnev was forced to ask the old Jewish painter Levy.
´of course, I prefer to portray actual events, but I’ll do the painting for you, Comrade. It would be my great honour.´ Levy commenced work on the painting.
Finally the day of the unveiling arrived. Everyone gasped as the cloth was removed to reveal the picture of a man in bed with a woman who looked like Lenin’s wife.
Brezhnev asked, horrified, ´Who is that man?
´That’s Trotsky said the artist.
´And who,´ Brezhnev enquired, is that woman?´
´That is Lenin’s wife, Comrade Brezhnev.´
´But where is Lenin?´
´He’s in Poland,´ Levy explained.
[Page 207]
Now you may want to explore your favorite ones…
April 18, 2013
As a German teacher, I teach a little history along with der/die/das. I'm always challenged when it comes to teaching teens about East Germany and all that Communism entailed. It was an enemy that was self-evident to me when I was growing up. To them, it's ancient history.
Last year, I inserted some East German jokes into my lecture about the Berlin Wall. A month or so later, I found this book. I loved it.
This is a history book, make no doubt. Lewis organizes the monologue chronologically, moving from the Russian Revolution through Putin over the course of the book. There are chapters about most Soviet satellites, too (I guess I'll have to wait for the sequel to learn about southern European states like Albania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria).
It kept my interest, and I laughed at most of the jokes. As Lewis ultimately learns, the jokes aren't "Communist" any more than pizza is American. They're timeless. But they were applied in a timely fashion, and they maintain the Zeitgeist of the day far better than most boring histories could do.
If I could prove that he was able to hold on to his East German girlfriend after all of this, I'd raise my rating to five stars.
Last year, I inserted some East German jokes into my lecture about the Berlin Wall. A month or so later, I found this book. I loved it.
This is a history book, make no doubt. Lewis organizes the monologue chronologically, moving from the Russian Revolution through Putin over the course of the book. There are chapters about most Soviet satellites, too (I guess I'll have to wait for the sequel to learn about southern European states like Albania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria).
It kept my interest, and I laughed at most of the jokes. As Lewis ultimately learns, the jokes aren't "Communist" any more than pizza is American. They're timeless. But they were applied in a timely fashion, and they maintain the Zeitgeist of the day far better than most boring histories could do.
If I could prove that he was able to hold on to his East German girlfriend after all of this, I'd raise my rating to five stars.
January 8, 2019
If there was a good thing to say about communism, it is its capability to produce many high quality jokes, unlike democracy, or even the nazis. The sheer absurdity of the dogma, the leaders, and the quality of life, all makes a good joke material. However, the jokes only funny because it was some sort of extreme sport to do, there were actually prison sentences for people telling communist jokes. Once the authorities stop punishing the people for joking, the jokes, although some of them are still funny, became less potent. The author posites that while the jokes were useful as distraction and even as tool of criticism, when democratic revolution goes on a full swing, the jokes become less and less useful because people seems to be serious about wanting democracy. An interesting, and funny book to read.
January 1, 2016
I've always known Communist jokes, as I've heard them growing up. I've also wondered whether they had any effect on the regimes overall. The book presents some answers, as well as some history behind the jokes. I found out things I did now know and a few new jokes.
I think the book could have been a lot more if the topic had been treated differently. The author/narrator (not sure) felt the need to be funny and sarcastic and it did not work for me. I also think he could have been less dismissive of the suffering of the people during Communism. On the other hand, I appreciate the research and the examples. Also, I found out some Romanian guy made a statistical report on the evolution of Communist Jokes. Time to look for it.
I think the book could have been a lot more if the topic had been treated differently. The author/narrator (not sure) felt the need to be funny and sarcastic and it did not work for me. I also think he could have been less dismissive of the suffering of the people during Communism. On the other hand, I appreciate the research and the examples. Also, I found out some Romanian guy made a statistical report on the evolution of Communist Jokes. Time to look for it.
August 1, 2020
I started the book expecting a groundbreaking conclusion about how jokes brought down the Soviet Union. Little did I know that there is much more nuance to humour and politics. Did humour have a part to play in revolution? Jokes were a bit more than commoners letting out steam and making light of their plight, but it was also a bit less than indignant protesters inciting lasting political change. It was an entertaining read and I enjoyed the jokes along the way. I especially liked the jokes that gave you a bitter aftertaste of loss, for the morbidity and misfortune that was unveiled. Studying communist history had always been a pastime of mine, and this book gracefully (and hilariously) combines two of my favourite things - jokes and the Soviets.
Lastly, I was mildly annoyed when the author got back together with the commie girlfriend, in my opinion he was better off without Ariane. But he wrote well so it's okay.
Lastly, I was mildly annoyed when the author got back together with the commie girlfriend, in my opinion he was better off without Ariane. But he wrote well so it's okay.
March 12, 2014
The first time I read this I had the same reaction that other reviewers had: the book is annoyingly full of the author's ongoing relationship with his neo-Communist East German girlfriend. This is unfortunate because I think most readers will only read it once, and it was only when I went back over the book, skipping the personal bits, that I realised how very interesting the author's observations actually are.
Lewis began with an idea he liked, which was that the unique set of jokes that flourished under Communism (both in the USSR and in the Soviet Bloc) ultimately undermined the system and led to its demise. As he travelled around the former USSR and its former satellites, however, he fairly quickly - though at first reluctantly - reached a different understanding. His ideas are summarised nicely in the 'Conclusion', which perhaps should be read first.
What I found most interesting, however, was his analysis of the humour itself and what was behind it. He illustrates the ways in which Communist jokes differed from the jokes made by people in countries under Nazi occupation and how the same jokes often had different meanings in the Soviet Union than they had in the Soviet-occupied satellite countries. He suggests that Western interpretation of Communist humour was flawed, assuming the jokes illustrated hostility towards the system itself rather than the perceived difference between what was promised and what people saw in everyday life. He also points out that it was not only the supposedly oppressed people making these jokes but also those supposedly oppressing them.
The author's willingness to have his own ideas challenged and to go where the evidence leads him makes this an enlightening overview of Communist humour, which was unique to the times and the cultures that produced it and was far more politically and socially complex than has generally been assumed in the West. Not only that, but many of the jokes are very funny even now. Unfortunately, the message really does get lost sometimes in the detail of the author's personal life.
Lewis began with an idea he liked, which was that the unique set of jokes that flourished under Communism (both in the USSR and in the Soviet Bloc) ultimately undermined the system and led to its demise. As he travelled around the former USSR and its former satellites, however, he fairly quickly - though at first reluctantly - reached a different understanding. His ideas are summarised nicely in the 'Conclusion', which perhaps should be read first.
What I found most interesting, however, was his analysis of the humour itself and what was behind it. He illustrates the ways in which Communist jokes differed from the jokes made by people in countries under Nazi occupation and how the same jokes often had different meanings in the Soviet Union than they had in the Soviet-occupied satellite countries. He suggests that Western interpretation of Communist humour was flawed, assuming the jokes illustrated hostility towards the system itself rather than the perceived difference between what was promised and what people saw in everyday life. He also points out that it was not only the supposedly oppressed people making these jokes but also those supposedly oppressing them.
The author's willingness to have his own ideas challenged and to go where the evidence leads him makes this an enlightening overview of Communist humour, which was unique to the times and the cultures that produced it and was far more politically and socially complex than has generally been assumed in the West. Not only that, but many of the jokes are very funny even now. Unfortunately, the message really does get lost sometimes in the detail of the author's personal life.
December 21, 2014
Ben Lewis writes a very entertaining book. And an honest one, that almost seems to be influenced by Joe Sacco's way of reporting his own difficulties, faillures and successes in contacting sources, and writting about the process of investigating a lead, alternating it with the actual result. The book is a pleasant mix of personal accounts of how it was constructed, thought of, of the personal relationship with an artist from former GDR (East Germany) and what Lewis gathered and thinks about communist humour and communism. It's a nice reading and it's nice to know about the tension of Lewis ideas, (again it feels a little like Joe Sacco's execept that there is no journalistic carefull separation between opinion and fact). This is close to an essay, so Lewis' opinions are what the book is about, but it is quite unusual to "get them as opinions", and not as scientific evidence or intellectual reflexion - usually, in an essay, the author almost hides what he (obviously) thinks, making it the inevitably result of the (impersonal) intelect. The interesting structure of the book is this: a chronological walk through the history of communism, presented by its jokes, explained and contextualized, the different ages of communism separated in chapters, all of this alternated by commentary about how it was investigated, how his personal relationship with a (sucssessful) communist artist of nostalgia art was going on and his opinions on his own work. It's quite an interesting rhythm, informal and straightforward. The bibliography is very extensive, so for anyone interesting in developing the subject, Ben Lewis does provide references.
Read
August 2, 2011Not a bad book if you can ignore the authors at times infuriating smug self rightiousness. Together with most authors of central/east European history he insists on calling what existed in those states Communism which I would argue is both empirically incorrect and not even in line with the propaganda of any of the states in question either. That aside there is an at times interesting and enlightening book with some worthwhile observations about the role of humour as a weapon of dissidence and defence. There are also some pretty good jokes interspersed throughout the volume. The author managed to speak with a number of key people from "back then" not necessarily discovering what he'd hoped but providing some interesting character pictures in the process. My favourite is Walesa who comes over exacttly like I've always imagined him. Poland is one of the most interesting examples of the battle of wit with the PRL regime appointing the satirist Jerzy Urban as their spokesman on the fight fire with fire principle. Also included is a short bit on Major Fydrych and the Orange Alternatve (covered in more detail in elsewhere) one of my favourite resistance movements! Anyway certainly worth the read and putting up with Lewis's at times over inflated ego.
December 11, 2017
Not to be confused with “Hammer and Tickle: Clandestine Laughter in the Soviet Empire” by Petr Beckmann published in 1980 which is the book I was after when I accidentally bought this one, Lewis’s 2008 book tells the history of jokes told in European communist countries through the decades. He traces the development of the first communist jokes some of which were adaptations of jokes from pre-revolutionary imperial Russia. He noted the influence from Nazi jokes, the appearance of jokes in the Eastern block about the Soviet occupation and how the style and content of jokes varied with each change of leader after Stalin. But he also looked at how joke telling may have contributed to the fall of communism. While there is a regular selection of jokes, per se, the book is primarily about the history of jokes told by citizens in the regimes in question. One wonders what jokes were and perhaps still are told in Cuba and North Korea.
July 4, 2017
I’ve always had a special place in whatever parts of my brain find things funny for communist jokes. (Well, I couldn’t say heart, could I?) About a month ago, I ran across a review of Ben Lewis’s Hammer & Tickle: The History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes and had our Interlibrary Loan department find me a copy to read. In this book, Lewis attempts to argue that communist jokes had a role in the end of Communism. This book is not written like the typical non-fiction-work-with-a-point-to-make. Rather, it’s more like a memoir of Lewis’s attempts to find the origin of the jokes, how many people were arrested and punished for telling jokes, and, ultimately, if those jokes had anything to do with the events of 1988-1991...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
June 23, 2018
There's a couple of great jokes and interesting facts, as well as an extensive list of source material, however, just like people before me have stated, the author sounds like a patronizing, self-important ass, and he dedicates way too much of the book to proudly describing all the situations in which he has acted like a patronizing, self-important ass who discards every argument that does not support his own beliefs.
+ for the research and the anecdotes
- for the unbearable personality of the author
+ for the research and the anecdotes
- for the unbearable personality of the author
May 26, 2011
This book starts off with an intriguing premise: to look at the history of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe through the jokes that were told about it. Unfortunately, the author attempts more analysis than is necessary, and it comes across as being unsatisfying. Also, the author interrupts the narrative too often to talk about himself. This is likely the author's background as a newspaper columnist, but it is highly unsatisfying in a book.
June 13, 2016
Não é daquele tipo de livro que recomende, algumas partes têm a sua piada mas o autor dispersa e perde.se o interesse. No entanto, para quem gosta de história este livro é o ideal para conhecer o mundo das anedotas na época de hitler e Estaline... Sim, na era comunista havia pessoal a dizer piadas interessantes
Para saber mais, basta ir a este link
http://devaneiosdatim.blogspot.pt/201...
Para saber mais, basta ir a este link
http://devaneiosdatim.blogspot.pt/201...
May 14, 2023
Since this gem is not covered in this otherwise rather thorough run-down of communist jokes:
If you think that Hammer ☭ Tickle is just a compendium of funny jokes you'd be less than half right. While almost every page contains at least one italicized paragraph with a marvelous piece of wry political critique masquerading as a pun, the book actually goes into surprising depth on just what we're dealing with.
Perhaps the single most important question of the book is whether or not communist jokes aided in the downfall of the political system it poked at. Has this ideology indeed, as romantic hardliners like to think, been laughed out of existence? The conclusion of this book would be 'no', but at the same time it shows an intriguing interplay between the court jester and the king. I for one was surprised to learn that communist jokes went both ways: it was used both by the tovarish in the streets as well as the Party, as those in power also used humor to try and warm people up to the promise of a classless, utopian society.
Another interesting perspective is that the KGB officials who were arresting those spreading their harmful quips were in fact helping these jokes proliferate, as every report on them had to be written and then endlessly copied over to higher officials. "And before you knew it fifty people had learned a new joke and told it to their wives..." (p. 157). It seems that Richard Dawkins had more than a fair point when he in The Selfish Gene claims that ideas are just like genes: they want to make ever more copies of themselves and will use humans to do that.
But the author even dares to ask if such a thing as 'the communist joke' even exists in the first place. After all, many of them are simply another rendition of age old jokes that have been told about kings, tsars, cops, clergy, Jews, whatnot... But Lewis points out that there is in fact something singular about them that is not simple cynicism about the state of affairs or jokes at the expense of the occupier. The communist joke is at some times the sad gallows humor of someone showcasing his own powerlessness, and at other times a remarkably poignant form of critique wherein the jester takes the logic of the state to its logically absurd endpoint to showcase its inherent contradictions. As much as I hate to use that pretentious, overused phrase, it's difficult to deny that there was something subversive about them.
Throughout the book, Lewis interviews a lot of people and often reminisces about his communist aficionado DDR ex-girlfriend. While he can at times be condescending about their supposed naivety, he does bring in a whole host of interesting perspectives on this fringe cultural phenomenon. "Communist jokes were the jazz of East Germany, the music of the oppressed", one says. Another neatly sums up the causal relationship between the jokes and the political climate: "The jokes are a thermometer, they're not a thermostat." Yet another blurs the lines between the fiction of the joke and the harsh reality it is supposedly based on by stating that "The DDR did not get better or worse, it just got more absurd." Perhaps jokes sometimes really do write themselves. Most impressive of all was the interview with Calin Stefanescu, probably the world's only statistician on communist jokes.
By the end of the book, it is the outlook of Gorbachev which, in a Hegelian fashion worthy of a marxist, unites the two opposing views on the communist jokes. While some believed that the jokes undermined the system with their critique, others thought they only prolonged it with their complacency and sense of impotence. For Gorbachev both were correct: the jokes were an expression of powerlessness, but also a "repository of truth" wherein true public opinion was distilled, and which urged people to move into another direction.
The author concludes with a more bold claim, suggesting that the innate and inalienable humor of communism is nothing less than its greatest cultural achievement.
An Englishman, a Frenchman, and a Russian are sitting in a bar and discuss what is best in life. "Truly", says the Englishman "there is nothing better in life than coming home from a nice stroll through the countryside and enjoying a cup of tea." The Frenchman snorts contentiously. "You Brits are simply oblivious to the greatest joys in life. There is nothing better than a week abroad without your wife so you can lose yourself in a passionate affair!" The Russian chuckles in a patronizing fashion. "My friend, you have no idea... The best thing that can happen to you in life is when the KGB rushes into your bedroom at four in the morning shouting 'You're under arrest, Boris Ivanov!' and you can reply with 'I'm sorry, comrade. Boris lives next door.'"
If you think that Hammer ☭ Tickle is just a compendium of funny jokes you'd be less than half right. While almost every page contains at least one italicized paragraph with a marvelous piece of wry political critique masquerading as a pun, the book actually goes into surprising depth on just what we're dealing with.
Perhaps the single most important question of the book is whether or not communist jokes aided in the downfall of the political system it poked at. Has this ideology indeed, as romantic hardliners like to think, been laughed out of existence? The conclusion of this book would be 'no', but at the same time it shows an intriguing interplay between the court jester and the king. I for one was surprised to learn that communist jokes went both ways: it was used both by the tovarish in the streets as well as the Party, as those in power also used humor to try and warm people up to the promise of a classless, utopian society.
Another interesting perspective is that the KGB officials who were arresting those spreading their harmful quips were in fact helping these jokes proliferate, as every report on them had to be written and then endlessly copied over to higher officials. "And before you knew it fifty people had learned a new joke and told it to their wives..." (p. 157). It seems that Richard Dawkins had more than a fair point when he in The Selfish Gene claims that ideas are just like genes: they want to make ever more copies of themselves and will use humans to do that.
But the author even dares to ask if such a thing as 'the communist joke' even exists in the first place. After all, many of them are simply another rendition of age old jokes that have been told about kings, tsars, cops, clergy, Jews, whatnot... But Lewis points out that there is in fact something singular about them that is not simple cynicism about the state of affairs or jokes at the expense of the occupier. The communist joke is at some times the sad gallows humor of someone showcasing his own powerlessness, and at other times a remarkably poignant form of critique wherein the jester takes the logic of the state to its logically absurd endpoint to showcase its inherent contradictions. As much as I hate to use that pretentious, overused phrase, it's difficult to deny that there was something subversive about them.
Throughout the book, Lewis interviews a lot of people and often reminisces about his communist aficionado DDR ex-girlfriend. While he can at times be condescending about their supposed naivety, he does bring in a whole host of interesting perspectives on this fringe cultural phenomenon. "Communist jokes were the jazz of East Germany, the music of the oppressed", one says. Another neatly sums up the causal relationship between the jokes and the political climate: "The jokes are a thermometer, they're not a thermostat." Yet another blurs the lines between the fiction of the joke and the harsh reality it is supposedly based on by stating that "The DDR did not get better or worse, it just got more absurd." Perhaps jokes sometimes really do write themselves. Most impressive of all was the interview with Calin Stefanescu, probably the world's only statistician on communist jokes.
By the end of the book, it is the outlook of Gorbachev which, in a Hegelian fashion worthy of a marxist, unites the two opposing views on the communist jokes. While some believed that the jokes undermined the system with their critique, others thought they only prolonged it with their complacency and sense of impotence. For Gorbachev both were correct: the jokes were an expression of powerlessness, but also a "repository of truth" wherein true public opinion was distilled, and which urged people to move into another direction.
The author concludes with a more bold claim, suggesting that the innate and inalienable humor of communism is nothing less than its greatest cultural achievement.
April 2, 2024
Ben Lewis is a guy who is perfectly willing to lose a girlfriend or get punched in the nose for a good joke. He is thoroughly funny, smart and occasionally extremely annoying; and he is also a quite good investigator indeed.
He is a knight questing for a difficult grail, the truth regarding jokes during communist domination of Eastern Europe, their origins, the consequences for divulging them and most importantly their impact and how they spread. And the holy grail of his quest is: Was communism laughed out of existence?
The author interviews a considerable number of individuals which were close to the centers of decision but don’t forget to contact the comedians which lived in communist countries themselves; explore the reasons why they made jokes is primordial to this investigator, and how authorities considered and reacted to them.
There are several issues that the author manages to achieve acceptable conclusions such as the questions between the minimalist and maximalist views on the importance of the jokes (and not surprisingly both factions are correct in various assumptions), the origin and recycling of jokes, the fact that there was an “official” humor which served as a counterbalance to the “disruptive” humor and also served as a vent against acceptable targets (such as incompetent workers, bureaucrats, etc.; but never against the party, communism in itself or their leaders).
Interspersed with the text, and whenever relevant, Lewis reproduces some true gems of communist humor (some of them made me truly laugh hard). This book is also an impressive way to learn some of the most important issues and difficulties of Communist economies and societies and the lack of freedom of speech, which we take it for granted so many times. The inserts regarding his girlfriend are somewhat weird; no problem being a communist, but longing for RDA? That’s hardcore! Those texts regarding their relationship are useful for showing the reactions of “believers” towards the jokes and anecdotes, but their value is somewhat limited due to their relationship and to the limited “sample”.
Fun book, but please have in mind that this isn’t a history book (although the bibliography is quite impressive indeed), it’s a documentary in written form. And a good one.
He is a knight questing for a difficult grail, the truth regarding jokes during communist domination of Eastern Europe, their origins, the consequences for divulging them and most importantly their impact and how they spread. And the holy grail of his quest is: Was communism laughed out of existence?
The author interviews a considerable number of individuals which were close to the centers of decision but don’t forget to contact the comedians which lived in communist countries themselves; explore the reasons why they made jokes is primordial to this investigator, and how authorities considered and reacted to them.
There are several issues that the author manages to achieve acceptable conclusions such as the questions between the minimalist and maximalist views on the importance of the jokes (and not surprisingly both factions are correct in various assumptions), the origin and recycling of jokes, the fact that there was an “official” humor which served as a counterbalance to the “disruptive” humor and also served as a vent against acceptable targets (such as incompetent workers, bureaucrats, etc.; but never against the party, communism in itself or their leaders).
Interspersed with the text, and whenever relevant, Lewis reproduces some true gems of communist humor (some of them made me truly laugh hard). This book is also an impressive way to learn some of the most important issues and difficulties of Communist economies and societies and the lack of freedom of speech, which we take it for granted so many times. The inserts regarding his girlfriend are somewhat weird; no problem being a communist, but longing for RDA? That’s hardcore! Those texts regarding their relationship are useful for showing the reactions of “believers” towards the jokes and anecdotes, but their value is somewhat limited due to their relationship and to the limited “sample”.
Fun book, but please have in mind that this isn’t a history book (although the bibliography is quite impressive indeed), it’s a documentary in written form. And a good one.
December 9, 2017
This is a two for one reason, Ben Lewis spends the last 100 pages justifying his thesis even though through out the book he proves a totally different thesis if he could only see it. His basic thesis is jokes brought down communism or at least helped. What he proves through one on one interviews with magazine editors, communist political hacks and aparchnicks, his girl friend, approved and underground comics, and just plain old folks is that jokes helped us cope and that many former folks in the east would like to see communism come back and try to do it right.
Many of his interviews show a sincere desire to go back to the days of shortages, queues, no freedom of speech or assembly,but every one had a roof over their heads, heat most of the time, and at least bread every day.
Many of these jokes also will translate well into the new dystrophic America of Donald Trump. For instance: The Boeing engineer was arrested for saying that the Boeing CEO and Board were incompetent thieves and idiots. He was tried and sentenced to 15 years. His layer complained to the judge that slander was only a five year term. The Judge replied that "He was not sentenced for slander but for giving away state secrets." Or this one, "Donald Trump is going to destroy the pornography industry. Under his reign all publications will have to have his picture on the cover. NO ONE will buy a magazine with a naked Donald on it." And finally in 24 months when they come for me my obit will read his last words before his suicide were "Don't Shoot Comrades!" Like I said many of these jokes will be used in the future Trump world. Call this my first public comment on the resistance.
Many of his interviews show a sincere desire to go back to the days of shortages, queues, no freedom of speech or assembly,but every one had a roof over their heads, heat most of the time, and at least bread every day.
Many of these jokes also will translate well into the new dystrophic America of Donald Trump. For instance: The Boeing engineer was arrested for saying that the Boeing CEO and Board were incompetent thieves and idiots. He was tried and sentenced to 15 years. His layer complained to the judge that slander was only a five year term. The Judge replied that "He was not sentenced for slander but for giving away state secrets." Or this one, "Donald Trump is going to destroy the pornography industry. Under his reign all publications will have to have his picture on the cover. NO ONE will buy a magazine with a naked Donald on it." And finally in 24 months when they come for me my obit will read his last words before his suicide were "Don't Shoot Comrades!" Like I said many of these jokes will be used in the future Trump world. Call this my first public comment on the resistance.
September 24, 2025
I started thinking about writing this review long before finishing the book, and I'm writing it with less than a hundred pages left. But I've made up my mind and I'm not gonna change it.
I chose to read this book because it was quickly mentioned by Italy's most famous historian, Alessandro Barbero. The premises were good, so I loaned it from my local library.
To put it simply, the book's main flow is the person who wrote it. The author is arroogant, and to put it simply, frankly intolerable. He just can't keep his opinions to himself. I wanted to read more about Soviet jokes, not being constantly told that Communism = bad and Capitalism = good. This is the author's idea and he simply rejects the idea of someone supporting and believing in socialism and communism. He meets several people who tell him that they believed in the system they lived in, despite its flaws, but he just cant imagkne somene having a different opinion. i honestly feel bad for Ariane, the woman who had the misfortune of dating him for a while. Honestly girl, you dodged a giant nuclear bomb.
Moreover, his opinions essentially take the spot that should have been given to actual facts and conclusions. I understand that, given the topic, it was hard, but could he have at least tried.
This guy must have loved Reagan and reaganomics and this is definitely not a compliment.
The best part of the book are easily the jokes - which unsurprisingly aren't written by the author, but just referred.
In conclusion, read this book if you want to read more Soviet jokes. If you want an accurate analysis, run.
I chose to read this book because it was quickly mentioned by Italy's most famous historian, Alessandro Barbero. The premises were good, so I loaned it from my local library.
To put it simply, the book's main flow is the person who wrote it. The author is arroogant, and to put it simply, frankly intolerable. He just can't keep his opinions to himself. I wanted to read more about Soviet jokes, not being constantly told that Communism = bad and Capitalism = good. This is the author's idea and he simply rejects the idea of someone supporting and believing in socialism and communism. He meets several people who tell him that they believed in the system they lived in, despite its flaws, but he just cant imagkne somene having a different opinion. i honestly feel bad for Ariane, the woman who had the misfortune of dating him for a while. Honestly girl, you dodged a giant nuclear bomb.
Moreover, his opinions essentially take the spot that should have been given to actual facts and conclusions. I understand that, given the topic, it was hard, but could he have at least tried.
This guy must have loved Reagan and reaganomics and this is definitely not a compliment.
The best part of the book are easily the jokes - which unsurprisingly aren't written by the author, but just referred.
In conclusion, read this book if you want to read more Soviet jokes. If you want an accurate analysis, run.
January 31, 2018
I had the feeling that the author was disappointed that he didn’t find a huge number of victims for saying jokes against the system. To my opinion, the existence of even one person that has suffered for this is already too many. For someone who has lived his entire existence in a place where freedom of speech is guaranteed by law I believe it is difficult to understand how it is to live somewhere where you can be sentenced, deported or even killed for saying a dark joke. And even the fact that this didn’t happen all the time it can make you suffer a continuous torture: will someone betray me? am I being followed? are they going to knock on my door tonight? I don’t think that the number of victims is important here but the simple fact that there were repercussions for saying bitter jokes. It seems absurd even to think that this was possible a few years ago.
My uncle was sentenced to prison for a few years for saying things against the communism and their leaders while drinking in a bar. He was accused as an agitator.
PS. Am fost total nemultumita de traducerea aceasta.
Pentru un om de litere si un traducator avizat ma asteptam la mai mult. Plin de cacofonii si greseli gramaticale care au devenit tot mai deranjante oe masura ce-am parcurs cartea. Ce asteptari sa mai ai de la altii, ca sa fiu in ton cu scandalurile din ultima vreme ?
My uncle was sentenced to prison for a few years for saying things against the communism and their leaders while drinking in a bar. He was accused as an agitator.
PS. Am fost total nemultumita de traducerea aceasta.
Pentru un om de litere si un traducator avizat ma asteptam la mai mult. Plin de cacofonii si greseli gramaticale care au devenit tot mai deranjante oe masura ce-am parcurs cartea. Ce asteptari sa mai ai de la altii, ca sa fiu in ton cu scandalurile din ultima vreme ?
January 9, 2025
This is a good book about a fascinating subject: the communist jokes. And yes, there are lots of them scattered throughout the book.
Communism in Europe was a mix of authoritarianism and utotpian thinking that led itself to subversion by jokes. Also, it was really dangerous to make jokes in there - to the point where you'd be send to gulag or, at least, lose you job. The right-wing stand-up comedian of today like to portray themselves as victims when people do not salivate for their hateful jokes, but back then you'd actually get into real trouble with the secret police.
The style of the book is not the best - the narrator being quite pathetic at times and conflating USSR with Russia, even though there were more people forced to live under the regime. Even so, this book deserves 5* stars.
Communism in Europe was a mix of authoritarianism and utotpian thinking that led itself to subversion by jokes. Also, it was really dangerous to make jokes in there - to the point where you'd be send to gulag or, at least, lose you job. The right-wing stand-up comedian of today like to portray themselves as victims when people do not salivate for their hateful jokes, but back then you'd actually get into real trouble with the secret police.
The style of the book is not the best - the narrator being quite pathetic at times and conflating USSR with Russia, even though there were more people forced to live under the regime. Even so, this book deserves 5* stars.
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