Commie-Condos and God's Prevailing Beauty

In post-Communist Hungary, the Hungarians removed pro-Communist statues from Budapest and moved them to Memento Park. They wanted to remember the dark days of Communist rule, but they didn’t want to honor them. 

We lived in Hungary from 2005–2010, and one thing the Hungarians couldn’t remove was Communist architecture. You see, the atheistic Communists had done their best to remove the creative beauty of cities by building what we ex-pats called “commie-condos,” enormous concrete apartment buildings without the slightest hint of design. 

They signify the theme of atheistic Communism which seeks to destroy God, individuality, beauty, and quality from the lives of the people they control. 

But it can’t be done. I heard a story that illustrates this truth: 

The Communists entered a village in Hungary and proceeded to destroy all Christian symbols such as crosses and church steeples, declaring that they would remove every remembrance of God. 

An old man stood at his gate and smiled at them until one young soldier approached and asked, “What are you smiling at, old man?” 

“I was just wondering how you were going to remove the sky and the stars,” the old man replied. 

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day” they speak of God.… (Psalm 19:1-4). 

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To understand why we lived in Hungary, see When God Changes Our Plans. If you'd like to read other devotions based on our time in Hungary, see Memory Collage. It's actually a craft post (when BLN started, I did some craft posts). But at the bottom, it lists ten devotions related to some aspects of our time in Hungary.

A harsh-looking Communist statue

A few more facts about commie-condos: Besides their lack of beauty, the commie-condo also characterized Communism's lack of individuality right down to the utilities. These apartment buildings are heated by what they call “district heating,” which means that water for the radiators is heated at a central location and sent through pipes to the various buildings. The residents cannot regulate the heat, which means some apartments are very hot the entire winter and others are cold, depending on their location in the building—but they all pay the same utility fee! In addition, no matter how cold it gets during other months, the heat is only turned on from Oct. 15th to April 15th.

When you look at row after row of these big hunks of concrete, you realize they are an accurate “commercial” for Communism, a system that tries to strip the beauty and dignity from life and tries to destroy individuality. 

It is no surprise that this form of government also attempts to strip God from life and turn individuals into property of the State. But it can't be done! 

Not only does God remain in Communist cultures, but so does His beauty. Amidst the plainness of these “blocks,” as the locals call them, the image of God could still be seen—flower boxes on balconies and bright curtains in the windows. And within the concrete walls there always were families who believed in God's love and created homes filled with peace, beauty, and faith. 

The Communist government came to kill, steal, and destroy. But God is always present to give life. And since their freedom from Communism, many of these plain, ugly buildings are getting a facelift.

Some pictures from WIKI with Creative Commons or GNU Free Documentation License.

BLN