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Communism, A Laughing Matter
"The afterglow from the Nazi era is still that of wickedness, whereas that of communism is more sheer stupidity. And human stupidity makes us laugh," writes Christopher Hart in the Sunday Times. Hart is reviewing a book on humour under the Soviet empire, and he publishes a few choice jokes from the publication. Here are two from the Stalin era:
"What were Mayakovsky's last words before he committed suicide? ‘Comrades, don't shoot!'”
“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.'”
And here's another, a Jewish joke from the Nazi era which still has resonance today:
“What's the difference between Jewish optimists and Jewish pessimists? Jewish pessimists are all in exile. Jewish optimists are all in concentration camps.”
