Manchester has tonnes of statues, there are so many that have an obvious link or connection to Manchester, but some don’t.
The statue of Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher, is a perfect example - here is the history of the man, and Manchester.
The statue of Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher, is a perfect example - here is the history of the man, and Manchester.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Let's have a talk about some of the statues in Manchester. Hello and welcome to Manchester World.
00:04Now this is the third part of a series of explainers where I'll take a look at some of the most prominent statues in Manchester
00:09and explain a little bit about their history and why they're important to the city. Today
00:14we're going to be talking about the Frederick Engels statue that's located outside of home.
00:18Engels was a German philosopher who wrote The Condition of the Working Class in England,
00:23which is a study into the working class of Victorian England and Manchester specifically.
00:27The book's widely respected even now and is seen as an important source for historians studying the time period, particularly centred on industrial cities like Manchester.
00:35Engels was a close friend of Karl Marx and so much of his focus was on class politics.
00:39Their research was used and misadapted in Russia by Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian communist movement,
00:44who deposed of the Tsar.
00:45The statue that now stands in Manchester was a statue built to honour Engels by the Soviet leadership and was brought to Manchester by artist
00:52Phil Collins after its removal from its previous home in 2015 after policies were passed in Ukraine banning Soviet symbols. Follow Manchester World for more.