My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love

{{Infobox artwork

| image_file = Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F088809-0038, Berlin, East Side Gallery.jpg

| image_size = 300px

| title = My God, Help Me to Survive this Deadly Love

| alt = Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev locked in a mouth-to-mouth kiss with East German leader Erich Honecker above the legend My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love

| type = Graffiti

| artist = Dmitri Vrubel

| year = {{Start date|1990}}

| height_metric = 365

| width_metric = 480

| height_imperial = 143.7

| width_imperial = 189

| city = Berlin

| museum = East Side Gallery

| owner =

}}

My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love ({{langx|ru|«Го́споди! Помоги́ мне вы́жить среди́ э́той сме́ртной любви́»|Góspodi! Pomogí mne výzhit' sredí étoy smértnoy lyubví}}; {{langx|de|Mein Gott, hilf mir, diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben}}), sometimes referred to as the Fraternal Kiss ({{langx|de|Bruderkuss}}), is a graffiti painting by Dmitri Vrubel on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall. Painted in 1990, it has become one of the best known pieces of Berlin Wall graffiti art. The painting depicts Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in a socialist fraternal kiss, reproducing a photograph taken in 1979 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic.

Photograph

The photograph capturing the embrace was taken by Régis Bossu in East Berlin on 7 October 1979.{{cite web |url=http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-21927891/kiss-of-soviet-leader-brezhnev-and-east |title=Kiss of Soviet Leader Brezhnev and East German President Honecker |publisher=Corbis |accessdate=22 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420081848/http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-21927891/kiss-of-soviet-leader-brezhnev-and-east |archive-date=20 April 2016 |url-status=dead }} Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker kiss on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republics. It was widely republished.{{cite news|title= Die längste Open-Air-Galerie der Welt. Die Geschichte eines Gemäldes: Der Bruderkuss|first= Jochen|last= Clemens|url= https://www.welt.de/welt_print/vermischtes/article5290211/Die-laengste-Open-Air-Galerie-der-Welt.html|newspaper= Welt Online|date= November 22, 2009|language= de|trans-title= The story of a painting: The brother kiss|access-date= December 15, 2019|archive-date= January 9, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220109144848/https://www.welt.de/welt_print/vermischtes/article5290211/Die-laengste-Open-Air-Galerie-der-Welt.html|url-status= live}} Brezhnev was visiting East Germany at the time to celebrate the anniversary of its founding as a Communist nation.{{cite news|title= Brezhnev Arrives in East Germany For 30th Anniversary Celebration; Ceausescu Is Not Expected|first= John|last= Vinocur|url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A16FF355511728DDDAC0894D8415B898BF1D3&scp=21&sq=|newspaper= The New York Times|location= East Berlin|issn= 0362-4331|oclc= 1645522|date= October 5, 1979|page= A8|access-date= May 29, 2011|archive-date= April 9, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140409013517/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A16FF355511728DDDAC0894D8415B898BF1D3|url-status= live}} On 5 October, East Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a ten-year agreement of mutual support under which East Germany would provide ships, machinery and chemical equipment to the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union would provide fuel and nuclear equipment to East Germany.{{cite news|title= Soviet and East Germans Sign an Economic Pact|first= John|last= Vinocur|url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F16FA3F5C11728DDDAF0894D8415B898BF1D3&scp=29&sq=|newspaper= The New York Times|location= East Berlin|issn= 0362-4331|oclc= 1645522|date= October 6, 1979|page= 30|access-date= May 29, 2011|archive-date= April 9, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140409091336/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F16FA3F5C11728DDDAF0894D8415B898BF1D3|url-status= live}}

{{multiple image

| footer = The photograph the mural is based on, followed by the mural as it appeared in various conditions. The Russian words at the top read "God! help me stay alive"; and continue at the bottom "Among this mortal love."

| align = center

| total_width = 1000

| image1 = Breznev-Honecker 1979.jpg

| width1 = 530

| height1 = 347

| caption1 = The photograph

| image2 = Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F088809-0038, Berlin, East Side Gallery.jpg

| width2 = 800

| height2 = 500

| caption2 = Condition of the Mural on 25 July 1991

| image3 = Sanctuary - Berlin Wall.JPG

| width3 = 1017

| height3 = 768

| caption3 = Condition of the mural in 2005

| image4 = Wrubel Bruderkuss neu.JPG

| width4 = 3888

| height4 = 2592

| caption4 = Dmitri Vrubel during restoration in June 2009

| image5 = Painter Dmitri Vrubel in front of his Bruderkuss.jpg

| width5 = 1024

| height5 = 768

| caption5 = Restoration nearly complete

| image6 = Kiss-EastSideGallery.jpg

| caption6 = The mural fully restored on 18 August 2009

}}{{clear right}}

Painting

Vrubel created the painting in 1990 on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall. Until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Berlin Wall graffiti art existed only on the western side.{{cite news |last1=Trubachev |first1=Veniamin |title=A Concrete, Communist Kiss That Was 'All About Love' |url=https://en.currenttime.tv/a/30269746.html |work=Current Time |date=13 November 2019 |language=en |quote=This work was painted on that part of the Berlin Wall where painting was banned. That is, the part of the Berlin Wall that was in the east, on the East Berlin side. On the western side, everything was painted. |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127100534/https://en.currenttime.tv/a/30269746.html |url-status=live }} Vrubel attempted to obtain permission to paint on the eastern side, but the East German Ministry of National Defence disclaimed responsibility for the Wall. Instead, he found a "Scottish girl" selling "permits" to paint on the Wall, and he signed a contract that gave up all of his rights to the painting.

Along with other murals in the section, the painting continued in display after the wall was taken down, but vandalism and atmospheric conditions gradually led to its deterioration.{{cite news|url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,615900,00.html|title= Kiss of Death. Officials Erase Historic Berlin Wall Mural|first= Malte|last= Göbel|date= March 27, 2009|publisher= Der Spiegel online|newspaper= Spiegel Online|access-date= May 29, 2011|archive-date= March 3, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195245/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,615900,00.html|url-status= live}} In March 2009, the painting, along with others, was erased from the wall to allow the original artists to repaint them with more durable paints. Vrubel was commissioned to repaint the piece, donating the €3000 fee he was paid to a social art project in Marzahn.

In terms of style, there are slight differences between the 1990 and remade 2009 murals, and Vrubel has said that he made technical mistakes on the original piece due to inexperience with the method. The main message did not change.{{cite news |last1=Borzenko |first1=Andrey |title=Brotherly love: 25 years on, the artist behind the iconic Berlin Wall mural tells his story |url=http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/3356/Dmitri-Vrubel-Berlin-Wall-Brezhnev-Honecker-Kiss |website=The Calvert Journal |accessdate=16 November 2018 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116221644/http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/3356/Dmitri-Vrubel-Berlin-Wall-Brezhnev-Honecker-Kiss |url-status=live }}

Photographer Bossu and Vrubel met in 2009 and were photographed together on 16 June with reproductions of their works.{{cite news|title= Russian artist Dmitry Vrubel and photographer Regis Bossu pose before restoration work on a segment of the East Side Gallery|first= Tobias|last= Schwarz|url= http://www.2space.net/news/article/205379-1245158535/|agency= Reuters|publisher= 2space|location= Berlin|date= Jun 16, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160605031507/http://www.2space.net/news/article/205379-1245158535/|archive-date= June 5, 2016|url-status= dead}}

=Critical reception=

My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love has become one of the best known works of graffiti art on the Berlin Wall.{{cite book|title= Behind the Berlin Wall: East Germany and the frontiers of power|last= Major|first= Patrick|year= 2009|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Oxford, New York|isbn= 978-0-19-924328-0|page= 276|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YJj3ylisBFEC|access-date= 2020-11-24|archive-date= 2023-02-10|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230210070757/https://books.google.com/books?id=YJj3ylisBFEC|url-status= live}}{{cite news|title= What divides Berlin now?|first= John|last= Tagliabue|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/magazine/what-divides-berlin-now.html?scp=14&sq=|newspaper= The New York Times Magazine|publisher= The New York Times Company|location= N. Y.|issn= 0362-4331|oclc= 1645522|date= April 7, 1991|access-date= February 11, 2017|archive-date= July 1, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170701062207/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/magazine/what-divides-berlin-now.html?scp=14&sq=|url-status= live}} According to Anthony Read and David Fisher, the painting is "particularly striking, with a sharp, satirical edge."{{cite book|title= Berlin: the biography of a city|last= Read|first= Anthony|author2= Fisher, David|year= 1994|publisher= Hutchinson|location= London|isbn= 978-0-09-178021-0|page= [https://archive.org/details/berlinbiographyo0000read/page/308 308]|url= https://archive.org/details/berlinbiographyo0000read/page/308}} It was also widely criticized on creation as a straightforward reproduction of the photograph that inspired it.{{cite journal|last= Minaev|first= Boris|date= October 27, 2003|script-title= ru:Дмитрий Врубель дважды попадал под колесо истории: Когда нарисовал целующихся Брежнева и Хонеккера на Берлинской стене и когда начал рисовать Владимира Путина|trans-title= Dmitri Vrubel got himself twice upon the wheel of history: When portrayed Brezhnev kissing Honecker on the Berlin Wall, and when began to paint Vladimir Putin|journal= Ogonyok|issue= 39|page= 41|location= Moscow|publisher= Pravda|language= ru|issn= 0131-0097|oclc= 1761076|url= http://www.ogoniok.com/archive/2003/4818/39-40-42/|quote= Многие тогда говорили: да какая это картина, просто взял и перерисовал фотографию, но тем не менее это была картина, причем великая, и у нее было название, между прочим — «Господи, помоги мне выжить среди этой смертной любви»|access-date= May 29, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090528/http://www.ogoniok.com/archive/2003/4818/39-40-42/|archive-date= September 24, 2015|url-status= dead}}

In a 2014 interview, the artist explained how the location and characters give meaning to the painting: "In this painting, there's one German and one Russian, and the Berlin Wall is about the same thing but in reverse: here [in the painting], there's total love, while the Berlin Wall separates two worlds{{snd}}it was a perfect fit." He wanted to create a "wow" factor but did not expect the success it had.{{cite news |last1=Borzenco |first1=Andrey |title=Brotherly love: 25 years on, the artist behind the iconic Berlin Wall mural tells his story |url=http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/3356/Dmitri-Vrubel-Berlin-Wall-Brezhnev-Honecker-Kiss |website=The Calvert Journal |accessdate=16 November 2018 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116221644/http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/3356/Dmitri-Vrubel-Berlin-Wall-Brezhnev-Honecker-Kiss |url-status=live }}

Prominent derivative works include Make Everything Great Again, a 2016 Lithuanian mural of Russian president Vladimir Putin and United States president Donald Trump in a similar pose,{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/05/14/putin-kissing-trump-mural-goes-viral/84381588/|title=Putin kissing Trump mural goes viral|work=USA TODAY|access-date=2017-11-29|language=en|archive-date=2020-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514171029/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/05/14/putin-kissing-trump-mural-goes-viral/84381588/|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4336396/lithuania-mural-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-kiss/|title=Street Mural of Donald Trump Kissing Vladimir Putin Goes Viral|magazine=Time|access-date=2017-12-06|archive-date=2018-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627001352/http://time.com/4336396/lithuania-mural-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-kiss/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Adam |title=The Putin-Trump kiss being shared around the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/13/the-putin-trump-kiss-being-shared-around-the-world/ |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 13, 2016 |access-date=December 10, 2016 |archive-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214073717/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/13/the-putin-trump-kiss-being-shared-around-the-world/ |url-status=live }} and a 2016 mural in Bristol featuring Donald Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner and British Member of Parliament Boris Johnson{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/24/europe/donald-trump-boris-johnson-street-art-kissing/|title=Donald Trump and Boris Johnson pucker up in street art|last=Said-Moorhouse|first=Lauren|work=CNN|access-date=2017-11-29|archive-date=2017-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044353/http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/24/europe/donald-trump-boris-johnson-street-art-kissing/|url-status=live}} in the run-up to the 2016 referendum.