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Jeremy Wayne Tate on X: “This was first unveiled in 2002. It is a masterpiece of modern art. It shows seven men walking down a staircase, each more broken than the last, limbs gone, bodies thinning, humanity itself dissolving. Communism didn’t just kil...
https://x.com/JeremyTate41/status/2007233489868067236

Memorial to the victims of communism in Prague where the “warmth of collectivism” killed thousands of people. https://x.com/JeremyTate41/status/2007219707649405164?s=20

I don’t understand that picture/art. The person at the top of the stairs is mostly missing, and each successive and descending person is more complete than the one before, until the one at the bottom of the stairs is whole, suggesting a vast improvement in his condition as compared to the person at the top. (Run-on sentence. Sorry.)

It seems to be the exact opposite of what you describe.

sweetiepeizer posts another mensa test

Note that summary does not indicate the direction of the progression:

The post introduces Prague's Memorial to the Victims of Communism, a 2002 installation by sculptor Olbram Zoubek depicting seven bronze figures descending a staircase in progressive fragmentation to symbolize personal and societal decay under Czechoslovakia's 1948-1989 communist regime.

Dedicated to 381,500 victims including executed individuals, prisoners, and exiles, the monument draws from verified historical estimates and evokes the psychological toll of oppression through its stark, abstract forms amid Petřín Hill's natural setting.

Attached photos capture the site's haunting details—from intact figures at the top to vanishing remnants below, with wreaths at the base—prompting replies that underscore its visceral, memorable effect on visitors.

Further details explain the direction of the progression; the artists intent:

The Memorial to the Victims of Communism in Prague features seven bronze figures arranged along a flight of stairs on Petřín Hill. When viewed from the bottom (the typical vantage point),
the figures in front—closer to the observer—are more intact and whole,
while those in the rear, farther up the stairs, become progressively more fragmented, decayed, and incomplete (culminating in just a single foot at the top).

This design choice is deliberate and symbolic.The intent, as conceived by sculptor Olbram Zoubek and architects Jan Kerel and Zdeněk Hölzel, is to represent the gradual and devastating impact of the communist regime on individuals. The figures illustrate the stages of human degradation—physical, mental, and spiritual—experienced by political prisoners and others under totalitarian rule from 1948 to 1989. The "whole" figures at the front symbolize the initial state of a person before the full effects of oppression take hold, while the increasing fragmentation toward the rear depicts the escalating toll: loss of limbs, tears in the body, and eventual disintegration, evoking imprisonment, torture, execution, exile, and the broader ruin of lives. A bronze strip running through the stairs reinforces this by listing statistics on the victims, emphasizing the human cost beyond mere abstraction. The overall effect is a haunting visual metaphor for how communism eroded personal integrity and society over time, prompting reflection on resilience and the horrors of despotism.