FIVE FINGERS OVER YOU

by Armin T. Wegner, Translated by Zaven Khatchaturian

Five Fingers Over You (Funf Finger uber Dir) is a travelogue that Armin T. Wegner recorded on his journey through the Soviet Union from October to February 1927/28.The occasion was the festivities for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution. Armin T. Wegner and his wife Lola Landau were among the selected foreign guests. Ten years after the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Armin and Lola had a unique opportunity to examine the impact of the Marxist-Leninist revolution on society and count the sweet (or bitter) fruits of the Communism.

Although Armin T. Wegner’s selected works and excerpts have been published in twelve languages - including Esperanto and Japanese - this is the first time that one of his major works, a best seller, has been translated into English. The book has been published by the Armin T. Wegner Society of USA in Los Angeles with the cooperation of Wallstein Verlag, GmbH, the copyright holder in Gottingen, Germany. The foreword of the book is penned by Dr. Johanna Wernicke-Rothmayer of Berlin, the vice chairperson of the Armin T. Wegner Gesellschaft in Wuppertal. She was formerly the secretary of Armin T. Wegner in Rome, in the mid-1960s. Incidentally, Wallstein Verlag is reprinting the original German edition from 1930, on popular demand, virtually simultaneously with the English version.

Unfortunately, almost no photographs exist from Wegner’s journey. It is unlikely that Wegner, being a photojournalist himself, wouldn’t have wanted to record the months’ long trip. As a gadget person, he should have been familiar with 35 mm Leica camera introduced in 1925. However, it remains a mystery whether he shot photos. If he did so, the images were lost. To compensate for the gap, the English version includes existing/stock photos. The hope was to create a visually tangible atmosphere for readers, offering images of certain locations and many famous figures from long ago, who may be largely forgotten today.