Workers, Students and Socialism

What remains of East German promises to Mozambique?

A Mozambican teacher trainee in the GDR, 1986. Img: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1986-0611-010 / Wolfried Pätzold / CC-BY-SA 3.0

It’s been a strange experience this week, travelling through Portugal with my German hat on. Not literally, of course. I don’t own many hats, German or otherwise. I mean the proverbial one that sends a lot of my thoughts through a Teutonic filter. Most countries I travel to have a very specific relationship with Germany, usually shaped by their experiences during the Second World War. But this approach doesn’t really apply to Portugal, which stayed neutral for much of that conflict.

So I had no idea what Portuguese journalists, audiences and colleagues would ask me while I was travelling their country to speak about Germany. Most of my interactions confirmed my preconception that there is a surprising lack of historical interaction between Portugal and Germany.

I got to meet some very interesting people — representatives of the local book industry, journalists and even a famous actress: Lúcia Moniz, who played Aurelia in Love Actually. Nobody seemed to harbour any special feelings for Germany, neither anger nor admiration. Just academic curiosity. Believe me, that is a very strange feeling when you’re a German whose job entails going round Europe to talk about a country that had a huge impact on so many others.

In the end, a journalist who was interviewing me in Lisbon on Monday found a historical bridge between Portugal and East Germany that I found most intriguing. I hope you will too.

“You know how East Germany got involved in Mozambique?” came the opener. I did know a bit about that. I wrote about Mozambican contract workers in the GDR in my book. There were over 15,000 of them. But I’d written about them in a general chapter on foreign workers in East Germany, i.e., from the perspective of why the GDR had invited Cubans, Vietnamese, Mozambicans and others, and what their experiences were during and after their time there. What I had not really considered in detail was: why Mozambique? That’s where the connection to Portugal comes in.

Mozambique had been a Portuguese colony for centuries. While there was already significant German interaction from the late 19th century, when German East Africa was established to the north, a more direct connection emerged in 1975, when Mozambique gained independence. For ideological reasons, the newly established People’s Republic of Mozambique was quickly recognised and supported by East Germany.

For East Germany, Mozambique’s independence from colonial rule fit neatly into its self-image as a supporter of anti-imperialist struggle. For Mozambique, the partnership offered something equally valuable: access to technicians, teachers, education opportunities and a keen political ally. What emerged was a relationship built on both ideology and practicality. It left a legacy that continues to shape memories and politics today.

After independence, Mozambique’s ruling party sought international partners to support its nation-building efforts and help distance the country from its long Portuguese colonial past. East Germany stepped in quickly. Diplomatic ties grew as East German advisors assisted with administration, health care, and education.

The GDR also became a destination for Mozambican students who received scholarships to study engineering, medicine, and vocational skills in East German schools and universities. For East Germany, the cooperation offered a chance to strengthen its global influence and to distinguish itself from West Germany. For Mozambique, the support helped rebuild a depleted workforce.

One of the most defining and controversial aspects of this relationship was the labour agreement signed in 1979. Under this arrangement, tens of thousands of Mozambicans travelled to East Germany as contract workers to be trained in particular vocations.

On paper, the agreement offered benefits to both sides. Workers would receive training and wages, and part of their earnings would be saved and paid out upon their return home. In reality, experiences varied. Some workers recall friendships with German colleagues, new opportunities for personal growth and a degree of economic security. Others remember strict controls on private life, isolation caused by language barriers and racial discrimination.

While the workers were placed in factories and workshops, Mozambican students followed a different path in East Germany. Life in universities and technical colleges was somewhat more open, and international student communities provided more opportunities for genuine exchanges. Many of these students went on to influence Mozambique’s political and professional spheres when they returned. Their experiences were often more positive, although they, too, had to adapt to life in a tightly governed socialist state with a largely homogeneous society that didn’t always respond positively to their presence.

Everything changed after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1990. Mozambican workers found themselves in an uncertain and vulnerable position. The contracts they had signed with East Germany were no longer recognised. Thousands were sent back to Mozambique — into civil war and economic chaos — often without receiving the wages or savings that had been promised.

This painful return gave rise to a name that is still used today: the Madgermanes, a word that plays on the idea of being “made in Germany”. These former workers became a vocal political presence in Mozambique, demanding the payment of withheld wages and recognition of their rights. Their protests, sometimes held every week in Maputo, remain a powerful reminder of the unresolved issues left behind by the collapse of East Germany.

The relationship between East Germany and Mozambique was complex, and so were the implications for Portugal. When I asked other Portuguese people about this after my interview with the journalist, I was told that many left-wingers, especially students who opposed the ongoing war for the colonies in the 1960s and 70s, supported East Germany’s efforts to help rebuild Mozambique as an independent socialist country.

I appreciate that, viewed from Europe, this is a fairly niche aspect of the Cold War. But this history mattered and continues to matter to Mozambique. The story that links it to the fates of Portugal and East Germany serves as a window into the many ways global politics intertwine and how human lives are impacted by such connections – a realisation well worth putting the German hat back on for.