The entirety of my knowledge extended to what I learned from Beyond The Wall. Interesting read this morning Katja. I imagine the workers and students from Mozambique must have thought they had landed on Mars when they reached the DDR. So different, not least of all climatically and linguistically. Given the DDR was always cash strapped I wonder if they should have focused on development at home first.
Partially, they were cash strapped because they were cut off from international trade. German economic success is built on export and there weren't many socialist states that could afford to buy things 'made in Germany'. So this programme was in part done to aid East Germany itself.
Indeed, that hadn’t crossed my mind. I’ve popped a book, Comrades of Color: East Germany in The Cold War (Berghahn Books 2017) on my wish list. An account of how the DDR interacted with newly independent third world socialist regimes and other left wing protest groups or individuals. Fill in a wee bit more of the picture.
I’ve always wondered how that conversation was received in the fact of travel , so you can come to the DDR but we can’t come to yours , it seems so ridiculous the „ travel ban „ but it’s not that long ago either , I would imagine katya there would be some relationship stories in that time too , which would be interesting,
Yes and those stories are often tragic, too. Since such relationships often broke off when the Mozambican person had to return, sometimes leaving mixed-race children behind who struggled with racism in school and afterwards.
The entirety of my knowledge extended to what I learned from Beyond The Wall. Interesting read this morning Katja. I imagine the workers and students from Mozambique must have thought they had landed on Mars when they reached the DDR. So different, not least of all climatically and linguistically. Given the DDR was always cash strapped I wonder if they should have focused on development at home first.
Partially, they were cash strapped because they were cut off from international trade. German economic success is built on export and there weren't many socialist states that could afford to buy things 'made in Germany'. So this programme was in part done to aid East Germany itself.
Indeed, that hadn’t crossed my mind. I’ve popped a book, Comrades of Color: East Germany in The Cold War (Berghahn Books 2017) on my wish list. An account of how the DDR interacted with newly independent third world socialist regimes and other left wing protest groups or individuals. Fill in a wee bit more of the picture.
Mozambique is the only country - single word - name in the world to contain all 5 English vowels……
Thank you for this interesting history lesson. It sounds like a fruitful trip for you and your Portugese hosts. Your second job is diplomat!
I'm not always very good at being diplomatic... International incidents would just be a matter of time :D
I too knew nothing of this other than the mention in Beyond the Wall. This additional detail is fascinating and tragic.
I’ve always wondered how that conversation was received in the fact of travel , so you can come to the DDR but we can’t come to yours , it seems so ridiculous the „ travel ban „ but it’s not that long ago either , I would imagine katya there would be some relationship stories in that time too , which would be interesting,
Yes and those stories are often tragic, too. Since such relationships often broke off when the Mozambican person had to return, sometimes leaving mixed-race children behind who struggled with racism in school and afterwards.