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African Students in East Germany, 1949-1975
Sara Pugach
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This book explores the largely unexamined history of Africans who lived, studied, and worked in the German Democratic Republic. African students started coming to the East in 1951 as invited guests who were offered scholarships by the East German government to prepare them for primarily technical and scientific careers once they returned home to their own countries. Drawn from previously unexplored archives in Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, and the United Kingdom, African Students in East Germany, 1949–1975 uncovers individual stories and reconstructs the pathways that African students took in their journeys to the GDR and what happened once they got there. The book places these experiences within the larger context of German history, questioning how ideas of African racial difference that developed from the eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries impacted East German attitudes toward the students.
The book additionally situates African experiences in the overlapping contexts of the Cold War and decolonization. During this time, nations across the Western and Soviet blocs were inviting Africans to attend universities and vocational schools as part of a drive to offer development aid to newly independent countries and encourage them to side with either the United States or Soviet Union in the Cold War. African leaders recognized their significance to both Soviet and American blocs, and played on the desire of each to bring newly independent nations into their folds. Students also recognized their importance to Cold War competition, and used it to make demands of the East German state. The book is thus located at the juncture of many different histories, including those of modern Germany, modern Africa, the Global Cold War, and decolonization.
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Between Colonial Nigeria and Socialist East Germany
Chapter 2. Bumps in the Road
Chapter 3. Getting In
Chapter 4. The Politics of Home Abroad
Chapter 5. African Students at the Intersection of Race and Gender
Figure 10. “On March 6, 1961, Ghanaian students and Ghanaian guests at the spring trade fair mark the fourth anniversary of their independence with a dignified ceremony. The leader of the delegation from Ghana, Minister of Agriculture Kojo Botsio, called on the students to use their East German socialist education wisely. ‘Our future, the future of the entire world, lies in socialism.’” Native music played in the background.” (caption text from Bundesarchiv). The emphasis on socialism in the speech and the Ghanaian music being played were typical of such national independence celebrations, which were normally sponsored by NHG. Brüggman, Eva (photographer)(Bundesarchiv)
Figure 11. A student from Ghana greets Ruth Botsio, wife of Kojo Botsio, Ghanain Minister of Agriculture, at the celebration of Ghana’s Independence Day in 1961. (Bundesarchiv).
Figure 12. “‘Smile, please, Adriana!’ Adriana Hayford obliged our reporter, who met her in the Berlin City Center at Friedrichstrasse Train Station. Adriana—the friendly girl from Ghana—studies art history and theater in Berlin and enjoys writing home about her interesting classes. Above: (Adriana’s) thoughts are with her parents at home.” (caption text from Bundesarchiv) Hayford is shown mailing her letter in this highly stylized pose. Contrary to the caption, Hayford is decidedly not smiling. Zentralbild Brüggeman Co., February 8, 1962 (Bundesarchiv).
Figure 17. “German student Reinhold Keitel enjoys listening to the sounds of his African peers from Ghana. The African students feel very comfortable in the dorms.” (caption text from Bundesarchiv) Zentralbild Brüggman Sturm Co.-gi., February 24, 1961 (Bundesarchiv).
Figure 18. “The cook in this (Leipzig) dormitory makes sure that all of our African friends are able to get food that is to their taste. The students are also already accustomed to German cuisine. The boy (sic) from Guinea clearly enjoys it.” (caption text from Bundesarchiv) Zentralbild Brüggman Sturm, March 22, 1961 (Bundesarchiv).
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