Wales and the German Democratic Republic: Expressions and Perceptions of Welsh Identity During the Cold War
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WALES AND THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: EXPRESSIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF WELSH IDENTITY DURING THE COLD WAR RHIAN THOMAS A submission presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. October 2014 ABSTRACT This thesis examines relations between Wales and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the Cold War period of 1949 to 1990. Previous studies have investigated who in Britain interacted with the GDR and their motivations for doing so. The appeal of particular groups and demographics to the GDR authorities - in pursuit of foreign policy objectives - are also well documented. This study is driven by two research questions: i) the identity and motivations of Welsh individuals or organisations approaching and engaging with the GDR and considering to what extent their ‘Welsh identity’ influenced their positioning vis-à-vis the GDR and the Cold War; ii) the extent of Welsh acceptance of any overtures made by a socialist state, including the likely resonance of the GDR’s self-promotion as an anti-fascist, egalitarian state, which sought to protect and develop the rights of its own Sorbian minority culture. The research approach adopted for the thesis has considered how multiple projections of ‘Welshness’ influenced the expression of, and thus the GDR’s perception and understanding of Welsh identity. The findings from this research suggest that the most intriguing and recurrent interactions between Wales and the GDR occurred as a result of concerns for the status of the Welsh language during the Cold War period, encouraged by the GDR’s domestic policy for its own Sorbian minority. This study thus contributes a further category of Welsh-speakers to those identified in the existing scholarship as having interacted with the GDR. Notwithstanding Welsh-Sorbian interactions, this research also determines that other facets of Welsh life sought to engage with the GDR, including representatives of the friendship movement, the Welsh proletariat and left-leaning politicians who believed that establishing relations with the GDR would facilitate détente and peaceful co-existence. Existing assumptions in the field are further strengthened by this thesis’ findings, including the GDR’s methods and approaches for cultivating relationships with the West. Varying projections of Welsh identity prompted different (and often confused and inappropriate) responses from the GDR authorities. By evaluating a range of Welsh-GDR interactions throughout the Cold War period, the findings of this research contribute an alternative Welsh narrative to the field of British-GDR relations. i CYDNABYDDIAETHAU / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I Michael a fy rhieni, gyda diolch am y gefnogaeth. Roedd y daith yn hir ond roedd y ffydd yn gyson drwyddi draw. Gwerthfawrogwyd yr anogaeth ddi-flino yn fawr. I am grateful to Dr. Norry LaPorte and Professor Gareth Williams for their support and expertise and very appreciative of their efforts in guiding this thesis from inception to completion. I would also like to thank those who were willing to meet with me to discuss their experiences, all of whom contributed recollections and perspectives which have undoubtedly enriched the content of this thesis. Many varied and geographically diverse archives, collections and libraries were used; I am indebted to their representatives and/or holders who willingly provided assistance and constructive suggestions throughout. Their professionalism and expertise is gratefully acknowledged. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. i CYDNABYDDIAETHAU / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... iv GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 Review of Existing Scholarship and Literature .................................................................................. 2 Research Objective & Questions ...................................................................................................... 18 Research Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 20 Thesis Structure & Content ............................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER 1 - WELSH-SPEAKERS AND THE SORBS: THE PURSUIT OF CULTURAL EQUALITY .......................................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 2 - FROM LAUSITZ TO LLANGOLLEN: THE SED AND THE DOMOWINA VISIT WALES ................................................................................................................................................. 62 CHAPTER 3 - TRADE UNION RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FDGB AND THE NUM (SOUTH WALES AREA).................................................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER 4 - CULTURAL RELATIONS IN THE 1980s: ASSESSING THE IDENTITY OF THE BRITAIN-GDR SOCIETY’S WELSH BRANCH ............................................................................. 109 CHAPTER 5 - THE TWINNING OF GWENT/BLAENAU GWENT AND BAUTZEN ................. 135 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 167 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Types of Welsh identity as defined in Dennis Balsom’s ‘Three Wales Model’ (1985) ......... 20 Table 2: Identified Flintshire delegations to the GDR .......................................................................... 38 Table 3: Sorbian participation at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod ........................................... 77 Table 4: Gwent County Council Twinning options and committee recommendations ...................... 141 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Baslom’s Three Wales Model ............................................................................................... 21 Figure 2: Map illustrating the Sorbian area. ......................................................................................... 31 iv GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS Anerkennungspolitik Policy of recognition Aussenpolitische Kommission beim Foreign Affairs Committee of the SED’s Politburo Politbüro der SED Abteilung Aussenpolitik und The Central Committee’s department of Foreign internationale Verbindung des Policy and International Relations Zentralkomitees der SED Besuchsdiplomatie Diplomacy through delegation BRIDGE Britain Democratic Germany Information Exchange Welsh identity type: ‘more ambivalent, largely in the British Wales East and the South Coast’ CND Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament CfWM Council for Wales and Monmouthshire CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain Deutsche Demokratische Republik The German Democratic Republic / East Germany (DDR) Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft DEBRIG (GDR-Britain Friendship Society) Domowina An organisation representing the Sorbian people Entspannungspolitik Policy of détente Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Federation of German Trade Unions (of the GDR) (FDGB) Freiwilligkeitsprinzip Principle of voluntariness FRG Federal Republic of Germany / West Germany Friedensbewegung Peace movement GDR German Democratic Republic Grundlagenvertrag Basic Treaty Hegemonialmacht Hegemonial power Imagepflege Image cultivation Liga für Völkerfreundschaft (LFV) League of International Friendship v Ministerium für Auswärtige Ministry of Foreign Affairs Angelegenheiten (MfAA) MP Member of Parliament Nachkontaktpflege Maintaining subsequent contact NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NFG National Friendship Society Nichtanerkennungspolitik Policy of Non-recognition NUM National Union of Mineworkers FRG Chancellor Willy Brandt’s ‘Policy towards the Ostpolitik East’ Plaid Cymru Welsh Nationalist Party Sozialistiche Einheitspartei Socialist Unity Party of Germany Deutschlands (SED) (The ruling governmental party of the GDR) SWMF South Wales Miners’ Federation TUC Trade Unions Congress TWM Three Wales Model TWW Television Wales and the West Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB) People’s Own Company (GDR state-owned company) The four post-War powers of the USA, Britain, France Vier-Mächte and the Soviet Union Volkskultur Folk culture Military alliance between the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact Eastern European states Welsh identity type: ‘Consciously Welsh, but not Welsh Wales Welsh speaking in the South Wales Valleys’ Welsh identity type: ‘The Welsh speaking heartland of Y Fro Gymraeg the North and West’ vi INTRODUCTION This thesis considers relations between Wales and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the Cold War period of 1949 to 1990. It contributes a new focus to the existing scholarship on British- GDR relations – a field which has considered a range of official and informal networks engaging with the GDR against a backdrop of otherwise