COFFEE, EAST GERMANS AND THE COLD WAR WORLD, 1945-1990 COFFEE, EAST GERMANS AND THE COLD WAR WORLD, 1945-1990 By ANDREW KLOIBER, M.A., B.A. (Hon.) A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © by Andrew Kloiber, August 2017 McMaster University DOCTOR OF ARTS (2017) Hamilton, Ontario (History) TITLE: Coffee, East Germans and the Cold War World, 1945-1990 AUTHOR: Andrew Kloiber, M.A., B.A. (Hon.) (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor Pamela E. Swett NUMBER OF PAGES: 300 ii Lay Abstract This investigation contributes to studies of post 1945-Europe and the Cold War by examining the culture, economics and politics surrounding the consumption of a single commodity in East Germany, coffee, from 1945-1989. Coffee was associated with many cultural virtues and traditions which became tied to the GDR‘s official image of Socialism. When the regime‘s ability to supply this good was jeopardized in 1975-77, the government sought out new sources of coffee in the developing, so-called ‗Third World.‘ East Germany entered into long- term trade and development projects with countries like Angola, Ethiopia, Laos and Vietnam, to secure sufficient beans to supply its own population. These trade deals connected East Germany to a much broader, globalizing economy, and led to some lasting effects on the world coffee trade. iii Abstract Placing coffee at the centre of its analysis, my dissertation reveals the intersections between consumption, culture, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR)‘s involvement in the developing world. State planners took steps to promote coffee as a good consumed not only for its value as a stimulant but also for enjoyment. Enjoying a warm cup of coffee represented East Germans‘ participation in socialist society, and in a global coffee culture. Moreover, by adopting and weaving the older ideals and traditions associated with coffee into its messages of a bright socialist future based on modernity, progress and culture, the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) used coffee as part of its long-term goals of reforming society along socialist lines. When a major frost destroyed two thirds of Brazil‘s coffee trees in July 1975, causing world prices to quadruple by 1977, GDR planners faced a genuine ‗Coffee Crisis‘ that challenged the state‘s political well-being. The regime replaced the most affordable brand ‗Kosta‟ with ‗Kaffee-Mix,‘ a blend of 51 per cent coffee and 49 per cent surrogate. Vehement public rejection of the replacement necessitated the hasty conclusion of new trade deals to solve the supply problem, deals which brought the GDR into contact with the developing world in ways it had not anticipated. My project considers four case studies – the GDR‘s coffee deals with Angola, Ethiopia, Laos and Vietnam, and I argue that these coffee deals reveal as much about the GDR‘s engagements with the global south as they do about its own self-image as a modern state in a divided, yet globalizing world. The GDR consciously approached these relationships as an industrially developed nation needing to ‗guide‘ these newly independent states toward (a socialist) modernisation. Furthermore, these trade agreements reveal the balance between pragmatism and ideology which characterized the GDR‘s pursuit of coffee; ideology often iv informed state representatives and framed the negotiations, but pragmatic concerns generally found primacy throughout the process. The GDR invested heavily in these developing countries‘ coffee industries, sending technical equipment, along with agricultural and technical experts to help these countries meet East Germans‘ import needs. In Angola and Ethiopia, the GDR provided weapons for coffee, while contracts with Laos and Vietnam led to lengthy development projects to ‗modernize‘ each country‘s coffee industry. This investment in turn helped change the balance of the world coffee trade; the most striking example of this process was the explosion of the Vietnamese coffee industry through the 1980s, which ultimately made Vietnam the world‘s second largest producer of coffee next to Brazil. The need for coffee in the GDR, then, sparked a specific expansion of its involvement in the Global South, a process that complicates scholars‘ positioning of the GDR within international relations. The example of coffee and the trade agreements it spurred suggests the need to move beyond questions about the degree to which the GDR could overcome its diplomatic isolation, or the extent of East German autonomy from the Soviets, toward questions about the nature of East Germany‘s own foreign policy agenda, how it saw itself in the world, and how it contributed to the processes of globalization. v Acknowledgements A dissertation is the product of a sole author, but it would hardly exist at all were it not for the support and encouragement of many people along the way. In my case, the journey involved some unique challenges – a learning difference, and a number of family crises, and I am extremely grateful to the community of family, friends and colleagues on whom I have been able to rely these past years. I owe so much to my supervisor, Pamela Swett. From the very start, she took seriously her role not only as a supervisor, but as a mentor, and put in clear effort to get to know me as a person, so she could better understand when she needed to push me, and when I needed some space. She was incredibly patient with me, and as time went on, I saw in her a sense of pride in my accomplishments, which only motivated me to strive further. I have such profound respect for her professionally and personally; I could not have asked for a better doctoral mentor. In Martin Horn and Tracy McDonald, I was very fortunate to have a very supportive, encouraging doctoral committee who believed in me, pushed and challenged me, and for whose guidance I am so grateful. Dr. Horn‘s attention to detail was especially helpful when grappling the economic questions of this project, while Dr. McDonald‘s command of ideological context proved invaluable. Thank you as well to my external dissertation examiner, Dr. Donna Harsch, whose comments are already generating exciting new ideas for future work. I wish to thank especially the History Department staff at McMaster, Wendy Benedetti and Debbie Lobban, on whom I have continuously relied for help navigating the program‘s requirements, sorting out financial matters, and with whom I have enjoyed many wonderful conversations over the years. I was fortunate in having the financial support needed to cover the research and travel expenses for this project. I wish to offer my thanks to the German Academic Exchange Service vi (DAAD), the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. (GHI), and McMaster University for their generous financial contributions. I wish to thank my academic sponsor in Germany, Thomas Lindenberger, and Jeannette Madarasz-Lebenhagen at the BStU, who assisted my navigation of the Federal and Stasi archives. Thank you to the proprietors of the Bibliotheca- Culinaria in Berlin, Germany for granting access to their collection of East German food related materials. The staff and archivists at the Federal Archives of Germany (Bundesarchiv Lichterfelde) were always helpful, and I thank them for their guidance and knowledge, notably Sven Schneidereit. I was blessed to have fantastic friends and colleagues, at McMaster and abroad, who all helped me stay motivated and focused. Thank you especially to my partner, Chelsea Barranger, for your love, encouragement, and patience. Thank you to the friends I met in the program at McMaster, especially that group of goofy, geeky friends who shared laughs every week over board games, and thank you to all of the international friends and colleagues I have made at conferences and in archives, notably the Chapel Hill German history family that graciously ‗adopted‘ me. I owe no small debt of gratitude to Thomas Wenzel, who offered both his home and his friendship to me while I conducted my research in Germany. I miss our afternoon conversations about life, music, coffee and politics. Thank you as well to the academic mentors and colleagues I have met and relied on, some of whom read sections of this dissertation, but all of whom graciously gave their time to talk about East Germany and its history: Julie Ault, Ian Babcock, David Blackbourn, Hayley Goodchild, Dagmar Herzog, Andreas Ludwig, Mary Neuberger, Katherine Pence, Ned Richardson-Little, Eli Rubin, Christina Schwenkel, Robert Terrell, Katarina Todic. I would not have pursued this degree had it not been for the mentors I had earlier in my life, who inspired vii me, believed in me, and gave me models to follow. Many thanks to Peter Hoffmann and James Krapfl at McGill University; to Gary Bruce, Whitney Lackenbauer and Lynne Taylor at the University of Waterloo, and to Jan Meier and Bill Blair, who both started me on the path to learning and teaching early in my life. Finally, and above all, I wish to thank my parents, Ron and Ildi Kloiber. There are no words that can do justice to all you‘ve done for me. You‘ve always been such selfless, graciously supportive and generously loving parents, and I‘m here today because you‘ve always pushed me to chase my dreams. I love you both, and dedicate this dissertation to you. viii Table of Contents Lay Abstract……………………………………………………………………….................. iii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………......... iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………... vi List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………… x List of Images……………………………………………………………………………..… xi List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………… xii Declaration of Academic Achievement……………………………………………………… xiv Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………... 1 Chapter 1: Brewing Socialism: Coffee and everyday life in East Germany, 1945-1975…… 32 Chapter 2: Bitter Grounds: ‗Kaffee-Mix‘ and the ―Coffee Crisis‖ of 1977-1978…………… 105 Chapter 3: Brewing Relations: East Germany, Coffee and the Developing World…………..170 Conclusion: The Taste that Remained: Coffee during the 1980s............................................