Czechoslovakia in Africa, 1945-1968
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Czechoslovakia in Africa, 1945-1968 PHILIP MUEHLENBECK Czechoslovakia in Africa, – This page intentionally left blank Czechoslovakia in Africa, – Philip Muehlenbeck Palgrave macmillan CZECHOSLOVAKIA IN AFRICA, 1945–1968 Copyright © Philip Muehlenbeck 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-56144-2 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN 978-1-349-55794-3 E-PDF ISBN: 978–1–137–56666–9 DOI: 10.1007/978–1–137–56666–9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Muehlenbeck, Philip E. (Philip Emil), author. Czechoslovakia in Africa, 1945–1968 / Philip Muehlenbeck. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Czechoslovaks—Africa. 2. Czechoslovakia—Relations—Africa. 3. Africa—Relations—Czechoslovakia. 4. Czechoslovakia—Politics and government—1945–1992. I. Title. DT38.9.C95.M84 2015 327.43706—dc23 2015014755 A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library. Pro hro ší k This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 1 Relations with Conservative African States (1945–62) 17 2 Relations with Radical African States (1957–62) 49 3 Czechoslovak Arms Exports to Africa (1954–68) 87 4 Czechoslovak Aviation Assistance to Africa (1960–68) 125 5 The Decline of Czechoslovak Influence in Africa (1962–68) 157 Conclusion 189 Notes 191 Bibliography 247 Index 259 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Most historians spend the better part of a decade researching and writing their dissertation, and then (if they are lucky) further adapting the dis- sertation into a manuscript for publication. After investing so much time and energy into that first book it is a daunting task to try to conceive a follow up project. When my first book was released exactly three years before the writing of this forward, I had no idea that my next project would be an exploration of Czechoslovakia’s relations with Africa. At that time, despite having just finished a book on United States policy toward Africa during the 1950s and 1960s, I had very little knowledge of the role that Czechoslovakia played on the continent during those years. United States government documents available at National Archives II or the Kennedy and Eisenhower presidential libraries rarely make reference to Czechoslovak involvement in Africa—and when they do it is only in pass- ing. Instead, Czechoslovak actions in Africa are simply labeled “Soviet Bloc activity” or mischaracterized as “Soviet.” Likewise, outside of a jour- nal article from 1963, I am unaware of any English language source which spends more than a paragraph on Czechoslovakia’s role in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, I had no understanding of how involved Czechoslovakia was with Africa or how interesting Prague’s relations with the continent were. When I initially began to examine Czechoslovak sources my origi- nal intention was to use this research as a small part of a larger study on Cold War era competition for African civilian aviation markets. However, once I started to delve into this Czech language research it did not take long for me to realize that I had stumbled upon a gold mine of archival material which had the potential to change the way scholars think of the Cold War in Africa—and that the story of Czechoslovakia’s involvement in Africa deserved a full length manuscript in its own right. I am most indebted to two individuals without whom this project would never have been possible. A quick glance through my reference notes makes clear the intellectual debt that this project owes to Czech scholar Petr Zidek. Zidek has published three encyclopedic type refer- ence books on Czechoslovak involvement with sub-Saharan Africa, Francophone Africa, and the Middle East. These books provided me not only with a rough outline of Czechoslovak involvement in Africa during x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the 1950s and 1960s, but just as importantly pointed me in the right direction toward finding relevant archival material for this project. Jan Koura, a historian at Charles University in Prague, then served as my con- tact with the National Archives of the Czech Republic and the Archive of the Czech Foreign Ministry and provided me with copies of nearly 1,800 pages of Czechoslovak government documents from these archives. I would also like to thank archivists on three continents for their assis- tance in helping me research for this project. In Europe, I appreciate the staffs at the Archives of the Czech Foreign Ministry and the National Archives of the Czech Republic—both in Prague—as well at the National Archives of the United Kingdom in Kew for their assistance in locating relevant files. In Africa, I would like to recognize the hard work of archi- vists at the National Archives of South Africa in Pretoria and the Public Records and Archives Administration of Ghana in Accra. In the United States, I benefitted from the assistance of archivists at: National Archives II in College Park, Maryland; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas; the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts (I am particularly indebted to Stephen Plotkin and the JFK Library Foundation for awarding me a Kennedy Library Research Grant in the Fall of 2012), the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and the Liberian Collections at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. I am also appreciative of the staff at Gelman Library at The George Washington University who assisted me in tracking down copies of obscure Czech language books from across the United States. Special thanks goes to Andy DeRoche, Alessandro Iandolo, Lise Namikas, Joe Parrott, and Rob Rakove, colleagues and friends, each of whom read parts of the manuscript and provided me with invaluable sug- gestions for revisions or new lines of research to pursue. I also benefitted from the intellectual insights of Rob Waters who assisted me in devel- oping the broad scope of this book while graciously providing me with copies of documents from the Ghanaian archives. Heather Dublinske read the entire manuscript, improving it with her editorial pen, but more importantly motivating me by her constant eagerness to read the next chapter and just as importantly providing the inspiration of the book’s cover art. Without her encouragement this project may have taken me another decade to complete. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family: Greg and Lisa Muehlenbeck; Andrea, Garrett, and Brendan Klisz; Heather and Ryleigh Dublinske, and Teddy Muehlenbeck for making my life away from aca- demia so fulfilling. I love you all. Abbreviations AMVZ Archiv Ministerstva zahrani č n í ch v ě c í [Archives of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs] ANC African National Congress Č SA Czechoslovak State Airlines Č SSR Czechoslovak Socialist Republic DDEL Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library FLN National Liberation Front (Algeria) FNLA National Liberation Front of Angola FRELIMO Mozambique Liberation Front GPRA Provisional Government of the Republic of Algeria GRAE Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile HTS Main Technical Administration JFKL John F. Kennedy Presidential Library KANU Kenyan African National Union K č s Czechoslovak korunas (currency) KS Č Communist Party of Czechoslovakia LOC Library of Congress MPLA People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola MZO Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Trade MZV Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs NA-A UV KS Č N á rodn í archiv, Archiv Ú st ř edn í ho v ý boru KS Č [National Archives of the Czech Republic, Records of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia] NARA National Archives II (of the United States) NASA National Archives of South Africa NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NDP National Democratic Party (of Southern Rhodesia) NSC National Security Council (of the United States) OAU Organization of African Unity PAIGC African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde PRAAD Public Records and Archives Administration Department of Ghana PRO National Archives of the United Kingdom (formerly known as the British Public Record Office) xii ABBREVIATIONS StB Czechoslovak State Security UN United Nations UNIP United National Independence Party (of Northern Rhodesia) UPC Union of Peoples of Cameroon USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics VRP Volta River Project ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union ZB Zbrojovka Brno Introduction In the April 1963 issue of World Politics , Curt F. Beck, an assistant pro- fessor of political science at the University of Connecticut, told readers about communist Czechoslovakia’s deep involvement with the newly decolonized continent of Africa: The water is safe to drink in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt, thanks to a water filter station established by Czechoslovak engineers. A shoe factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is being built by Czech technicians.