DOCSLIB.ORG

Latin America's Global Cold W Ar in Germany

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Latin America's Global Cold W Ar in Germany volume vi issue 1 2020 Latin America's Latin Germany in Global Cold War I m p r e s s u Global m histories: a student journal Volume 6, Issue 1 (2020) ISSN: 2366-780X EDITOR Alina Rodríguez EDITORIAL BOARD David A. Bell Joseph Biggerstaff Jack Clarke Diego Dannemiller Ruby Guyot Natasha Klimenko Sam Plumb Kian J. Riedel Joshua Rossetti Billy Sawyers Simone Steadman-Gantous Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 i m u s PUBLISHER INFORMATION SCOPE AND PURPOSE s e r p m I Founded in 2015 by students of the In response to the increasing interest M.A. program Global History at Freie in the ‘global’ as a field of inquiry, Uni- versität Berlin and Humboldt- a perspective, and an approach, Universität zu Berlin, Global Histories Global Histories: a Student Journal is a Berlin based bi-annual journal aims to offer a platform for debate, published in association with the discussion, and intellectual exchange Freie Universität Berlin. for a new generation of scholars with diverse research interests. Global Freie Universität Berlin history can provide an opportunity to Global Histories: A Student move beyond disciplinary boundaries Journal Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut and methodological centrisms, both Koserstraße 20 in time and space. As students of 14195 Berlin global history at Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, our interest lies not in SPONSORS prescribing what global history is and what it is not, but to encourage This journal project is realized collaboration, cooperation, and with generous support from Freie discourse among students seeking to Universität Berlin, specifically from explore new intellectual frontiers. the Center for Global History of the Friedrich-Meinecke- Institut, the OJS e-publishing project at CeDiS, and COPYRIGHT AND PUBLICATION the ZEDAT hostmaster team. DATES All material is published under the PUBLICATION FREQUENCY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Interna- tional copyright license. The journal is published twice yearly This issue was published in in spring and autumn. Please see the December 2020. website for further details. ii Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 I m p r PEER REVIEW STATUS AND e s s ETHICS u m This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All articles which appear in this issue, with the exception of editorial content, were subject to peer review. CONTACT INFORMATION For librarians to submit information or questions about the bibliographic history and publication title, please contact the editor at: admin@ globalhistories.com. For more information, please consult our website www.globalhistories.com or email [email protected] Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 iii 1 EDITORIAL LETTER 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 8 i Colombia MAPPING THE GLOBAL COLD WAR: THE UNFOLDING OF BROT FÜR DIE WELT PROJECT NO. 2746 IN COLOMBIA, 1977-1984 by Markus Buderath, Vera Dickhoff Con-and Carl Magnus Michel 28 ii Nicaragua COMRADES OR PUPILS? THE POLITICO- CULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN GDR AND POST-REVOLUTIONARY NICARAGUA (1979–1989) by Janaina Ferreira dos Santos and Marie Holthaus 48 iii Cuba THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOLIDARITY IN PUBLIC SPACES BETWEEN GERMANY AND CUBA BEFORE AND AFTER GERMAN REUNIFICATION by Johanna Habel and Anairis Díaz Maceo iv Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 tents 72 iv Chile SOLIDARITY OR SYSTEM STABILIZATION? CHILEAN EXILE IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (GDR) – AN ANALYSIS OF THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF NEUES DEUTSCHLAND by Georg Sturm and David Kristen 90 v Paraguay THIRD WORLD INTERVENTION IN THE GLOBAL COLD WAR: THE GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC IN PARAGUAY Con- by Vincent Kammer and Carla Venneri tentsGlobal Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 v Dear reader, Although we usually work with articles and pieces that engage with the different approaches to global history, regardless of their regional or temporal focus, this issue of Global histories deals specifically with the connections between Latin America and Germany during the Global Cold War. Students from the Latin American Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin produced the five articles in this issue, and the Global histories editorial team is now glad to publish it and continue with this student- run initiative. We hope you enjoy it. - Alina Rodríguez (on behalf of the Global histories editorial team) Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Markus-Michael Müller from the Lateinamerika Institut for approaching us and proposing this collaboration. We are especially grateful to the authors published in this edition with whom we have had an extensive and fruitful collaboration throughout the production of this journal: Markus Buderath, Vera Dickhoff, Carl Magnus Michel, Janaina Ferreira dos Santos, Marie Lena Holthaus, Anairis Díaz Maceo, Johanna Habel, David Kristen, Georg Sturm, Vincent Kammer and Carla Venneri. We would also like to acknowledge the dedicated work of the editorial board, this journal could not be realized without their committed contributions: David A. Bell, Joseph Biggerstaff, Jack Clarke, Diego Dannemiller, Ruby Guyot, Natasha Klimenko, Sam Plumb, Kian J. Riedel, Billy Sawyers and Simone Steadman- Gantous. Finally, we are grateful for the continued support and assistance for this project by the Freie Universität Berlin, particularly the Global History faculty, chaired by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Conrad, and the Online Journal Systems team at CeDiS. Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 3 I n t r o this ideological, military and cultural d u c conflict. t INTRODUCTION i o To this end, all five articles of n this edition are taking a closer look Looking back half a century at the relationships between state in history reveals a string of events and non-state actors in the GDR considered decisive for the era (German Democratic Republic), the commonly referred to as the Cold FRG (Federal Republic of Germany) War. Developments such as the and Latin American countries. military coups in Chile and Argentina, Common ground for the studies is the Nicaraguan Revolution or the this relational approach, which draws Guatemalan Civil War are usually attention to the complex dynamics contextualized within this discussion, between all actors involved. The while simultaneously proving that this starting point for the research period of time was by no means a was Berlin, a place of particular peaceful one. importance during these decades, Traditionally, historical and and the Latin American Institute of political academic research has the Free University of Berlin, which, focused on the dualism of the two having been founded in the context superpowers, with Europe as the of the Cold War, celebrates its 50th epicenter of conflict. This special anniversary this year. Furthermore, edition, however, follows the more the articles of this issue all emphasize recent approach of categorizing the political and cultural forces with Cold War as a global phenomenon discussions of power relations and with a special focus on the “third importance of ideological aspects. world.” Crucial for this perspective The first article by Vera is the work of Odd Arne Westad, Dickhoff, Markus Buderath and Carl especially his 2005 volume The Magnus Michel makes the case Global Cold War.1,2 By focusing on the for a novel analytical approach dynamics in and between countries to understanding Cold War at the periphery of the traditional phenomena. On the basis of an bipolar system and its arena, one can actor-relationship analysis of project- begin to appreciate the complexity of based development aid financed by the West German organization Brot für die Welt in Colombia, they 1 Odd A. Westad, The Global Cold War intend to illustrate arguments as to (Cambridge: Cambridge University why applying conventional post- Press, 2005). Cold-War theory to the Cold War era 2 Further reassessment of the Cold War period based on new conceptual could deliver theoretical benefits. frameworks can be found in Richard Specifically, the authors suggest H. Immerman and Petra Goedde, that Saskia Sassen’s thesis on the The Oxford Handbook of the Cold potential globality of localized actors War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, and struggles is not, as initially 2013). Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 5 n o i t suggested by Sassen, bound to communication of solidarity between c u d the modern phase of globalization. the Cuban state and the GDR, o r t n I Using the structural idea of global and to citizens in both countries, assemblages, the article endeavors in the period of 1974 to 1990. This to show how localized political constructed solidarity affected the interactions could be constitutive relations between the two states of a Global Cold War, thus linking after the events surrounding German Sassen’s theoretical approach with reunification until 1995, the structure that of Odd Arne Westad. of relations shifting from a state level The subsequent article by to solidarity and friendship groups. Janaina Ferreira dos Santos and The fourth article by Georg Marie Holthaus puts its focus on Sturm and David Kristen also two state-level actors by analyzing deals with solidarity, analyzing the the cultural dimension of the Global instrumentalization of Chilean exiles Cold War, taking as a starting in the GDR and conducting a content point the cultural and scientific analysis of media coverage. Realizing cooperation between the GDR and a quantitative as well as qualitative post-revolutionary Nicaragua in the examination of the newspaper 1980s. Since cultural and scientific Neues Deutschland articles dealing knowledge were crucial categories with Chile and Chilean exiles in the of the East-West division, greatly GDR after the 1973 military coup, influencing domestic as well as the article shows the extraordinary foreign policies, exchange in these importance of Chile for the GDR.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Machtwechsel in Ost-Berlin. Der Sturz Walter Ulbrichts 1971
    JOCHEN STELKENS MACHTWECHSEL IN OST-BERLIN Der Sturz Walter Ulbrichts 1971 „Nach reiflicher Überlegung habe ich mich entschlossen, das Zentralkomitee auf seiner heutigen Tagung zu bitten, mich von der Funktion des Ersten Sekretärs des Zentralko­ mitees der SED zu entbinden. Die Jahre fordern ihr Recht und gestatten es mir nicht län­ ger, eine solche anstrengende Tätigkeit wie die des Ersten Sekretärs des Zentralkomitees auszuüben. Ich erachte daher die Zeit für gekommen, diese Funktion in jüngere Hände zu geben, und schlage vor, Genossen Erich Honecker zum Ersten Sekretär des Zentral­ komitees zu wählen."1 Eher nüchtern und scheinbar auch gefaßt verabschiedete sich Walter Ulbricht am 3. Mai 1971 auf der 16. ZK-Tagung der SED von der großen Weltpo­ litik, und man hätte auf den ersten Blick vermuten können, daß es sich - hauptsächlich wegen seines fortgeschrittenen Alters - um einen reibungslosen Übergang zu seinem Nachfolger Erich Honecker handelte. Hermann Axen, schon damals und noch bis 1989 Mitglied des Politbüros sowie Sekretär des ZK für internationale Verbindungen, nährte nach dem Fall der Mauer solche Mutmaßungen2: „Die Ablösung war kein Coup, kein Komplott. Es war nicht gemanagt. Hätten wir das nicht getan, wäre Walter Ulbricht frü­ her gestorben; wir haben sein Leben verlängert. Leicht ist ihm die Korrektur, die der VIII. Parteitag vornahm, und die Tatsache, daß er nicht mehr Erster Sekretär der Partei war, natürlich nicht gefallen. Schon auf dem 16. Plenum hatte er die Entscheidung ehrlich akzeptiert und Erich Honecker als seinen Nachfolger umarmt und beglückwünscht. Wir müssen Hochachtung vor Walter empfinden, der die Partei über alles stellte."3 Allerdings war schon ziemlich bald für DDR-Forscher im Westen klar, daß der Machtwechsel von Ulbricht zu seinem politischen Ziehsohn Honecker nicht so rei­ bungslos verlaufen war, wie ihn die SED nach außen darstellen wollte.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Fascism, Anti-Communism, and Memorial Cultures: a Global
    ANTI-FASCISM, ANTI-COMMUNISM, AND MEMORIAL CULTURES: A GLOBAL STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE VETERANS by Jacob Todd Bernhardt A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Boise State University May 2021 © 2021 Jacob Todd Bernhardt ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COLLEGE DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND FINAL READING APPROVALS of the thesis submitted by Jacob Todd Bernhardt Thesis Title: Anti-Fascism, Anti-Communism, and Memorial Cultures: A Global Study of International Brigade Veterans Date of Final Oral Examination: 08 March 2021 The following individuals read and discussed the thesis submitted by student Jacob Todd Bernhardt, and they evaluated the student’s presentation and response to questions during the final oral examination. They found that the student passed the final oral examination. John P. Bieter, Ph.D. Chair, Supervisory Committee Shaun S. Nichols, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Peter N. Carroll, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee The final reading approval of the thesis was granted by John P. Bieter, Ph.D., Chair of the Supervisory Committee. The thesis was approved by the Graduate College. DEDICATION For my dear Libby, who believed in me every step of the way. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout the writing of this thesis, I have received a great deal of support and assistance. I would first like to thank my Committee Chair, Professor John Bieter, whose advice was invaluable in broadening the scope of my research. Your insightful feedback pushed me to sharpen my thinking and brought my work to a higher level. I would like to thank Professor Shaun Nichols, whose suggestions helped me improve the organization of my thesis and the power of my argument.
    [Show full text]
  • Integration of East German Resettlers Into the Cultures and Societies of the GDR
    Integration of East German Resettlers into the Cultures and Societies of the GDR Doctoral Thesis of Aaron M.P. Jacobson Student Number 59047878 University College London Degree: Ph.D. in History 1 DECLARATION I, Aaron M.P. Jacobson, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 ABSTRACT A controversy exists in the historiography of ethnic German post-WWII refugees and expellees who lived in the German Democratic Republic. This question is namely: to what extent were these refugees and expellees from various countries with differing cultural, religious, social and economic backgrounds integrated into GDR society? Were they absorbed by the native cultures of the GDR? Was an amalgamation of both native and expellee cultures created? Or did the expellees keep themselves isolated and separate from GDR society? The historiography regarding this controversy most commonly uses Soviet and SED governmental records from 1945-53. The limitation of this approach by historians is that it has told the refugee and expellee narrative from government officials’ perspectives rather than those of the Resettlers themselves. In 1953 the SED regime stopped public record keeping concerning the Resettlers declaring their integration into GDR society as complete. After eight years in the GDR did the Resettlers feel that they were an integrated part of society? In an attempt to ascertain how Resettlers perceived their own pasts in the GDR and the level of integration that occurred, 230 refugees and expellees were interviewed throughout the former GDR between 2008-09.
    [Show full text]
  • Fourteenth Session of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany : Berlin, 9 to 11 December 1970
    INFORMATION SERVICE OF THE SOCIALIST UNITY PARTY OF GERMANY Fourteenth Session of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Berlin, 9 to 11 December 1970 Printed in the German Democratic Republic by Grafischer Grossbetrieb Volkerfreundschaft Dresden, Betriebsteil Meissen 111-21 -3 0267 - 2 Contents Communique of the 14th Session of the Centra! Committee of the SED 5 Resolution of the Centra! Committee of the SED on the Session of the Political Consultative Committee of the Member States of the Warsaw Treaty 7 On the Session of the Political Consultative Committee of the Member States of the Warsaw Treaty in the Capita! of the GDR 9 Speech by Comrade Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic 9 I. On the Importance of the Treaties of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Poland with the FRG 11 II. On Some Questions of Peace and the Relaxation of Tension 14 III. On Questions of European Security 16 IV. On GDR—FRG Relations 17 V. On Some Questions of Transit Traffic and on the Prob¬ lem of West Berlin 20 From the Report of the Political Bureau to the 14th Session of the Centra! Committee of the SED 23 Reporter: Comrade Paul Verner, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the SED 23 3 European Security-Centra! Concern of the Foreign Policy of the GDR 23 The Influence of the Changed Relation of Forces 24 The Dialectics of Class Struggle 25 What Is behind the Formula "Inner German”? 29 Communique of the 14th Session of the Central Committee of the SED The Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany met for its 14th Session from 9 to 11 December 1970.
    [Show full text]
  • "Ex Oriente Pax?"
    Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe Volume 3 Issue 8 Article 3 12-1983 "Ex Oriente Pax?" Peter Wensierski Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Eastern European Studies Commons Recommended Citation Wensierski, Peter (1983) ""Ex Oriente Pax?"," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 3 : Iss. 8 , Article 3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol3/iss8/3 This Article, Exploration, or Report is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ."EX· ORI�NTE PAX?"* by .Peter Wensierski Peter Wensierski is editor. of Kirche im Sozialismus (West Berlin) , a periodical ·, devoted primarily to religious issues in East Germany. Wensierski' s "Theses on the Role .of the Church in the G. D. R. " was published in· OPREE , Vol. 3, No. 4 (May 1983) , · pp. 22-29. The Fifteenth Party Congress of the GDR-CDU (Christian Democratic Union of East Germany) was held in October , 1982. The GDR-CDU should not be confused with its namesake, the CDU of West Germany , the new party in powe . The GDR-CDU has 125,000 members and is the second largest party r: . in. the. GDR (East Germa11y) after the SED (Socialist Unity Party of East Germany). ComEared with its West German namesake , the GDR-CDU has very little la,titude.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stasi at Home and Abroad the Stasi at Home and Abroad Domestic Order and Foreign Intelligence
    Bulletin of the GHI | Supplement 9 the GHI | Supplement of Bulletin Bulletin of the German Historical Institute Supplement 9 (2014) The Stasi at Home and Abroad Stasi The The Stasi at Home and Abroad Domestic Order and Foreign Intelligence Edited by Uwe Spiekermann 1607 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW WWW.GHI-DC.ORG WASHINGTON DC 20009 USA [email protected] Bulletin of the German Historical Institute Washington DC Editor: Richard F. Wetzell Supplement 9 Supplement Editor: Patricia C. Sutcliffe The Bulletin appears twice and the Supplement usually once a year; all are available free of charge and online at our website www.ghi-dc.org. To sign up for a subscription or to report an address change, please contact Ms. Susanne Fabricius at [email protected]. For general inquiries, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. German Historical Institute 1607 New Hampshire Ave NW Washington DC 20009-2562 Phone: (202) 387-3377 Fax: (202) 483-3430 Disclaimer: The views and conclusions presented in the papers published here are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent the position of the German Historical Institute. © German Historical Institute 2014 All rights reserved ISSN 1048-9134 Cover: People storming the headquarters of the Ministry for National Security in Berlin-Lichtenfelde on January 15, 1990, to prevent any further destruction of the Stasi fi les then in progress. The poster on the wall forms an acrostic poem of the word Stasi, characterizing the activities of the organization as Schlagen (hitting), Treten (kicking), Abhören (monitoring),
    [Show full text]
  • The Wolf Biermann Story
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1980 There is a life before death: The Wolf Biermann story John Shreve The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Shreve, John, "There is a life before death: The Wolf Biermann story" (1980). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5262. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5262 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th is is an unpublished m a n u s c r ip t in w h ic h c o p y r ig h t sub ­ s i s t s . Any further r e p r in t in g of it s contents must be approved BY THE AUTHOR. Ma n s f ie l d L ib r a r y Un iv e r s it y o f-M ontana D ate: 198 0 THERE IS A LIFE BEFORE DEATH THE WOLF BIERMANN STORY by John Shreve B.A., University of Montana, 1976 Presented 1n p a rtial fu lfillm e n t of the requirements fo r the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1980 Approved by: & Chairman, Board of Examiners Deari% Graduate Scho6T S'-U- S'o Date UMI Number: EP40726 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
    [Show full text]
  • "Ein Staat Der Jugend": the Politics of Socialist Patriotism and National Consciousness in Shaping Youth Policy in the German Democratic Republic, 1961-1967
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History History, Department of 12-2011 "Ein Staat der Jugend": The Politics of Socialist Patriotism and National Consciousness in Shaping Youth Policy in the German Democratic Republic, 1961-1967 Regina K. Ernest University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss Part of the European History Commons Ernest, Regina K., ""Ein Staat der Jugend": The Politics of Socialist Patriotism and National Consciousness in Shaping Youth Policy in the German Democratic Republic, 1961-1967" (2011). Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History. 45. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss/45 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. “EIN STAAT DER JUGEND”: THE POLITICS OF SOCIALIST PATRIOTISM AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN SHAPING YOUTH POLICY IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, 1961-1967 by Regina K. Ernest A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: History Under the Supervision of Professor James D. Le Sueur Lincoln, Nebraska December, 2011 “EIN STAAT DER JUGEND”: THE POLITICS OF SOCIALIST PATRIOTISM AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN SHAPING YOUTH POLICY IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, 1961-1967 Regina Kae Ernest, M.A. University of Nebraska, 2011 Adviser: James D. Le Sueur In attempts to bridge the increasing gap between youth and socialism in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s, the Socialist Unity Party (SED) modified its youth policy by encouraging a socialist patriotic consciousness rather than solely emphasizing socialist development.
    [Show full text]
  • Dialogue As a Strategy of Struggle: Religious Politics in East Germany, 1957–1968
    Contemporary European History (2020), 29, 171–186 doi:10.1017/S0960777320000065 ARTICLE Dialogue as a Strategy of Struggle: Religious Politics in East Germany, 1957–1968 Heléna Tóth History Department, Otto-Friedrich-University, Fischstrasse 5/7, 96047 Bamberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract This article argues that the topos of dialogue between Christians and Marxists fulfilled a key role in the creation and maintenance of power relations in religious politics in East Germany. Three case studies illus- trate the topos of dialogue as a strategy of struggle: 1. the campaign against ‘revisionism’ and ‘politicised religion’; 2. the church policy strategy of ‘differentiation’; 3. the critique of the phenomena commonly associated with the Christian–Marxist dialogue outside East Germany in the mid-1960s. These instances of socialist religious politics, while having their own dynamics, were closely related through specific actors and argumentative strategies. In 1990, one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, long-time editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (JES), Leonard Swidler, took stock of the history of the Christian–Marxist dialogue as a long tradition with renewed political relevance. Swidler believed that the rapidly changing tectonics of global politics made a historical overview necessary: as ‘today the two Communist giants, the USSR and China, are in a variety of ways opening themselves up to dialogue and cooperation with many of their erstwhile enemies, including Christianity’.1 Together with the co-editor of
    [Show full text]
  • East Germany: the Stasi and De-Stasification
    East Germany: The Stasi and De-Stasification JOHN O. KOEHLER hortly after Mikhail Gorbachev was installed as secretary general of the Sovi- Set Union’s Communist Party in the spring of 1985, he began to pursue his liberalization policies of glasnost and perestroika. The impact was felt almost immediately within the ruling Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED), the Communist Party of the East German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). Gorbachev’s policies gave new hope for political, economic, and social renewal to those disenchanted with the gerontological Stalinist leadership of Erich Honecker and his sycophants.1 A new wind was blowing from the East, generated by the “great teacher”—the Soviet Union. In line with the USSR’s change of course, both Moscow’s German- language propaganda magazine, Sputnik, and its weekly newspaper, Neue Zeit, reprinted Gorbachev’s speeches and editorialized on the necessity for reforms of the socialist system. For East Germany’s leaders, however, they became hostile publications and were banned despite protests emanating from Moscow. Nonethe- less, they presaged a major change: For the first time since the founding of the DDR in 1949, the restlessness of Party members and much of the citizenry could not be blamed on the capitalist enemy of the proletariat. Until the mid-1980s, opposition to the regime was largely underground, although hundreds of thousands of burghers spent time in penitentiaries for pub- licly voicing their discontent. The repression began immediately after the end of World War II, carried out by Soviet security services and German Communist Party veterans (both those who had been in exile in the Soviet Union and those that had survived Nazi imprisonment).
    [Show full text]
  • Moscow and the Angolan Crisis, 1974-1976: a New
    COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 5 Havana’s Policy in Africa, 1959-76: New Evidence from Cuban Archives by Piero Gleijeses1 cal ploys of a client state—that prevails Frequently the edited lines contained in the United States. Yet it has attracted the remarks of a foreign leader criticiz- The dearth of documents and his- virtually no attention. It is a significant ing his own political allies; thus, to ex- torical context has hampered rigorous lacuna. As a Cuban official told me, plain why half a page had been sani- analysis of Cuba’s intervention in “Cuba’s intervention in Angola cannot tized [Doc. 5], Risquet wrote, “the con- Angola in 1975. Despite the interest be understood without looking at our versation that followed was about in- 2 scholars have shown in the episode, the past.” ternal MPLA matters that [Angolan lack of Cuban documents and the closed Whereas those who publish in the President Agostinho] Neto discussed nature of Cuban society have prevented Bulletin generally use archives that have with [Cuban official Díaz] Argüelles. It them from being able to accurately de- been opened, the Cuban archives I have would be unethical to make them pub- scribe Cuba’s actions. I have gone to used are still closed. This requires, then, lic.”3 In the case of three intelligence Havana six times, for a total of six an explanation of my modus operandi. documents, the sanitized paragraphs months, since 1993 to research Cuban There was no established declassi- would have revealed sources. In other policy toward Africa, and I have gained fication process in Cuba when I began cases the lines (or words) sanitized in- access to the archives of the Central my research.
    [Show full text]
  • IAMCR on the East-West Battlefield: a Study on the GDR's Attempts to Use
    International Journal of Communication 8 (2014), 2071–2089 1932–8036/20140005 IAMCR on the East-West Battlefield: A Study on the GDR’s Attempts to Use the Association for Diplomatic Purposes MICHAEL MEYEN University of Munich, Germany This article contributes to the Cold War history of the field of communication in general and international communication associations in particular. Based on Bourdieu’s sociology and using files from Leipzig’s University Archive and the Berlin Federal Archives, the present study shows how the German Democratic Republic (GDR) used the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) as a tool in the country’s fight for international recognition. The communists in East Berlin tried to influence both the association’s program, including the respective publications, as well as its leadership recruitment. Despite the limited success of these efforts, this episode changed the field’s structures. Since IAMCR was hampered by political fights, the International Communication Association (ICA) was able to embark on its procession to become the world’s leading scholarly communication association. Keywords: history of communication research, associations, Bourdieu Introduction This article deals with an almost forgotten part of the history of communication: the East-West conflict within the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). From the mid-1960s until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the association’s conferences were not just forums for presenting academic results but also (maybe even more so) ideological battlefields (Nordenstreng, 2008). As this analysis reveals, the Eastern European countries, especially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), tried to influence both the program, including its related publications, as well as leadership recruitment.
    [Show full text]