Global histories a student journal Solidarity or System Stabilization? Chilean Exile in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – An Analysis of the Media Coverage of Neues Deutschland Authors: David Kristen and Georg Sturm DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/GHSJ.2020.366 Source: Global Histories, Vol. 6, No. 1 (December 2020), pp. 72-88. ISSN: 2366-780X Copyright © 2020 David Kristen and Georg Sturm License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Publisher information: ‘Global Histories: A Student Journal’ is an open-access bi-annual journal founded in 2015 by students of the M.A. program Global History at Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. ‘Global Histories’ is published by an editorial board of Global History students in association with the Freie Universität Berlin. Freie Universität Berlin Global Histories: A Student Journal Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut Koserstraße 20 14195 Berlin Contact information: For more information, please consult our website www.globalhistories.com or contact the editor at: [email protected]. IV. CHILE Solidarity or System Stabilization? Chilean Exile in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – An Analysis of the Media Coverage of Neues Deutschland by DAVID KRISTEN AND GEORG STURM 72 Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 David Kristen and Georg Sturm | Solidarity or System Stabilization? 73 tageszeitung (taz). VI - 1 - 2020 | , ABOUT THE AUTHORS antifascist myth his academic research on Latin America, Peace and America, Peace his academic research on Latin and international class International Cooperation (giz). Georg Sturm focuses International Cooperation (giz). Georg Sturm Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Universität of Commerce in Chile and the German Corporation for Potsdam. David Kristen´s main areas of interest are the Potsdam. Conflict Studies and political theory. He currently works He currently works Studies and political theory. Conflict as a freelance journalist for Neues Deutschland and die David Kristen and Georg Sturm are both completing the David Kristen and Georg Sturm fields of political economy and security policy. He gained fields of political economy and security policy. professional experience working for the German Chamber professional experience Global Histories: a student journal International Relations masters program at Freie Universität International Relations media coverage, the outstanding media coverage, opposition to illegitimate state , Neues Deutschland ABSTRACT the instrumentalization by the SED This paper examines of Germany) of granting asylum to (Socialist Unity Party Chileans in the GDR after the military coup in 1973. By conducting both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of importance of Chile to the GDR is shown. This study is based on the post-positivist understanding of frames as interpretation schemes that structure and create different social realities. Based on three main repetitive frames: struggle this article argues that the displayed resistance against the dictatorship in Chile and the solidarity with Chilean opposition aimed to justify and stabilize the GDR state system. and exiles The solidarity with Chile and the admission of refugees was stylized in order to underline the moral superiority of the The of Cold War. ideological framework in the context GDR’s high number of related articles and the multitude of analyzed articles support the theoretical assumptions and highlights the instrumentalization of Chilean Exile to the GDR. The findings indicate that the media coverage can be understood as a tool for system stabilization while the solidarity seemed to be in a variety of actions. existent ? n o i class struggle. The Chilean case t INTRODUCTION a z i l was of special importance to both i b a t The Chilean Cause is our Cause. supporters and opponents of the S 1,2 m Erich Honecker, 12.09.1974 Socialist Unity Party of Germany e t s y (SED) regime, which led to an S r After the military coup extraordinary presence in the GDR o y t i r against the democratically elected media. This article analyses the a d i l socialist government of Salvador dominant discourses used to present o S Allende in 1973, up to one million the GDR’s solidarity work with Chile | m r Chileans fled the country. About by examining the media coverage of u t S 2000 Chileans sought refuge in the official party newspaper of the g r o Eastern Germany during Pinochet’s SED. We demonstrate the reasons e G 3 17 year rule. Solidarity with the other than humanist solidarity d n a “antifascist resistance of the Chilean that might have led to the GDR’s n e 4 t people” against the internationally admission of Chileans fleeing from s i r K criticized authoritarian military the military junta. We argue that d i v a dictatorship, and with the supporters although the solidarity was real, the D of the Chilean Way to Socialism5 main purpose was to highlight the played an important role for the moral justification of the GDR’s own German Democratic Republic (GDR), system, and their usage of narratives whose national identity was based such as antifascism, class struggle on antifascism and international and opposition to unjust government. This instrumentalization had the objective of stabilizing the GDR 1 Erich Honecker cited in “Brüderliche regime by gaining legitimation among Begegnung mit Kämpfern der Unidad their own population. Popular,” Neues Deutschland, The case of Chile September 12, 1974, 1-2. demonstrates the global dimension 2 All citations are translated from German to English. of the Cold War, and how domestic 3 Jost Maurin, “Flüchtlinge als politics affected by international politisches Instrument – Chilenische system conflict developed their own Emigranten in der DDR 1973–1989,” dynamics. By attempting to establish Totalitarismus und Demokratie, no. 2 socialism via democratic elections (2005): 346. 4 “Alle Völker der Erde sind an as a “third way” between capitalism unserer Seite,” Neues Deutschland, and communism, the political project September 12, 1974, 5. of Salvador Allende was drawn into 5 Salvador Allende coined the term these dynamics and found its sudden “the Chilean Way to Socialism” (Also: end in the 1973 coup. This paper The Chilean Road to Socialism) as a metaphor for the proper ideas follows the conceptual frameworks and implementation of socialism in in the field of international history, Chile. Sometimes it is also referred analyzing the Cold War as a global as “third way” between the two phenomenon transcending its predominant ideologies capitalism simplistic characterization as a and communism. 74 Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 D a 6 8 v i bipolar conflict of two superpowers. such as economic interests. d K r Referring to the military This speech also illustrates i s t e overthrow, the General Secretary of the rather rationalist reasons n a the SED, Erich Honecker highlighted of self-interest that might have n d G the extraordinary importance of driven the GDR to grant asylum e o r solidarity with Chile to his country to Chilean refugees: the military g S t in his speech during a meeting with coup of Pinochet had been widely u r m leaders of the Popular Unity (UP) rejected by many countries all | S published by Neues Deutschland over the world. Since one of o l i d (ND). He emphasized that the the main purposes of Eastern a r i t “Chilean people are certainly not German foreign policy was to y o r alone”, since “all progressive, gain international appreciation, S y s democratic, humane, upright the SED-government tried to t e people all over the world” were m place itself at the head of the S t supporting them. As citizens of the international solidarity movement a b i 9 l i “first German workers’ and peasants’ with Chile. Moreover, many East z a t i state” Honecker considered their German citizens—including those o n “internationalist class obligation […] in opposition to the SED-regime— ? to do everything in order to help the supported the government of Chilean people to free themselves Salvador Allende, since it was from the scourge of fascism.”7 taken as evidence that a socialist While the SED presented transformation via democratic their support for the opposition elections was possible.10 in Chile as an act of humane and Therefore, the harsh criticism of selfless solidarity, this was not Pinochet’s military coup and the self-evident, as the handling of following dictatorship, and the the Argentine military dictatorship politics of solidarity with Chilean shows. Human rights violations opposition served the purpose of the military junta were not of gaining support among the publicly rejected, as in the case of Pinochet’s dictatorship. This demonstrates how the GDR dealt 8 Sebastian Koch, Zufluchtsort DDR?: with similar regimes selectively Chilenische Flüchtlinge und die Ausländerpolitik der SED (Sammlung depending on different factors, Schöningh zur Geschichte und Gegenwart, 2016), 111. 9 Patrice G. Poutrus, “Zuflucht im 6 For more information see: Richard H. Nachkriegsdeutschland. Politik und Immerman and Petra Goedde, The Praxis der Flüchtlingsaufnahme in Oxford Handbook of the Cold War Bundesrepublik und DDR von den (Oxford: Oxford University Press, späten 1940er bis zu den 1970er 2013). Jahren,” Geschichte und Gesellschaft. 7 Erich Honecker cited in “Brüderliche Zeitschrift für Historische Begegnung mit Kämpfern der Unidad Sozialwissenschaft, no. 35 (2009): Popular,” Neues Deutschland, 135–175. September 12, 1974, 1-2. 10 Koch, Zufluchtsort DDR, 113. Global Histories: a student journal | VI - 1 - 2020 75 ? n o i t population by depicting a common asylum: “The GDR can grant a z i l enemy and referring to the asylum to citizens of other states i b a t antifascist founding myth of the (…) if they have been persecuted S m GDR. As the term “solidarity” is of for political (…) activities in e t s y central importance for this paper, defense of peace, democracy, S r o a brief theoretical embedding the interests of the working y 14 t i r is reasonable.