Anti-imperialism and internationalism were foundational political principles that grounded the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) global relations and reach. These ideas also functioned as discursive and material counterpoints to the West’s economic and social order. The GDR enacted a vast solidarity programme supporting liberation movements in Algeria, Nicaragua, Palestine, South Africa, and elsewhere. The GDR also hosted politically-persecuted activists and their relatives from Chile, Iran, and Turkey and sent its doctors to assist the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Liberation Front of Mozambique, FRELIMO). Through education, medical assistance, and infrastructural and military aid, the GDR contributed to social and political needs of allied peoples and nations.

Rooted in both state agenda and societal ethos, the GDR’s solidarity movement formed alongside global conflicts, garnering considerable support until the 1970s. In particular, the Solidarity Committee, in collaboration with unions and mass organizations, mobilized GDR citizens in factories, schools, and neighbourhoods. Their efforts ranged from declarations of solidarity to international brigades aiding in building schools and hospitals, as well as material donations.

However, power dynamics within the socialist camp existed as the GDR was occupying and marshalling their influential position, often shrouded under the guise of ‘development’. Genuine support for liberation movements and allied countries coexisted alongside political and economic self-interest. After West Germany’s Hallstein Doctrine of 1955, which sanctioned countries that formally recognized East Germany, the GDR’s foreign policy interests centred on establishing diplomatic relations, especially with recently decolonized countries, not least in order to retain and gain influence in a divided world.

The GDR’s anti-fascist stance remained an ideal without actively coming to terms with its own colonial and National Socialist legacies. Everyday and institutional racism were often relativized or rendered taboo. Although internationalist solidarity was practised across borders, internal policies continued to create social segregation. Nonetheless, connections formed amongst migrants and GDR citizens, fostering friendships, love affairs, and families.

This thematic resonance collects the aesthetic materializations of that historic moment of solidarity traversing the GDR, its allies, and liberation struggles throughout the world. Posters and songs capture a glimpse of the ways in which solidarity was conveyed and enacted. The materials invite visitors to critically appraise what international solidarity meant in the past, and consider what it could look like today. These cultural expressions highlighted national struggles for freedom as internationalist and interconnected causes. From Silvio Rodríguez’s homage to Vietnam to Miriam Makeba’s defiance against South African apartheid, songs became anthems of unity and resistance. Musicians like Ahmed Wahby and Victor Jara too used their art as a potent weapon against colonialism and oppression. The GDR’s Festival des Politischen Liedes [Festival of political songs] became a symbolic gathering where international musicians came together against oppression.

In print, magazines and posters served as transnational tools that facilitated information exchange and political pedagogy. Alongside the displayed posters and songs, further material, including magazines, can be explored in the Expanded Library. The Tricontinental Bulletin, published by the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (OSPAAL), circulated revolutionary propaganda and calls for solidarity in multiple languages. The brochure series Für Antiimperialistische Solidarität [For anti-imperialist solidarity] published by the GDR’s Solidaritätskomitee (solidarity committee) played a crucial role in keeping GDR citizens informed about global struggles. Its support extended to editing and printing Sechaba, the African National Congress’s (ANC) magazine in exile between 1967 and 1990.

Solidarity songs, magazines, and posters not only circulated information, but also fostered a political culture by weaving transcultural identities into a tapestry of revolutionary causes. Nevertheless, the legacy of the GDR’s internationalist solidarity warrants critical examination. From the exchange of labour and education to material aid and resource extraction, reflecting on its continuities helps to grasp the ambivalences inherent within internationalist solidarity and its geopolitical entanglements. This material tells a contested history of solidarities embedded in the polarizing climate of the Cold War.