The Global South and the Global Cold War in Berlin – the Divided City as a Locale for African-Asian-Solidarities
Dr. Maria Ketzmerick-Calandrino
Einzelprojekt von Crafting Entanglements: Afro-Asian Pasts of the Global Cold War (CRAFTE)
This subproject explores Afro-Asian actors in divided Berlin from 1961 to 1990, adopting a localized long-term perspective. It examines how local divisions, political bloc integration, and South-South solidarities intersect, with a focus on the interplay between globalized discourses and the everyday practices of racialization.
The project explores the connection between the Berlin Wall's division and the mobility of Afro-Asian actors, questioning the often-presumed closed nature of the Wall. The project highlights how the Wall functioned as both a local and international symbol, deeply embedded in specific political contexts. Additionally, the research examines the state's proclaimed solidarity with the Global South alongside the everyday racialization experienced by marginalized people. It seeks to analyze this tension and its implications for solidarities between different groups facing exclusion and marginalization.
The research is divided into three interrelated dimensions:
- The International Level: Diplomacy in East and West and the “Berlin Question”
This dimension investigates the diplomatic significance of divided Berlin within the UN and other international organizations (e.g., COMECON) and examines how the city was leveraged to build solidarities for other struggles. These were not merely symbolic acts but involved tangible support, including financial aid for the ANC, political asylum, and health guarantees. Similar commitments extended to anti-colonial and anti-racist movements in Mozambique and Angola, with close diplomatic ties to the GDR, which later facilitated the arrival of contract workers. This example illustrates the paradox between the GDR’s official anti-racist stance and its pervasive everyday racism, revealing tensions in the state’s public and private narratives.
- The Divided City as a Space of Mobility for Afro-Asian Actors
This layer examines Berlin as both a material and political space where systemic competition created opportunities for mobility and agency for Afro-Asian actors. This part of the project focuses on the lived experiences of individuals, such as patients in the Solidarity Ward "Jakob Morenga," and other sites of encounter between diverse groups.
- Biographical Approaches: Narratives of Afro-Asian Descent
Through biographical interviews, I trace locations and memories of contact with the East and moments of solidarities/or anti-solidarty between afro-Asian actors.. I plan to explore these deeply personal narratives, now preserved in oral history projects, to expand the archival focus on the GDR’s international history beyond institutional memory. This dimension connects private lives to larger geopolitical and historical frameworks, adding depth to the study of Afro-Asian actors in Berlin.