Special Flights to Southern Africa: The Gdr and Liberation Movements on South Africa (Southern Africa Specialised Studies)
by Hans-Georg Schleicher, Ilona Schleicher
Category: History

The German authors spent ten years in southern Africa, one as a diplomat, and one an academic. They have studied here the GDR's past, notably its links with the national liberation movements in southern Africa. The record is particularly important since liberation movements largely had neither the time nor resources to keep records and documents. The study looks at the history of both sides, including the conflict-ridden evolution of the liberation movements. The GDR's interests are described in great detail, specifically the interplay of the East and West as a major factor in the GDR's foreign policy and its association with the liberation movements. This relationship is presented within the context of evolutions and internal developments within the liberation movements against the Cold War confrontation in that era.