Black Liberation and Transnational Solidarity: Forging an East German Sense of Socialist Citizenship

This presentation examines East German official discourse towards Black American radicalism from the state’s foundation in 1949 through the Free Angela Davis campaign of the early 1970s. Focused on the archives of Neues Deutschland – the ruling Socialist Unity Party’s press organ – it probes how the state interpreted and politically leveraged antiracism to foster the political socialization of its readership. Rejecting the narrative of GDR solidarity as merely driven by Cold War convenience, it situates East German antiracism within a deeper context of Black-Red partnership, tracing how socialist internationalism became increasingly central to post-war generations’ sense of purpose and identity. In doing so, it places transnational solidarity and the lived experience of activism as vital to the appropriation of socialism by millions of young East Germans, enabling unprecedented moments of communion between GDR youth and the regime. By successfully cultivating the image of an East German nation united in struggle on the global frontlines of antiracism, Neues Deutschland allowed citizens to find personal meaning in unfolding events – laying the basis for a positive sense of socialist citizenship rooted in a liberationist collective imaginary.