Research Article

ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Number: Özel Sayı March 24, 2026
TR EN

ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Abstract

This article will prove how the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) used military support as a key tool to break through the West German diplomatic blockade. After the foundation of the GDR in 1949, no country in the world except for the Soviet Union and their satellites recognized this new state diplomatically. This was due to the West German government’s claim to sole representation of Germany and all Germans. From the GDR perspective, it was primarily the Middle East and the states in Africa that emerged after 1960 which offered the most likely chances to overcome international isolation. The employment of military channels seemed to be particularly promising. The fact that military contacts played an essential role in GDR foreign policy toward developing countries was obvious given the importance of the military in those states. This article attests to this key function using the military assistance and weapons deliveries of the GDR for Zanzibar, Tanzania, Guinea and especially Egypt as examples. Nasser’s Egypt was an ideal recipient of both diplomatic and military East German approaches. Nasser viewed the increasingly closer relations between West Germany and Israel with suspicion. The Six-Day War of 1967 finally opened a chance for the regime in East Berlin to achieve a major diplomatic breakthrough by delivering weapons that Egypt desperately needed.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

German Armed Forces Center of Military History and Social Science and German Armed Forces Center for languages

Ethical Statement

This article, prepared for the special issue on Non-Western Diplomacies, is based on selected excerpts from the author’s dissertation on military assistance provided by the GDR for states of the Global South, which was published in German as: Storkmann, Klaus. 2012. Geheime Solidarität: Militärbeziehungen und Militärhilfen der DDR in die “Dritte Welt”. Berlin: Ch. Links Verlag. This research is now being made available to a wider international audience in the English language for the first time.

Thanks

Thanks to Mrs. Birgit Krüger from the German Armed Forces Center for languages´ office at the German Armed Forces Center of Military History and Social Science for translating from German into English.

References

  1. List of Archives
  2. German Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv, BArch), Berlin and Freiburg i. Br.
  3. Bundesarchiv. 1964a. “GDR-Embassy Sansibar, report Aktion ‘Film,’ 15 Mar 1964.” File DVW 1/114471. Berlin.
  4. Bundesarchiv. 1964b. “GDR-Embassy Sansibar, final report Action ‘Film,’ 12 Apr 1964.” File DVW 1/114471. Berlin.
  5. Bundesarchiv. 1964c. “East German Ministry of National Defence (MoND), Minister General of the Army Hoffmann, to Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party SED, Secretary for Security Affairs, Erich Honecker, 21 Apr 1964.” File DVW 1/114471. Berlin.
  6. Bundesarchiv. 1966a. “MoND, General of the Army Hoffmann, to MoD USSR, Minister Marshall of the Soviet Union Grechkov, 30 Jun 1966.” File AZN 28040. Berlin.
  7. Bundesarchiv. 1966b. “MoND, Minister General of the Army Hoffmann, to Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Willi Stoph, 04 Apr 1966.” File DC 20/12338. Berlin.
  8. Bundesarchiv. 1966c. “Letter from Secretary General of PAIGC, dated 10 Aug 1966.” File DZ 8/7303-662. Without pagination. Berlin.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

International Security

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 24, 2026

Submission Date

January 9, 2025

Acceptance Date

May 20, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Özel Sayı

APA
Storkmann, K. (2026). ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. Diplomasi Ve Strateji Dergisi, Özel Sayı, 1-33. https://doi.org/10.58685/dsd.1616737
AMA
1.Storkmann K. ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. DSJOURNAL. 2026;(Özel Sayı):1-33. doi:10.58685/dsd.1616737
Chicago
Storkmann, Klaus. 2026. “ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST”. Diplomasi Ve Strateji Dergisi, no. Özel Sayı: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.58685/dsd.1616737.
EndNote
Storkmann K (March 1, 2026) ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. Diplomasi ve Strateji Dergisi Özel Sayı 1–33.
IEEE
[1]K. Storkmann, “ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST”, DSJOURNAL, no. Özel Sayı, pp. 1–33, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.58685/dsd.1616737.
ISNAD
Storkmann, Klaus. “ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST”. Diplomasi ve Strateji Dergisi. Özel Sayı (March 1, 2026): 1-33. https://doi.org/10.58685/dsd.1616737.
JAMA
1.Storkmann K. ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. DSJOURNAL. 2026;:1–33.
MLA
Storkmann, Klaus. “ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST”. Diplomasi Ve Strateji Dergisi, no. Özel Sayı, Mar. 2026, pp. 1-33, doi:10.58685/dsd.1616737.
Vancouver
1.Klaus Storkmann. ARMED FORCES AS A DOOR OPENER FOR DIPLOMACY: DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BY PROVIDING MILITARY SUPPORT TO AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. DSJOURNAL. 2026 Mar. 1;(Özel Sayı):1-33. doi:10.58685/dsd.1616737

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