Aden 1986 – The Forgotten Evacuation [in German]

by Hans Jürgen Wendler

In the final phase of the Cold War, as Moscow is losing its grip on the world-wide socialist community of states, a civil war in socialist southern Yemen forces thousands of foreigners to flee to the beaches of Aden. They are brought to safety in a joint rescue mission across Cold War frontiers, including ships from East and West. For the first time in the history of sea evacuations since 1945, a German freighter – the MS “Müggelsee” – is part of the mission. Despite the positive role the GDR played in the rescue mission, it subsequently increases the control of its merchant marine. Thirty years later, contemporary witnesses share their memories and the foreign ministries of both Germanies open their archives. Available only in German.

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CARPO Studies, Hans Jürgen Wendler, Publications