West German Solidarity Movements and the Struggle for the Decolonization of Lusophone Africa

Abstract

The violent decolonization of Portugal’s colonial empire in Africa was not fought on the battlefields of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau alone. An important part of the African liberation movements’ struggle was the search for political and material support, which they received from independent African countries, socialist states and numerous non-state actors in the West. As part of a broader wave of internationalism, a solidarity movement in support of the liberation movements in Portugal’s African colonies emerged in West Germany as well. This was partially a response to the West German governments’ close cooperation with the Estado Novo regime (Salazar’s New State) in Lisbon. This article gives an overview of the development and participants of West Germany’s solidarity groups and their activities during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Keywords

• African liberation movements
• decolonization
• international solidarity
• internationalism
• Portuguese Colonial War
• West Germany