The Challenges of Knowledge Transfer during the Cold War: Exchange between East Germany and North Vietnam, 1953-1968

Abstract

The exchange of knowledge was a powerful method to strengthen international relations in the 1950s and early 1960s. It came during a tense time: the start of the Cold War and the divide over socialist ideology. In the socialist world, exchange became a gateway for states to interact and engage with de-colonizing nations, and therefore, to advance the socialist cause. This thesis explores the relationship between East Berlin and North Vietnam from 1953 to 1968. It follows the knowledge exchange programs between the two states as a front line for the tensions of the socialist world. This thesis further approaches exchange through the lens of national identity and the intra-struggles of the international socialist movement. It challenges the meaning of “exchange of knowledge” to include all areas of technological and scientific development, including the field of state security and intelligence. It also makes use of extensive research from the Foundation Archives of Parties and Mass Organizations of the GDR in the Federal Archives of Germany and the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR.