Vorspann
Mit dem Staatsstreich gegen die Regierung Allende vom 11. September 1973 wurde Chile zu einem bedeutsamen öffentlichen Streitpunkt in der bundesrepublikanischen politischen Debatte und im Konflikt- und Konkurrenzverhältnis mit der DDR. Die Kontroversen um den blutigen Pinochet-Putsch prägen die Wahrnehmung Chiles bis heute. In Vergessenheit ist dabei geraten, wie wichtig das Land schon längst zuvor für die deutsch-lateinamerikanischen und zunehmend auch die innerdeutschen Beziehungen war. Georg Dufners Aufsatz eröffnet diese zeithistorische Perspektive.
Abstract
Today the coup in Chile on 11 September 1973 is considered a symbol for the horror of South American military dictatorships. The strong presence in the media of persecution, exile and crimes against humanity forced both German states to publicly position themselves, both to the international community as well as to their own population. The dissimilar treatment of the explosive touchstone of the Pinochet dictatorship however often covers up the long and intensive post-war relations, which both West and East Germany enjoyed with the South American state during the 1960s. The Andean country played a leading role on the subcontinent for both Bonn and East Berlin as a promising developing country and political partner, thus becoming a disputed stage for the ideological intra-German conflict. In this process, the highly dynamic political contemporary history of Chile and its international emancipation demanded continuous adaptation of the means and goals of foreign, economic and developmental policy, which provides us with deep insights into the mutual perceptions at the time. The present article will attempt to illuminate which importance these relations had for the three involved states, what the results were and how these have to be assessed.
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