Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
August 2024
Bridal shoes by Hoffmann, 1989
Historical Context
The prelude to the story of José Angel and Bettina Agüero Villegas, born in 1964 and 1963, begins on October 7, 1949, the day of the founding of the German Democratic Republic, or GDR. Following the division of Germany into the democratic ‘West’ (FRG) and the socialist ‘East’ (GDR), both states develop in different ideological paths against the backdrop of the Cold War.
The GDR was a Soviet satellite state, with a single party, planned economy, and a communist mindset that sought to strengthen its international relations with other socialist ‘brother countries’ for various reasons. Since the revolution led by communist forces under Fidel Castro, the GDR has also maintained contacts with the island nation of Cuba since 1959. Migration between the countries, primarily involving Cuban workers heading to the GDR, is regulated through bilateral agreements.
By 1990, about 30,000 Cubans had come to the GDR. Among them are labor migrants and students, but also highly qualified individuals who work as translators in factories or in Cuban diplomatic missions.
Consequently, the experiences of Cubans in the GDR differ. For some, the technologically and scientifically advanced GDR offers new opportunities for study and other forms of vocational training. For others, especially those migrating as unskilled workers, they suffer from racist discrimination by the population, social isolation, and the pervasive repressive mechanisms of the totalitarian government apparatus of the GDR.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, Cuba calls its citizens back. Most Cubans follow the directive. Nevertheless, some of them return to reunified Germany in the 1990s, particularly those who married in the GDR.
Short biography
José Angel Agüero Villegas is born on July 1, 1964, in the Cuban city of Santa Clara. Initially, the enthusiastic judo practitioner contemplates becoming a physical education teacher, but his interest in mathematics and physics leads him to apply for studies abroad. He studies cybernetics, mathematics, and computing at the Technical University, and later at the Pedagogical University in Dresden, starting in 1984, where he meets his future wife, Bettina.
Bettina, born in 1963 in Großenhain, experiences a ‘classic East German childhood education’ and decides early on that she wants to become a teacher. She also studies German and art education at the Pedagogical University in Dresden when she meets José Angel on a September afternoon in the mid-1980s.
Although the two choose each other, they are aware of the possible challenges of an international relationship in the 1980s in the GDR: ‘It was certainly not common to engage with a ‘stranger.’ Bettina recounts, ‘And if you did and it failed, you were stigmatized for the rest of your life. So, that sounds very dramatic now, but you saw it with the women, especially in the small towns.’
Meaning of the object
The governments of Cuba and the GDR disapprove of such situations. “International solidarity yes, but don’t get involved with a foreigner!” – that is the motto for Bettina and many women of the GDR. Nevertheless, the young couple succeeds in getting married and starting a family. On February 11, 1989, Bettina and José Angel marry officially despite all odds and celebrate in Elsterwerda, a small town north of Dresden.
After José Angel finishes his studies, he not only has to leave the GDR but also bids farewell to his family for an indefinite period. Bettina stays in Germany with the children. In August 1990, shortly before the reunification of Germany, the family is finally reunited.
The shoes belong to Bettina’s wedding outfit and symbolize her steadfastness, not only in the face of state paternalism regarding whom one should love and whom not, but also against racist and discriminatory judgments of their relationship made by German citizens both before and after the reunification of the FRG and GDR.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de