African Students in East Germany is a transnational project that follows African students from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Togo, Zambia, and Guinea to the Communist-ruled German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1949 to 1975. Although Cold War literature on African students in the Communist bloc has shed light on these students’ experiences, much of it is in journal articles. There are very few monographs on this subject, and Sara Pugach's book thus fills a gap. By focusing on the history of African students’ search for higher education after the Second World War, the book helps to shift Cold War discussions from the overstudied East-West tensions by centering African students as active participants who also shaped the Cold War conflict. Although the African–East German history Pugach recounts here consists of characters from different countries who had different agendas, she successfully ties the group together to create a moving story that gives agency to...

You do not currently have access to this content.