ABSTRACT
The Nigeria-Biafra war (1967-1970) drew more public attention in Western countries than any other African conflict before. Using West Germany as example, which was surpassed only by the United States in terms of donations for Biafra, this chapter examines the conflation of events that resulted in this unprecedented level of interest and involvement. West Germany had never seen such intensive media coverage of an African conflict, and public and government aid donations totaled 70 million marks, far exceeding previous West German donations for any other humanitarian cause. This chapter will provide the first analysis of West Germany’s response to the Nigerian civil war. It asks how West Germans perceived the conflict, what motivated them to donate money, why they sided strongly with Biafra, and why the West German government became deeply involved with humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict. With a broad sample of both archival and published material (official documents, documents of non-governmental organizations and press articles) the West German reception of the Nigeria-Biafra war is analyzed from different perspectives. [The actors examined are nongovernmental aid agencies (German Caritas, German Red Cross, and the social service organization of the protestant Church Diakonisches Werk); Nigerians and Biafrans in Germany; solidarity groups (Aktion Biafra-Hilfe); the German government; and the German public (represented by letters written to the German government). The chapter argues that immediately following the onset of the war, the Churches and Biafrans in Germany perceived the conflict as a persecution of Christians and took up the Biafran cause. It examines how the media presented the war in a way that invited identification with the Biafrans and generated new support for Biafra in the form of solidarity groups. Furthermore, it explores the German public’s association of the media coverage with painful personal experiences. Finally, it will address how mounting public pressure compelled the West German government and the German Red Cross to provide large donations for victims on both sides of the conflict.
