ABSTRACT
The chapter analyzes the handling of interracial relationships in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It examines the official and institutional approaches to the legal management of these relationships, looks at the mechanisms of prevention and facilitation in place, and raises the question of historical continuities with the former Nazi regime after the end of the World War II and the founding of two German states. The issue of interracialized relationships was so controversial for the GDR not least because of its political context: in deliberate contrast to neighboring West Germany, the GDR always presented itself as the more humane, more social, more international and, above all, ‘anti-fascist’ alternative. However, the authorities often took a restrictive approach to interracialized couples. This included not only restrictions on emigration, but also the prevention of marriages that were deemed unfit for marriage. The chapter also illustrates the responses of interracialized couples in the face of institutional uncertainty and adversity.
