Showcasing Cold War Germany in Cairo: 1954 and 1957 Industrial Exhibitions and the Competition for Arab Partners

Abstract

East Germany staged two successful industrial exhibitions in Cairo in 1954 and 1957 in an effort to gain Egypt as a trading and eventually diplomatic partner. These displays of East German products and political culture challenged West Germany, which similarly courted Egypt and presented a rival exhibition in Cairo in 1957. They showcased industrial goods from the socialist ‘economic miracle,’ but also revealed German lack of understanding of the Egyptian market and its culture. These exhibitions also showed how Cold War competition between the two Germanys was intertwined with decolonization in Africa and the Arab world, especially when the 1954 show coincided with Gamal Abdel Nasser’s rise to power. East Germany could circumvent West Germany’s Hallstein Doctrine’s goal of diplomatically isolating the socialist state by fostering anti-imperialist solidarity with Arab nations.