Ernst Thälmann Island
Encyclopedia
Ernst Thälmann Island is a 15 kilometre long and 500 metre wide Cuba
n island
in the Gulf of Cazones
named for German Communist politician Ernst Thälmann
. It contains highly developed reef formations with a high degree of biodiversity
and hosts a number of endangered species
, including black coral and various ornamental reef fish species. It has extensive largely untouched beaches and provides nursery areas for snappers. The island is uninhabited, other than occasional tourists and the indigenous Cuban Iguanas and birds that have their habitat there.
Until 1972, the island was known as Cayo Blanco del Sur. On the occasion of a state visit in June 1972 by Erich Honecker
, Fidel Castro
renamed the island in honour of German Communist
politician Ernst Thälmann
, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) during much of the Weimar Republic
. According to a newspaper article in Neues Deutschland
dated 20 June 1972 the Cuban leader announced the renaming of the island, and one of its beaches to Playa "República Democrática Alemana" ("German Democratic Republic
" Beach). East Germany's state television newscast, Aktuelle Kamera
, reported on the ceremony and the unveiling of a bust of Ernst Thälmann on 18 August 1972 in the presence of the GDR ambassador, some East German delegates, and approximately 100 Cuban representatives.
In March 1975 the East German government sent singer Frank Schöbel
to Cuba to make some music videos, and some footage of the island was shot, which was later included in a documentary emphasising the island as a symbol of GDR-Cuba friendship.
In 1998, the island was hit severely by Hurricane Mitch
, knocking over the bust of Ernst Thälmann.
According to both the Cuban embassy in Germany and the German Foreign Office, the renaming was a "symbolic act" - the island was never transferred to East Germany and remains part of Cuba.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Gulf of Cazones
Gulf of Cazones
Gulf of Cazones is a large gulf in southern Cuba. It is located at , south of provinces of Matanzas and Cienfuegos....
named for German Communist politician Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
. It contains highly developed reef formations with a high degree of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and hosts a number of endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, including black coral and various ornamental reef fish species. It has extensive largely untouched beaches and provides nursery areas for snappers. The island is uninhabited, other than occasional tourists and the indigenous Cuban Iguanas and birds that have their habitat there.
Until 1972, the island was known as Cayo Blanco del Sur. On the occasion of a state visit in June 1972 by Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
renamed the island in honour of German Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
politician Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) during much of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. According to a newspaper article in Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
dated 20 June 1972 the Cuban leader announced the renaming of the island, and one of its beaches to Playa "República Democrática Alemana" ("German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
" Beach). East Germany's state television newscast, Aktuelle Kamera
Aktuelle Kamera
Aktuelle Kamera was the state television newscast of the former German Democratic Republic . On air from December 21, 1952 to December 14, 1990, Aktuelle Kamera was one of the main propaganda tools of the East German government.- Editorial line :In the very early days of East German television...
, reported on the ceremony and the unveiling of a bust of Ernst Thälmann on 18 August 1972 in the presence of the GDR ambassador, some East German delegates, and approximately 100 Cuban representatives.
In March 1975 the East German government sent singer Frank Schöbel
Frank Schöbel
Frank Schöbel Frank Schöbel Frank Schöbel (b. 11 December 1942, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany is a German musician. He was one of the most successful pop singers in communist East Germany (GDR) and remained so after the German reunification.-Career:...
to Cuba to make some music videos, and some footage of the island was shot, which was later included in a documentary emphasising the island as a symbol of GDR-Cuba friendship.
In 1998, the island was hit severely by Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
, knocking over the bust of Ernst Thälmann.
According to both the Cuban embassy in Germany and the German Foreign Office, the renaming was a "symbolic act" - the island was never transferred to East Germany and remains part of Cuba.