BEDFELLOWS ON STALIN AVENUE.

The article examines the Cold War-era solidarity between East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, GDR) and North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK), highlighting how shared socialist ideology and experiences of division and wartime devastation fostered a sense of closeness despite geographic distance. It details East German aid efforts to North Korea following the Korean War, including the 1954 "solidarity train" delivering supplies, and explores how this solidarity was framed through a narrative of shared victimhood, particularly in relation to Allied bombing campaigns. The GDR's international solidarity campaigns extended beyond Korea to other socialist-aligned and postcolonial states, involving both state initiatives and citizen participation, often under complex social pressures. While the GDR-DPRK relationship waned over time, the article notes ongoing symbolic and political interest in German reunification as a reference point for Korean unification efforts.