SOCIETY FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES (GESELLSCHAFT FUR KULTURELLE VERBINDUNGEN MIT DES AUSLAND) (GKVA)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-00915R001300060005-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 17, 1998
• Sequence Number: 5
• Content Type: REPORT

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EAST GERMANY (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) (GDR)
Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (Gesellschaft fur
Kut3ure~le Verb indungeri mid deem Ausland GKVA)
a. Bate established; 7 June 1952.
b. Address: Berlin W 8, Thalmannplatz 8/9.
c. Officers: (1961)
Chairman
(Prof) Robert ALT
(this is a purely honorary position
filled through election by the
Secretariat; has also been referred
to by the title 'President')
Horst ANSPACH
(his position has been given as
Deputy Director-General of the
Society)
Secy General Herbert MEYER
(MEYER is responsible for the acti-
vities of Departments Ia, Ib, Ic,
and Id of the Secretariat)
D/Secys Gen Kurt KANN
(KANN is D/Secy for non-Socialist
countries and is thus responsible
for Departments IIa, Ilb, and IIc
as well as IIe)
(fnu) HENTSCHEL
(HENTSCHEL is D/Secy for Socialist
countries and is thus responsible
for Department IId)
Herbert SCHbNFELD
(SCHoNkELD is D/Secy for Publications
and Coordination and responsible
for the activities of Departments
IIIa and IIId of the Secretariat)
(f nu) TRUEFELDT
(TRUEFELDT is D/Secy for Fairs,
Exhibitions and Film and thus
responsible for Departments IIIb
and hlle)
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Departments
Ia: Office of the Secretariat
Chief
Ib: Personnel
Chief
Members
Ic: Finance
(fnu) STEIR (female)
(fnu) RAUCH
(responsible for personnel matters
in the Publications Department)
Erich RATAJASKI
(in charge of personnel training)
Chief (fnu) BALZ
(also head of the Kampfgruppe of
the Society)
Guenter LOOCH
(this department is primarily con-
cerned with liaison between the
Society and press organ)
Countries, Europe
(fnu) DECKERS
(his special field of responsibility
is England)
Scandinavian Area Desk(?)
Danish Specialist
(fnu) TIPPNER
Finnish specialist
Lotte WOLFF (F)
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France/Benelux Area Desk
Acting Ch Werner WALDEYER
(may be responsible for Netherlands)
Specialist for France
(fnu) {ASWAN
Rosel STUDENT
Italian area desk( a.).
Specialist for Italy
(fnu) PAFFRATH (F)
IIb: Western Countries, Overseas
Chief Wolfgang BENDIX (M. W. BENDIX)
American Area Desk (includes Latin America)
Chief Bruno TAEUSCHER
Latin-American specialists
Karl HEINZ
Geerda N, ULLER (F )
Far Eastern Area Desk (1960)
Chief (-possibly G. FIELBRANDT)
Specialist for India and Ceylon
(f nu) BASE
Specialist for Japan, Burma, and New Zealand
G. EIBRANJ T
Specialist for Indonesia
B . TtR
Chief Gerhard WETZEL
(may soon be replaced to take a
GKVA post in Africa)
African Specialist
Herbert REISENWEBER
German African Society (discussed separately)
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IIc: German-Arabian Society
(discussed separately; it may be that Ile has been
changed to include the African Area Desk and the
German-African Society)
Ild: Socialist Countries
Chief (fnu) NEUMANN
Ile: General Administration
Chief (fnu) LAPPASCHEWSKI (female)
IIIa: Publications
Chief Bruno LEHMANN
D/Chief Manfred FEIST
Bulletins and Articles Section
Chief Manfred LCBEDA
D/Chief Wolf-Dieter GRUNBERGER
Editorial Section
Chief Manfred FEIST
Editor Gerhard RUDOLPH*
The Publications Department services requests for
articles on East Germany for use in information
bulletins published by East German representatives
abroad, and provides propaganda guidance for use of
these representatives. It also provides articles
to reporters contributing to foreign publications.
The Bulletins and Articles Section also writes bi-
monthly commentaries dealing with specific themes
which receive world-wide distribution.
IIlb: Fairs and Exhibitions
Chief (fnu) SCHNEIDER
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The Fairs and Exhibitions Department prepares all
the propaganda work in connection with fairs, parti-
cularly those held abroad. It is also responsible
for preparing exhibitions such as the one on West
German militarism which was shown in Poland and
Czechoslovakia.
IIIc: Photo and Sound
Chief Gerda WILLERDING
ITId: Printing and. Distribution
Chief (fnu) KIENAST
Printing Section
Chief Werner BRIEGE
Distribution Section
Chief (fnu) SCHAEFER
This department is also the custodian of the Society"s
archives.
GKVA Officials (posts unidentified)
(Prof) (fau) CORRENS
Hans GEREKE
(fnu) HENNING (female)
((fnu STELA ZR (female)
d. Publicationst
GDR Review
Description:
A monthly magazine published in English and
French; price, 20 cents US; contains articles
with accompanying photos or drawings; also
uses short fiction and poetry.
Editor Herbert SCHONFELD
Editor's office address: Dresden A 20, Wiener Strassa82;
telephone 4 09 27.
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Publishing house: Verlag 'Zeit im Bild,' Dresden A 19,
Bergmannstrasse 4+6; telephone 3 41 15.
Printer: 'Sachsische Zeitung,' Dresden N 23, Riesaer
Strasse 32.
DDR in Wort and Bilt (GDR in Words and Pictures)
Nothing further is known about this publication.
German Democratic Report
Nothing further is known about this publication.
The Society also published special pamphlets and 'themes' on
different subjects and in a variety of languages.
e. Remarks: Access to the offices of the society is severely
limited. Foreign visitors are received in specially desig-
nated offices by the Deputy Secretaries General and Depart-
ment heads. There is information which indicates that the
society provides financial assistance to German cultural
and friendship organizations in Western countries.
German African Society
a.
Date established:
17 March 1961.
b.
c.
Address:
Officers:
East Berlin.
Chairman (Prof Dr) Walter MARKOV
Presidium (about 70 members)
Gerald GOETTING
Sepp SCHWAB
Peter FLORIN
e. Remarks: Although ostensibly a separate organization, the
German African Society is subordinate to, staffed and financed
by the GKVA. The actual day-to-day responsibility for the
operation of the Society rests with the GKVA which transmits
the orders of the SED Central Committee and the Ministry of
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Foreign Affairs. Preliminary steps for the establishment
of an African headquarters of the Society in Accra were
being taken in March 1961 by Herbert REISENWEBER, GKVA
African specialist. This headquarters will be headed by
the current chief of the GKVA African Area Desk, Gerhard
WETZEL.
German-Arabian Society (Deutsche Arabische Gesellsehaft)
a. Date establishedt 10 October 1958.
b. Addresst The German-Arabian Society has its headquarters in
East Berlin, Thalmannstrasse, in the same building formerly
used by the Goebbels propaganda organization (probably
identical with the address of the GKVA, see above).
c. Officer's;
President
Vice Presidents
(Prof Dr) Werner HARTKE
Gerhard WEISS
Herbert MEYER
Rudolf KIRCHNER
Secretary (Dr)Burchard BRENTJES*
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