Đức-Việt

Former contract workers from Vietnam have left their mark on Saxony – yet their stories are largely unknown. With “Đức‑Việt. German-Vietnamese Life in Saxony”, we are bringing to light their experiences from the GDR era, the Peaceful Revolution, reunification and the present day. In video interviews, Vietnamese and German eyewitnesses share their stories: They talk about work and everyday life, racism and solidarity, new beginnings and lasting bonds. Their biographies reveal the GDR as a society of migration and show how closely German-Vietnamese life paths remain intertwined to this day. On this page, you will find selected background information and insights into our oral history work – bilingual, accessible and open to further contributions.

What is “Đức‑Việt” about?

In “Đức‑Việt”, we focus on the life stories of Vietnamese contract workers and their German colleagues. They recount their everyday lives in the GDR, the Peaceful Revolution, reunification and the challenging 1990s. Interviews with contemporary witnesses reveal how closely German and Vietnamese biographies remain intertwined to this day, and which experiences have hitherto remained in the shadow of official historiography.

We document this in:

• video interviews,
• project information (website, social media)

Together with ten to twenty eyewitnesses, we bring memories and everyday realities to light, thereby expanding the collective memory. The focus is on documenting and archiving German-Vietnamese life stories in Saxony and Vietnam (including Hanoi, Dresden, Freital and Crimmitschau). Through interviews with eyewitnesses (in video and text formats), we are preserving a part of the more than 50-year history of German-Vietnamese relations and life stories. The Vietnamese eyewitnesses include former contract workers, embassy staff, students, businesspeople and returnees. The German eyewitnesses include, amongst others, former foremen and dormitory supervisors at VEB Kinderoberbekleidung Freital, a subsidiary of VEB Textilkombinat Cottbus, and the Crimmitschau full-cloth factory.

By exploring Vietnamese life stories from before, during and after the Peaceful Revolution right up to the present day, we aim to highlight the tensions between personal success and achievements in nation-building, on the one hand, and the injustices suffered and the external control imposed by the GDR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the other.

The GDR as a migration society

The GDR was shaped by emigration and immigration – yet this history of migration is scarcely present in the public consciousness. Tens of thousands of contract workers from so-called socialist brother nations, primarily from Vietnam, worked in state-owned enterprises under strict regulations and often precarious conditions. Our project work demonstrates the extent to which GDR society was influenced by migration and the ways in which these ruptures and continuities continue to have an impact to this day.

Our approach: oral history and biographical storytelling

We use methods from oral history and biographical research to bring to light personal experiences that are not recorded in official documents or statistics. The focus is on individuals’ stories, their memories, life transitions and perspectives. This yields multi-layered insights into German-Vietnamese history that are both useful for academic research and accessible to a wider audience.

Future plans: More stories, more connections

From 2027, we plan to launch an interview magazine, organise public events such as film screenings and discussions, and systematically digitise the materials. Together with our partners, including Weltclub / Afropa e.V., we are expanding our focus to include former contract workers from Mozambique and Angola. Our aim is to preserve the experiences of these eyewitnesses for the long term and make them accessible to new audiences.

Đức-Việt

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