East Germany, in the Caribbean
This is the small island formerly known as
Cayo Blanco de Sur, Cuba. The island is around 15 km long,
about 500 metres wide, and is uninhabited save for the indigenous
birds and iguanas.
In 1972 while on a state visit to East Berlin, Fidel Castro
gifted this island#fn:1″
rel=”footnote 1 to the former socialist country of East
Germany, and renamed it Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann, after the
leader of the German Communist Party, Ernst Thälmann.
Of course, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Democratic_Republic East
Germany ceased to exist in 1990 when the (East) German
Democratic Republic was absorbed by the Federal Republic of (West)
Germany. Well, that’s what everybody thought.
It transpires that Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann wasn’t actually
mentioned in the unification treaty - West Germany never made a
claim to it - meaning this Caribbean island is arguably the
only remaining piece of East Germany
territory.
You can read more about this bizarre story at the excellent http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/02/20/79-east-germany-lives-on-as-a-tiny-carribean-island/
Strange Maps blog.
-
Well, Cuba apparently received 6% of the world market share in
refined sugar in return. Which strikes me as pretty poor deal on
East Germany’s part. #fnref:1″
rev=”footnote ↩ -
The East German ambassador erected a bust of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Thälmann Ernst
Thälmann on the island’s south beach in August 1972, which
survived until 1998 when it fell over during a hurricane. It might
even still be there! Can anyone find it? #fnref:2″
rev=”footnote ↩