Ernst Thälmann Island

In the 1970s, Cuba promised to donate an island in its archipelago to East Germany, and subsequently renamed Cayo Blanco del Sur after German communist politician Ernst Thälmann.

[1] During a 1970s state visit to East Germany, Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro promised that his country would donate an island to its communist ally.

As part of a state visit in June 1972 by East-German general secretary Erich Honecker, Castro renamed Cayo Blanco del Sur (English: Southern White Key) in honour of German communist politician and activist Ernst Thälmann.

However, the reunification treaty made no reference to Ernst Thälmann Island as one of the territories joining the combined nation, leading to arguments about its status.

According to the Cuban embassy in Germany the renaming had been a "symbolic act", and the German Foreign Office concurred that it was "not a gift, but a change of name", and the island was never actually transferred from Cuba.

East Berlin , 19 June 1972: Fidel Castro (left) handed over, after the signing of the communiqué, a Cuban map to Erich Honecker (centre). The map shows an island that bears the name "Ernst Thälmann", with the southern area named " GDR Beach" ( Playa RDA , DDR-Strand ).