As early as 1606, the lansquenet Hans Wild reached Yemen and later published reports of his experiences in the Islamic world.

In the early 20th century, the German Empire unsuccessfully sought to lease a naval base in Al Hudaydah.

As part of the Stotzingen Mission, Germany sought to establish a military intelligence station in Al Hudaydah during World War I, which also failed.

In doing so, he deliberately circumvented Joseph Goebbels' directive to portray foreign peoples as culturally inferior.

[1] In the postwar period, the FRG envoy in Cairo toured the city of Aden and British-occupied southern Yemen in 1953 with the German consul in Jeddah.

Diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic and the Yemen Arab Republic were established in 1962 and the FRG made significant contributions to the development of the hitherto isolated country, with German development workers, teachers, physicians and archaeologists coming to the country.

[10] The German Archaeological Institute has been involved in the preservation of Yemen's cultural heritage and some Yemenis have studied in Germany.