“Not the usual way?” On the involvement of an East German couple with the planning of the Ethiopian capital

Abstract

This article examines the Ethiopian chapter in the careers of Peter and Ute Baumbach, prominent architects from the German Democratic Republic (gdr), by analyzing their previously (mostly) unpublished plans and drawings as well as oral history. In line with Łukasz Stanek‘s investigation of the architectures of mondialisation, we combine reflections gathered in the course of research on the mobility of East German architects in an effort to broaden the scope of knowledge about the circulation of planning practices between the “Second World” and the “Global South,” embedded in complex Cold War economic and political contexts. While analyzing Baumbachs’ activities, we confront their narrative with the historiography of urban planning in Ethiopia, where we investigate links and disconnections stated by the protagonists themselves or those traceable in the sources. Using first-person accounts as a starting point for an investigation into developments that in many ways escape the conventional historical record, the story of the East German couple’s involvement in Addis also allows us to reflect on the limitations and biases as well as the benefits of oral history approaches, for further research in the history of architecture and planning beyond Europe.