‘My son left as a big man, and they brought him back to me in a little box.’
In the summer of 1979, Delfin Guerra and Raúl Garcia Paret came to Merseburg in the GDR as ‘foreign labourers’ or ‘contract workers’, as they were known. The 18- and 21-year-olds were presumably very excited. They were promised vocational training in one of the ‘most modern’ socialist countries to support their families and promote economic development in Cuba. But their plan came to an abrupt end. Raúl and Delfin’s personnel files provide a sober account of their short stay in the GDR:
Surname: Guerra, Given Name: Delfin, born: 19.11.60
Place of birth: Camaguey, Home address: San Jose de Las Lajas
Residence: Mersebg. South
Marital status: unmarried
School education: 8th grade Occupation: none
Employment date: 8.7.79
Dismissed: 16.8.79 dead
Surname: Garcia, Given Name: Andrés, born: 10.3.58
Place of birth: Las Villas, Home address: Las Villas, Las Minas
Residence: Mersebg. South
Marital status: single
School education: 8th grade, Occupation: none
Employment date: 24.6.79
Dismissed: 15.8.79 dead
Just under a month after they arrived, Delfin and Raúl’s bodies were recovered from the River Saale in Merseburg. What had happened to them?
Ramón Cruz, a colleague of the two at the time, spoke in an interview about the omnipresent racism that the Cubans encountered in Merseburg: at work, in the city, at discos. According to historian Harry Waibel, there were several violent attacks on people from Cuba. On 12 August, a group of Cubans decided that they could no longer tolerate it. They attacked a discotheque where several of their German attackers were thought to be partying. However, the situation reversed and ended in a racist manhunt in which several people from Cuba were violently driven into the Saale. They were insulted and pelted with stones and bottles. Delfin’s and Raúl’s bodies were not recovered until several days later.
All of the Cubans involved were deported and some were imprisoned in Cuba. The true circumstances of Delfin and Raúl’s deaths were concealed from their families. Their bodies were cremated without permission and handed over to their families in an urn, which is not in keeping with tradition in Cuba. A nephew of Delfin Guerra recounted how Delfin’s father would often say, even decades later: ‘My son left as a big man, and they brought him back to me in a little box.’
Today, there is nothing in Merseburg to remind people of the tragic fate of Delfin and Raúl. The German perpetrators never stood trial. However, the 12 August Initiative was founded in 2019 as a memorial to both men, both in Merseburg and in societal memory. The initiative has also established contact with the two families. At the memorial event held on 12 August 2022, relatives of Delfin Guerra took part in the commemoration live online for the first time. Rosa Guerra, Delfin’s sister, said in an audio message:
‘I would like to thank the initiative for commemorating my brother and his colleague every 12 August. Because of you, we learnt the truth about what happened to him. We were always told that he had drowned. Thanks to you, we know it was murder. As a family, we feel deep pain and sadness at our loss. Even though it is many years ago now, we still remember it as if it were yesterday. And even though we can’t be in Germany and can’t meet you all in person, you will always have a place in our hearts.’
