Angela Davis still hasn’t opened the mail for her 29th birthday. Hundreds of thin red, white and blue envelopes are stacked in more than 500 boxes in the Stanford University Library archives. They are addressed to “Our friend Angela”, postmarked in the winter of 1972, written by children from countries of the former Soviet Union – and the GDR.
“Hello dear friend! Happy birthday! Your friend Virtiniya,” writes a student from Lithuania. Small drawings are included, small pioneer flags, even a box of chocolates. The children from the GDR were encouraged to send cards with roses. “A million roses for Angela” was the name of the state-organized postcard campaign in the GDR.
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