Hamburg and Marseille: Partnering Port Cities Since 1958

Eliane Schmid
C2DH, Université du Luxembourg, Luxembourg

A pledge for mutual understanding and fraternity

On July 10, 1958, Max Brauer, mayor of Hamburg, and Gaston Defferre, mayor of Marseille, signed a ‘twinning oath’ to pledge joint efforts in cooperating for a united and peaceful Europe (Serment de Jumelage, 1958; "Marseille-Hambourg”, 1974, p. 20). During the first three decades of its existence, this partnership, between the two largest port cities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and France, was characterized by a deep friendship that went beyond the mere exchanges of political niceties. While ‘twinnings’, or jumelages, existed all over Europe, mainly among members of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, signed under the Treaty of Paris by Italy, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, and West Germany in 1951) and sometimes also with members of the Soviet Union as cautious attempts to stay connected, the West German-French partnerships were particularly numerous, well-maintained, and signed in the spirit of ameliorating ties after centuries of recurring wars (Deschamps, 2020, p. 48).

At first glance, Hamburg and Marseille appear very different in character and seem unlikely partners. Contemporary correspondence between city officials, as well as newspaper articles, even explicitly pointed this out (Wördehoff, 1965). Yet, in the words of Defferre: “The differences between Hamburg and Marseille are both striking and instructive” (1970). The following analysis will focus precisely on this "instructive" aspect." Why did Hamburg and Marseille establish a town twinning, what benefits did the two port cities see in such a collaboration, and what did this mean for their development as their respective countries’ largest ports during the post-World War II reconstruction phase? The time-frame chosen for this piece covers the peak years of this jumelage: 1958 – late 1980s.

“Attached by sentiment” and shared problems

In the early years of the Hamburg-Marseille jumelage the annual visits between municipal officials were conducted by train via Paris. Oftentimes, the two parties wrote to each other with pride about how well these in-person visits were going despite the ca. 1,500 km railroad distance. In the words of Defferre: “Our two cities […] although geographically far apart are very attached by sentiment” (L.-P. S., 1967).

What exactly was this sentiment that was repeatedly mentioned in correspondence between both cities’ officials? It was surely not a mutual appreciation of the climate. Herbert Weichmann, mayor of Hamburg (1965 – 1971), even dissuaded Defferre from a visit, writing: “During the winter months, I would not want to impose a visit to Hamburg on you due to the unfavorable weather conditions that usually prevail here” (Weichmann, 1969). While Hamburg’s municipal officials described how their town’s and citizen’s identity was shaped by the harsh, rainy, and windy conditions typical for the port city by the North Sea, Marseille’s city officials prided themselves on the sunny, clement Mediterranean climate, considering it a defining trait of both Marseille’s and the Marseillais’ identity (Defferre, 1971). The sentiment of attachment was connected to what was described as “comparable structures” in an anonymously filled-out questionnaire about German-French town twinnings sent to the Hamburg Senate Chancellery (“Fragebogen”, 1964). Both port cities were so-called second cities and felt neglected by their respective capitals, Bonn and Paris (cf. Strupp, 2024, p. 161). They believed that as the largest harbors of their respective countries, they were of great importance for the national economy and deserved greater recognition and support.

Indeed, there are five overarching reasons why the mayors of Hamburg and Marseille valued this jumelage: 

1. The Algerian war for independence began in 1954 and ended with the former French colony’s independence in 1962. This severing of ties, especially with the North African market, was a huge blow to Marseille’s shipping economy and undermined its role as the “Gateway to the Orient” (Shepard, 2023). In Hamburg, the municipal government members similarly lost their self-proclaimed title, “Gate to the World,” as a result of the pulling of the Iron Curtain and the subsequent blocking of its river shipping trade route to their so-called “hinterland”, Eastern Europe (Strupp, 2010, p. 2). This connection had been very important to Hamburg ever since the mid-12^th century when the union of merchants under the Hanse was formed.
2. Defferre was a strong supporter of a unified European union to counter the USA’s “economic colonization,” the strengthening of the Soviet Union, and China’s expansion of power (Wördehoff, 1965; Gütt, 1966). Hamburg’s frequently changing mayors — while Defferre was in office continuously from 1953 to 1986, the mayors in Hamburg changed eight times during the same period — related to this and also promoted a union of European states, together with a united Germany (Schildt, 2016).
3. As mentioned above, both cities spoke of “comparable structures” and shared problems (“Fragebogen”, 1964; “Hier gibt es die gleichen Sorgen”, 1973). Hamburg and Marseille sought ways to reinvent themselves in the aftermath of World War II which resulted in the cessation of trade with Eastern Europe / the former French colonies in North Africa. The two cities disclosed their plans on how to reboot their economies and industries to one another (“Fragebogen”, 1964).
4. Urbanism, in the context of post-World War II reconstruction, was crucial to the two port cities. Immediate rebuilding of the port infrastructure and the construction of urgently needed housing were on the agenda until the mid-1950s, after which building projects such as sub-harbor tunnels (the Vieux Port and Elbe tunnels), large-scale greening, and shopping areas demanded regular exchange of knowledge (J.-P. S. 1967; L.-P. S., 1967; “Programm,” 1970; Jess, 1970).
5. The port development was of particular interest to Defferre, as Hamburg was moving forward quickly in introducing container terminals in the 1970s. The modernization and expansion of both cities’ port terminals to accommodate containerization were a focal point during in-person visits, with Hamburg’s mayors also interested in the rapid growth of the port area Marseille-Fos (Defferre, 1970; Schaufuss, 1966).
6. These five points show in brief the benefits of this jumelage for the two port cities and how it was very much a product of general western European post-World War II behavior to forge “apolitical” ties and amicable relationships. It is in this context that we should view the partnership and interpret the pledge’s concluding sentence calling for an “understanding among the people” (Serment de Jumelage, 1958). 

The Jumelage today

In 2018, Jean-Claude Gaudin, Mayor of Marseille (1995 – 2020), was interviewed about the 60^th anniversary of the Hamburg-Marseille jumelage. Gaudin used this occasion to explain how similar the two cities have been for many decades now. Mayors Defferre and Brauer had not waited for European states to move closer; rather, they took things into their own hands. Today, the urban renewal program of the harbor neighborhood around La Joliette in Marseille, the Euroméditerranée, and Hamburg’s HafenCity, which also involves the redevelopment of former warehouses to revitalize a port district close to the city center, are examples of ongoing knowledge exchange and parallels (Publi-rédactionnel, 2018). Although the jumelage at present carries a more symbolic than active role in both municipal governments’ activities, the cities by the North Sea and the Mediterranean continue to share urban planning ideas and inspiration for port development projects.

Acknowledgements

This blog post has been written in the context of discussions in the LDE PortCityFutures research community. It reflects the evolving thoughts of the authors and expresses the discussions between researchers on the socio-economic, spatial and cultural questions surrounding port city relationships. This blog was edited by the PortCityFutures editorial team: Yi Kwan Chan. The author expresses special thanks to Carola Hein for her valuable comments.

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