Up to World War II, Germany was a major centre for the development of African studies, arising out of her colonial interests and general academic traditions. African studies were among the casualties of the Nazi catastrophe; and even the more recent revival of German interest in Africa is handicapped by the continued division of the country. Thus, while the West German Federal Republic has been the more active in building economic and cultural ties with the new African states, it is in East Germany that academics have given greater prominence to Africa.