Ernst-Thälmann-Island "(Spanish: Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann)" is a 15 km long and 500 m small Cuban Island in the Bay of Pigs, Located at 22°01'18" - 81°23'32 to 22°04' - 81°27'24" in the northeastern edge of the Gulf of Cazones. It contains highly developed reef formations with a high degree of biodiversity and hosts a number of endangered species, including black coral and various ornamental reef fish species. It has extensive pristine beaches and provides nursery areas for snappers. The island is uninhabited, other than occasional tourists and the indigineous iguanas and birds that have their habitat there.

In 1972 Cuban leader Fidel Castro made the island a symbolic gift to East Germany. The island was named after German Communist politician Ernst Thälmann (April 16, 1886—August 18, 1944), who was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) during much of the Weimar Republic and was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944.

Weblinks

• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Th%E4lmann_Insel (in German)
• http://www.ernst-thaelmann-insel.de (in German)