Germany’s growing Turkish Community
Germany has been a chief destination in Europe for asylum seekers from Eastern Europe, in particular Turkey. The German government largely benefits from immigration, as it has people willing to perform unskilled labor for low wages. Furthermore the immigrants are a substitute for the shrinking working class in Germany.
Ever since the 1950’s Turkish immigrants have migrated to Germany due to unemployment issues in their country. The strong bond between Germany and Turkey continued to enable the Turkish to migrate to Germany. Year by year the Turkish Community of Germany is expanding and currently the Turkish population makes up 2.5% of the total German population (81 million).
One of the biggest questions concerning immigration in Germany is: why Turkey? Why are the majority of migrants from Turkey?
The flow of migrants into Germany first started in 1955, as Germany was looking for workers to help rebuild the country. The migrants were mainly from southern countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Turkey, as the standard of living was much lower there. Most Turkish migrants didn’t intend to stay longer than two years, however it was often the case that the money they made wasn’t enough to start a business in Turkey or that the German government didn’t want to lose talented workers. For the most part, Turkish migrants came to Germany to be with their families who were employed there. Once they were in Germany they no longer wanted to return home, due to reasons such as not wanting to interrupt their child’s education.
As Turkish make up the biggest foreign population in Germany, they have become a great part of German culture. The Döner has become a traditional German food and there are several famous Turkish-German pop stars such as Medina and Bahar Kizil. Even the German national soccer team consists of Turkish players such as Mesut Özil, and during the Football World Cup many Turks supported the German team.
One of the biggest questions concerning immigration in Germany is: why Turkey? Why are the majority of migrants from Turkey?
The flow of migrants into Germany first started in 1955, as Germany was looking for workers to help rebuild the country. The migrants were mainly from southern countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Turkey, as the standard of living was much lower there. Most Turkish migrants didn’t intend to stay longer than two years, however it was often the case that the money they made wasn’t enough to start a business in Turkey or that the German government didn’t want to lose talented workers. For the most part, Turkish migrants came to Germany to be with their families who were employed there. Once they were in Germany they no longer wanted to return home, due to reasons such as not wanting to interrupt their child’s education.
As Turkish make up the biggest foreign population in Germany, they have become a great part of German culture. The Döner has become a traditional German food and there are several famous Turkish-German pop stars such as Medina and Bahar Kizil. Even the German national soccer team consists of Turkish players such as Mesut Özil, and during the Football World Cup many Turks supported the German team.
Although the relationship between the two countries is incredibly strong, there are also negative aspects such as integration problems, racism and violence, especially amongst teens. Many Germans are extremely racist towards Turks, and consider them as “lower class” people.
Furthermore, the differences in religion and culture create great conflict. The majority of Germans are christian and they are against headscarves been worn by Turkish women in public.
Furthermore, the differences in religion and culture create great conflict. The majority of Germans are christian and they are against headscarves been worn by Turkish women in public.
The Turkish Community of Germany is an organization who's main goal is to ensure that all Turkish migrants living in Germany receive basic rights. The association represents the interests and requests of Turkish-origin migrants to German national institutions. Their goal is to ensure that all Turkish migrants have the opportunity for dual citizenship of migrants, the right to vote and they also ask for the establishment of programs in Turkish. The TGF, however, tends to avoid questions concerning religion, such as women wearing headscarves in public.