Turks in Germany form the largest national minority in the country. They began to come to German lands in the 60s of the last century in search of work, and in just a few decades they formed a whole diaspora on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany with preserved cultural traditions, language and religion.
History of the Turkish Diaspora in Germany
The history of the emergence of the Turkish diaspora in Germany begins with an agreement on the admission of Turkish citizens as temporary workers, signed in 1961. In the post-war period, Germany was in dire need of cheap labor, so it began to issue work visas to citizens of countries with a weak economy at that time.
Along with the Turks, citizens of Italy, Spain and Greece were invited. But if over several decades the level of the economy in other countries rose and temporary workers returned to their homeland, many Turkish guest workers chose to stay in Germany.
Over time, the German government introduced laws allowing migrant workers to reunite with their families. For this reason, many Turks still go to Germany to work, and then remain in Germany and transport their wives and children to the country.
The number of Turks and their distribution
Turks make up about one quarter of all foreign immigrants in the country. If in 1961 about 8,000 Turks came to work in Germany, then according to the results of the 2021 population census, their number already totaled more than 1.5 million. At the same time, only those immigrants who have Turkish citizenship are taken into account in the census data. In addition to them, about 1.3 million people have obtained German citizenship.
So, in total, the number of the Turkish population in Germany is almost 3 million people.
60% of immigrants from Turkey go to big cities, the rest go to small towns. The federal states most populated by the Turks are Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Most of the Turks can be found in such industrial cities as Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Dusseldorf, Mannheim, Cologne, Mainz, as well as in Berlin. In the capital, immigrants from Turkey mainly settle in the districts of Neukölln and Kreuzberg. The latter, by the way, even began to be called Little Istanbul.
Cultural differences
The cultures of Germany and Turkey are somewhat conflicting. Most immigrants from Turkey on the territory of Germany observe Turkish traditions and adhere to the foundations of the country of origin. If the first generation of Turks who came to work in the post-war period, for the most part, were surrounded only by representatives of their ethnic group, then the second and third generations already have to more and more familiarize themselves with German culture. Strong German influence affects study and work, but Turks still maintain their culture at home.
In the family and in communication with neighbors, Turkish speech remains the main one. Turkish is the second most spoken language in Germany. In some regions, lessons in this language are included in the compulsory school curriculum, but in most cases, the opportunity to learn it is an option.
Oral Turkish speech is undergoing dramatic changes due to the fact that many immigrants began to use German syntactic and grammatical constructions in it.
The second and third generations of Turks still speak their native language, but with a German accent, weaving the local dialect into their speech. People from disadvantaged social strata, on the contrary, in their German speech replace many words with analogs from Turkish and Arabic languages.
The main feature that indicates the difference in the mentality of the Turks and the Germans is faith. Turkish immigrants make up the largest part of Muslims in Germany (63.2% of all Muslims in the country were in 2009). German Turks attach great importance to the issue of religion, not so much in terms of religion itself, as in terms of national self-identification.
Integration problem
The integration of the Turks in Germany is accompanied by some problems associated with the adaptation of this people to German life. The main reasons that bring difficulties to the integration process are:
- significant differences in the mentality of Turkish and German citizens, the preservation of Turkish customs and national self-identification;
- the lack of the possibility of a rapid change in social status in German society;
- loyal government policy of Germany towards less integrated ethnic groups;
- the lack of work for most of the wives of Turkish workers, which does not give them the opportunity to join the German culture;
- Turks prefer to marry their compatriots in Turkey and then bring them to Germany. Unwillingness to marry German women leads to the fact that national customs are preserved within the family and continue to develop in future generations;
- the opportunity to obtain German citizenship for children born in Turkish families. This provides social benefits, which does not motivate Turks to integrate;
- access to Turkish TV, radio, newspapers and so on.
Political engagement
Since the first generation of Turks who came to Germany saw their stay here as temporary, they were of little interest in German politics. In addition, until now, most immigrants retain Turkish citizenship and are more interested in politics in Turkey than in Germany.
Recently, however, some interest in local politics has begun to show among immigrants from Turkey. This is mainly manifested in adherence to the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) due to its stance on naturalization and immigrants. Some German citizens of Turkish descent began to join the ranks of parliamentarians.
Conclusion
The history of the Turkish people in Germany began in the middle of the 20th century. Then the German government invited foreign workers for temporary work in factories and plants. But the term of the initially supposed temporary work was extended, many of the immigrants brought their families to the Federal Republic of Germany and arranged their lives here.
For many decades, immigrants from Turkey have not managed to integrate into German society for many reasons. Thus, the Turks constitute the largest foreign diaspora on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
