dlowan wrote:What changed things, Walter?
You guys have had Gast Arbeiter for a long time, no?
What made germany decide to give citizenship more, if that is what happened?
This is quite a complex theme.
And a controversial one as well.
Germany really didn't exist before 1871, as one nation at least.
People from German "country/state", however, immigrated all over the centuries to another one.
Reasons were mostly "work", like in the bigger towns, and, later, in the industrial regions.
The Ruhr district is often quoted as
THE Polish immigation region. (And even about 1930/40 some football teams from there had 90%+ players with Polish names.)
But this is not true, de jure at least, since those Polish immigrants actually were persons WITH a German passport (but of Polish origin and mostly not German speaking in the first generation).
In late 19th/early 20th century, besides those, servants, maids and nannies from Bohemia, members of the Russian aristocracy and bourgeoisie after the Bolshevik revolution, day laborers from Austria's Alpine regions, and textile workers from Italy came to Germany.
Those, who stayed here, were gradually accepted, which wasn't really aproblem due to the relatively low number.
This changed with the 'Gastarbeiter', starting in the late 50's: those persons were not seen as immigrants but as ... well, perhaps a kind of 'long-term-saisonal-workers'. [Personally, I'd had always a different view, accepted them as neighbours like other Germans.]
In the 70's (1973, I think), foreign labor recruitment was suspended - but these persons (mostly) didn't only stay here, but meanwhile their wives, children, relatives had arrived here as well.
Additionally, a large and steadily increasing number of asylum numbers.
Instead of accepting this, trying to change laws and - much more important - MIND, Germans generally and politicans especially negated that we had become an immigration country.
From 1980 onwards, hundredthousands Germans of Polish, Russian, Romanian, Siberian etc origin arrived here. (More than four million ethnic Germans!)
Between the mid-50s and 2000, 25 million foreigners came to Germany. During the same period, 18.5 million foreigners left the country - a net gain of 6.5 million immigrants in 50 years.
Instead of accepting this, trying to change laws and - much more important - MIND, Germans ... see above.
And now, politicans are paddling from one side to the other, without any clear concept.
The general public (whoever that is) is divided - like elsewhere in the worls, I think.
And like elsewhere, conservatives have a more nationalistic view than others.
No-one should tell me, we had learnt from history: not only that we didn't, we don't know even it.
Quote:Germany, a country with a history of social turbulence, is now struggling to legislate and integrate its rapidly changing, increasingly multicultural society. In the years to come, Germany's political and social reforms will likely redefine what it means to be German.
From an
essay by an American young journalist (from 2001).
This 'redefining' obviously takes quite some time, with changing to´pics and different results.
I'm not sure, when and where it will end. But hopefully, we will find
our solution.
I don't think, deb, I've answered your question(s), and I have to admit, I couldn't respond to my own about this since more than 40 years.
Anyway, I live in a daily struggle with Mrs. Walter, whose is an immigrant from the Rhineland; so I'm not any better than others :wink:
