Multiculturalism in Germany
MULTICULTURALISM IN GERMANY
Multiculturalism is the presence of many cultures in one place by having same political rights as other citizens regardless of their differences in private lives. In a multicultural society, the citizens must embrace immigrants who have different values, beliefs and religions. Besides, the government must accept immigrants as their own citizens and they must give political rights as well as civil and social rights. Thus, the integration of distinct cultures can be completed and ultimately it can be seen that multiculturalism works in this country. However, multiculturalism does not work in every place and Germany which is one of these places. The reasons of the failure of multiculturalism in Germany are the restricted political rights for immigrants by government, integration problems between Turks and Germans and also cultural changes in second and third generations. This essay examines the history of Turks in Germany and the reasons why multiculturalism does not work in Germany also it briefly provides some suggestions in order to achieve multicultural success in a society.
The migration of Turks to Germany in 1961 was the fundamental turning point for multicultural society in Germany. Turks who are the largest minority group, nearly 2.4 million, migrated to Germany due to the recruitment of labor by German government in order to strengthen their industry. (Hochmuth, 2006) After the defeat in WW2, German economy collapsed and they need workers from other countries because there were more available jobs than their unemployed people. Therefore, the agreement with Turkey was made by the German government. According to this agreement, Turkish workers had to stay in Germany at least 2 years because Germany wanted to guarantee the attendance of foreign workers. However, this period was extended because of the wishes of two sides. The German government did not want to lose skilled workers because training new workers would take a long
Multiculturalism is the presence of many cultures in one place by having same political rights as other citizens regardless of their differences in private lives. In a multicultural society, the citizens must embrace immigrants who have different values, beliefs and religions. Besides, the government must accept immigrants as their own citizens and they must give political rights as well as civil and social rights. Thus, the integration of distinct cultures can be completed and ultimately it can be seen that multiculturalism works in this country. However, multiculturalism does not work in every place and Germany which is one of these places. The reasons of the failure of multiculturalism in Germany are the restricted political rights for immigrants by government, integration problems between Turks and Germans and also cultural changes in second and third generations. This essay examines the history of Turks in Germany and the reasons why multiculturalism does not work in Germany also it briefly provides some suggestions in order to achieve multicultural success in a society.
The migration of Turks to Germany in 1961 was the fundamental turning point for multicultural society in Germany. Turks who are the largest minority group, nearly 2.4 million, migrated to Germany due to the recruitment of labor by German government in order to strengthen their industry. (Hochmuth, 2006) After the defeat in WW2, German economy collapsed and they need workers from other countries because there were more available jobs than their unemployed people. Therefore, the agreement with Turkey was made by the German government. According to this agreement, Turkish workers had to stay in Germany at least 2 years because Germany wanted to guarantee the attendance of foreign workers. However, this period was extended because of the wishes of two sides. The German government did not want to lose skilled workers because training new workers would take a long
References: Hochmuth, H. (2006). Turks in Germany. Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.turkishweekly.net/articles.php?id=146 Kaya, A. (2002). The hyphenated Germans: German-Turks. Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.tusiad.us/content/uploaded/pw11Hyphenated_Germans.pdf Malik, K. (2002). Against multiculturalism. Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.kenanmalik.com/essays/against_mc.html Özcan, V. (2004). Turks in Germany: aspects of their socio-economic integration. Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.ces.boun.edu.tr/papers/feb/veysel_ozcan.pdf Powell, E.V Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.ssa.uchicago.edu/publications/advforum/v2n3/advocates2.3.12.html Waldhoff, H.P., & Tan, D Retrieved April 29, 2007 from http://www.ish.uni-hannover.de/Dateien/staff/hw/turkish_hw.html