Turks in Germany
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German Turks (also commonly Turkish Germans) are Germans of Turkish descent with varying identity as part of a wider German society and who maintain a connection to the Turkish sociology, through cultural and historical affiliation.
With an estimated number of 2.6 million [1][2] Turkish people in Germany (including those who have acquired German citizenship) form the largest ethnic minority. An estimated 750,000 of them have acquired German nationality [3]. The vast majority are found in what used to be West Germany. Berlin, Frankfurt,Hamburg, Rhine-Ruhr (Cologne, Duisberg and Dortmund) have large Turkish communities. The state with the largest Turkish population is North Rhine-Westphalia. Though Turks predominantly live in cities, large populations exist in some rurals regions of Germany, especially in Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and North-Rhine Westphalia. The Döner kebab, a Turkish food, is the most popular fast food in Germany.
[edit] History
Based on good Turkish-German relations from the 19th century onwards, Germany promoted a Turkish immigration to Germany. However, large scale didn't occur until the 20th century. Germany suffered an acute labor shortage after World War II and, in 1961, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) officially invited Turkish workers to Germany to fill in this void, particularly to work in the factories that helped fuel Germany's economic miracle. The German authorities named these people Gastarbeiter (German for guest workers). Most Turks in Germany trace their ancestry to Central and Eastern Anatolia. Today Turks are Germany's largest ethnic minority and form most of Germany's Muslim minority.
As far as political affiliation is concerned, Turkish Germans are overwhelmingly supportive of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. A survey following the 2005 Federal election revealed that close to 90% voted for Gerhard Schröder's SPD/Green alliance.
[edit] Famous German Turks
[edit] Politics
- Hakkı Keskin, politican
- Vural Öger, politician
- Lale Akgün, politician
- Cem Özdemir, politician
- Ekin Deligöz, politician
- Sevim Dağdelen, politician
[edit] Sport
- Mehmet Scholl, footballer
- İlhan Mansız, footballer
- Umit Davala, footballer
- Celaleddin Koçak, footballer
- Nuri Şahin, footballer
- Hamit Altintop, footballer
- Halil Altintop, footballer
- Mesut Özil, footballer
- Yildiray Basturk, footballer
- Mehmet Akgün, footballer
- Cem Dinç, basketballer
[edit] Entertainment & Arts
- Tarkan, singer
- Sibel Kekilli, actress
- Fatih Akın, film director
- Aylin Aslım, singer
- Erdogan Atalay, actor (Alarm für Cobra 11)
- Kool Savas, rapper
- Thomas Arslan, film director
- Idil Üner, actress
- Nazan Eckes, tv personality / actress
- Funda Vanroy, tv presenter (ProSieben)
- Gulcan Karahanci, tv presenter (VIVA)
- Kaya Yanar, comedian
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- German Turks
- German citizenship for Muslim German Turks
- Integration of Turkish-Germans
- "German Turks Question EU Fate", By Ray Furlong
- "Germany's guest workers mark 40 years", By Rob Broomby, BBC News
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.tusiad.org/haberler/basin/ab/9.pdf TUSIAD Report on Turks in the European Union, compiled from Eurostat and German Federal Office of Statistics figures
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/14/news/turks.php International Herald Tribune article
- ^ http://www.tusiad.org/haberler/basin/ab/9.pdf TUSIAD Report on Turks in the European Union, compiled from Eurostat and German Federal Office of Statistics figures
