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. It should however be noted that a large amount of Turkish citizens in Germany and Germans with background in Turkey belong as well to the ethnic Turkish majority as to ethnic groups such as Kurds and thus not of ethnic Turkish descent.

With an estimated number of 2.2[1]—2.6[2][3] million Turkish people in Germany (including those who have acquired German citizenship) form the largest ethnic minority. An estimated 415,000[4]—750,000[5] of them have acquired German nationality. The vast majority are found in what used to be West Germany. Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Rhine-Ruhr (Cologne, Duisburg and Dortmund) and Munich have large Turkish communities. The bundesland with the largest Turkish population is North Rhine-Westphalia followed by Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. Though Turks predominantly live in cities, large populations exist in some rurals regions of Germany, especially those based on industry.

[edit] History

Turkish parade in Berlin
Turkish parade in Berlin
Berlin's Turkish cemetery alongside an Ottoman style mosque, built in 1863
Berlin's Turkish cemetery alongside an Ottoman style mosque, built in 1863

Based on good Turkish-German relations from the 19th century onwards, Germany promoted Turkish immigration into the country. However, a large-scale migration of Turks to Germany did not occur until the second half of 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

[edit] Members of the European Parliament

[edit] Members of the Federal Parliament

[edit] Members of a Regional Parliament
  • Evrim Baba, PDS member of the Berlin House of Representatives (Kurd from Turkey)
  • Ikbal Berber, SPD member of the Saarland Landtag (1999-2004)
  • Nebahat Güçlü, Green member of the Hamburg Regional Parliament since 2004 (de:Nebahat Güçlü)
  • Gülsen Iletmiş, SPD member of the Bremen Regional Parliament
  • Dilek Kolat, SPD member of the Berlin House of Representatives
  • Özcan Mutlu, Green member of the Berlin House of Representatives
  • Bilkay Öney, Green member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2006 (de:Bilkay Öney)
  • Aydan Özoguz, SPD member of the Hamburg Regional Parliament since 2001 (de:Aydan Özoguz)
  • Filiz Polat, Green member of the Lower Saxony Landtag since 2004 (de:Filiz Polat)
  • Ülker Radziwill, SPD member of the Berlin House of Representatives
  • Gyasettin Sayan, PDS member of the Berlin House of Representatives (de:Giyasettin Sayan)(Kurd from Turkey)

[edit] Sport

[edit] Entertainment & Arts

[edit] Business

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.destatis.de/presse/deutsch/pm2006/p1340025.htm 1,7 million Turkish citizen
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/14/news/turks.php International Herald Tribune article
  4. ^ read it in 'Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Ausländerfragen: Daten und Fakten zur Ausländersituation. 20. Auflage'
  5. ^ 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
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