Turks in Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Turkish Germans
|
|---|
   |
| Notable Turkish Germans: Mehmet Scholl, Kool Savas, Fatih Akin   |
| Total population |
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Est. 2.600,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Languages |
| German,Turkish |
| Religions |
| Sunni Islam, Alevism |
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Turks in Germany (occasionally German Turks or Turkish Germans) are people of Turkish ethnicity living in Germany. The term is sometimes applied by association to other, non-Turkish groups originating in Turkey — such as the Kurds. In general, however, the English language distinguishes between Turks and Kurds (and other groups) in a socio-cultural sense, including in Germany, but because the German state does not keep statistics on ethnicity it is impossible to accurately estimate the relative numbers of Turks and Kurds (and others) living in Germany with the consequence that both groups are categorised according to citizenship as "Turks"; many Kurds and Yazidis do not accept such a description.[citation needed]
In 2004 there were 1.739 million [1] or 1.907 million Turkish citizens in Germany, forming 26 per cent of all registered foreigners (Ausländer) and the largest ethnic minority.[2] In 2002, there were also 730,000 German citizens of Turkish origin.[3] Therefore, overall, the number of German residents with origins in Turkey is 2.637 million,[3] or approximately three per cent of the population.[4]
The vast majority are found in the former West Germany: Berlin, Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Rhine-Ruhr (Cologne, Duisburg and Dortmund) and Stuttgart have large Turkish communities and Turkish districts such as Kreuzberg. The Land with the largest Turkish population is North Rhine-Westphalia followed by Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. German Turks are predominantly urban, but small numbers do live in rural areas.
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[edit] History
Large-scale migration of Turkish citizens to West Germany developed during the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle") of the 1960s and 1970s. West Germany suffered an acute labour shortage after the Second World War and, in 1961, the Bundesrepublik and officials at the Turkish Republic negotiated a trade of skilled professionals. Turkish specialty workers were invited to move to Germany to fill in this void, particularly to work in the factories and places considered hazardous and unfit by German workers (e.g. the soon to be established nuclear plants etc.). Turkish citizens soon became the largest group of Gastarbeiter — literally, guest workers — in West Germany, labouring alongside Yugoslavs, Spaniards, Greeks and other immigrants. The perception at the time on the part of both the West German Government and the Turkish Republic representatives was that working 60-80 hours a week in Germany would "only" be temporary.
Inevitably, human nature took its course, and the work-force "soon" (3-4 years later) showed considerable signs of distress and many of these migrant workers were permitted to re-unite with their existing and abandoned families. As expected, many of the Gastarbeiters became settled permanent residents by default with the birth of offspring, school and other obligations in the new lands.
[edit] Citizenship Issues
Under previous German law, children born to foreigners in Germany were not entitled to German citizenship (jus sanguinis): a large population of permanently resident non-citizens developed, with the consequence over time that even the third generation born in Germany remained foreigners. As late as 2004, 36 per cent of Turkish citizens living in Germany did not have German nationality despite being born there.[2] In 2000, legislation was passed which conferred German citizenship on the German-born children of foreigners, and the naturalisation process was made easier, though dual citizenship is still not tolerated and any person possessing it by virtue of birth to foreign parents must choose between the ages of 18 and 23 which citizenship she or he wishes to retain, and forfeit the other.[2]
[edit] Political Behaviour
German Turks overwhelmingly support the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). A survey following the 2005 Federal election revealed close to 90 per cent voted for Gerhard Schröder's SPD/Green alliance.
There are now many parliamentarians — both at Land and federal level — with family origins in Turkey (see below for a comprehensive list).
[edit] Notable German Turks
[edit] Politics
[edit] Members of the European Parliament
- Ozan Ceyhun, former MEP (Green 1999-2000, SPD 2000-2004)
- Leyla Onur, former SPD MEP (1989-1994), former member of the Bundestag (1994-2002)
- Vural Öger, SPD MEP since 2004
- Cem Özdemir, Green MEP since 2004, former member of the Bundestag
- Feleknas Uca, PDS-Die Linke MEP (1999-)
[edit] Members of the Federal Parliament
- Lale Akgün, SPD member of the Bundestag
- Hüseyin Kenan Aydın, Die Linke member of the Bundestag since 2005
- Ekin Deligöz, Green member of the Bundestag since 1998
- Sevim Dağdelen, Die Linke member of the Bundestag since 2005
- Hakkı Keskin, Die Linke member of the Bundestag since 2005, former SPD member of the Hamburg Regional Parliament (1993-1997)
[edit] Members of a Regional Parliament
- Evrim Baba, PDS member of the Berlin House of Representatives
- Ikbal Berber, SPD member of the Saarland Landtag (1999-2004)
- Nebahat Güçlü, Green member of the Hamburg Regional Parliament since 2004
- Gülsen İletmiş, 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
- Aydan Özoğuz, SPD member of the Hamburg Regional Parliament since 2001
- Filiz Polat, Green member of the Lower Saxony Landtag since 2004
- Ülker Radziwill, SPD member of the Berlin House of Representatives
- Giyasettin Sayan, PDS member of the Berlin House of Representatives
[edit] Sport
- Halil Altıntop, footballer
- Hamit Altıntop, footballer
- Firat Arslan, boxer
- Yıldıray Baştürk, footballer
- Mithat Demirel, basketballer[citation needed]
- Cem Dinç, basketballer
- Malik Fathi, footballer
- Mesut Özil, footballer
- Sinan Şamil Sam, boxer
- Mehmet Scholl, footballer
- Hülya Şahin (Julia Şahin), female pro boxer, Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) jr flyweight champion[5]
- Nuri Şahin, footballer
- Serdar Taşçı, footballer
- Oktay Urkal, boxer
- Teoman Öztürk, basketballer
[edit] Entertainment & Arts
- Fatih Akın, director, screenwriter, actor & producer
- Bülent Akinci, actor
- Thomas Arslan, film director
- Aylin Aslım, singer
- Erdoğan Atalay, actor (Alarm für Cobra 11)
- Asli Bayram, actress
- Ekrem Bora (Eko Fresh), rapper
- CoTu, Musical group
- Şebnem Dönmez, actress
- Nazan Eckes, TV personality / actress
- Selma Ergeç, actress
- Gülcan Kamps, TV presenter (VIVA)
- Lale Karci, actress
- Sibel Kekilli, actress
- Şahin K, actor
- Jennifer Şebnem Schaefer, model actress
- Mehmet Kurtuluş, actor
- Akif Pirinçci, author
- Erol Sander, actor
- Kool Savas, rapper
- Muhammed Suiçmez, frontman of the metal band Necrophagist
- Tarkan, singer
- Birol Ünel, actor
- Idil Üner, actress
- Kaya Yanar, comedian
- Mennan Yapo, director, screenwriter, producer and actor
- Alpa Gun, rapper
- Killa Hakan, rapper
- Oktay Özdemir, actor
- Ercandize, rapper
- Caput, rapper
- Alpa Gun, rapper
[edit] Business
- Kemal Şahin Textile fabricant
- Cevat, Avni, and Faruk Yerli, founders of the computer game company Crytek -->
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Green, Simon (July 2003). "The Legal Status of Turks in Germany". Immigrants and Minorities 22 (2-3): 228–246.
- Pécoud, Antoine (July 2003). "Self-Employment and Immigrants' Incorporation: The Case of Turks in Germany". Immigrants and Minorities 22 (2-3): 247–261.
- Şen, Faruk (July 2003). "The Historical Situation of Turkish Migrants in Germany". Immigrants and Minorities 22 (2-3): 208–227.
- Söhn, Janina; Veysel Özcan (March 2006). "The Educational Attainment of Turkish Migrants in Germany". Turkish Studies 7 (1): 101–124.
- Watzinger-Tharp, Johanna (October 2004). "Turkish-German language: an innovative style of communication and its implications for citizenship and identity". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 24 (2): 285–294.
[edit] Notes
[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
- Berlin Türk Kulübü
