 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1.3 million with Turkish citizenship (Statistical Office of the European Union 2023)[1] 2,926,000 with a migration background from Turkey (including other ethnic groups from Turkey) (2023 estimation)[2] 7,000,000 ethnic Turks[3] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Turkish,German | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlySunni Islam MinorityAlevism,irreligion,Christianity[4][5] andother religions[6][7][8] |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
| Turkish people |
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Traditional Areas of Turkish Settlement Turkish majorities:
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Turks in Germany, also referred to asGerman Turks andTurkish Germans (German:Türken in Deutschland orDeutschtürken;Turkish:Almanya'daki Türkler, also known asGurbetçiler orAlmancılar), are ethnicTurkish people living inGermany. These terms are also used to refer to German-born individuals who are of full or partial Turkish ancestry.
However, not all people in Germany who trace their heritage back to Turkey are ethnic Turks. A significant proportion of the population is also ofKurdish,Circassian,Azerbaijani descent and to a lesser extent, ofChristian descent, such asAssyrian, andArmenian. Also some ethnicTurkish communities inGermany trace their ancestry to other parts of southeastern Europe or theLevant (such asBalkan Turks andTurkish Cypriots). At present, ethnic Turkish people form the largestethnic minority in Germany.[9] They also form the largestTurkish population in theTurkish diaspora.[10]
Most people of Turkish descent in Germany trace their ancestry to theGastarbeiter (guest worker) programs in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1961, in the midst of aneconomic boom that resulted in a significant labor shortage, Germany signed a bilateral agreement with Turkey to allow German companies to recruit Turkish workers. The agreement was in place for 12 years, during which around 650,000 workers came from Turkey to Germany. Many also brought their spouses and children with them.
Turks who immigrated to Germany brought cultural elements with them, including theTurkish language andTurkish food.[11]
During a series of invadingCrusades by European-Christian armies into lands ruled by Turkic rulers in theMiddle East, namely under theSeljuk Turks in theSeljuk Empire and theRum Seljuk Sultanate (but also theBahri Mamluk Sultanate), many crusaders brought back Turkish male and female prisoners of war to Europe; women were generally baptised and then married whilst "every returning baron and count had [male] prisoners of war in his entourage."[12] Some of theBeutetürken ('booty Turks') taken to Germany during the Crusades also included children and young adults.[13]
The earliestdocumented Turk in Germany is believed to beSadok Seli Soltan [de] (Mehmet Sadık Selim Sultan) (ca.1270-1328) from theAnatolian Seljuk lands.[14][15] According toStreiders Hessisches Gelehrtenlexikon, Soltan was a Turkish officer who was captured by Count von Lechtomir (Reinhart von Württemberg) during his return to Germany from theHoly Land in 1291. By 1304 Soltan married Rebekka Dohlerin; he was baptised the following year as "Johann Soldan", but "out of special love to him", the Count "gave him a Turkish nobility coat of arms".[12] Soldan and his wife had at least three sons, including Eberhardus, Christanianus and Melchior.[12] Another source specifies that Soltan came with Count Reinhart von Württemberg to the residential town ofBrackenheim in 1304 and was then baptised in 1305 at S. Johannis Church as "Johannes Soldan".[12] There is also evidence that Soltan had a total of 12 sons born in 20 years with Anna Delcherin and Rebecca Bergmännin; eight of his sons passed to theclergy and do not appear in genealogy records due to compulsory celibacy associated with the clergy.[16]
For example, through his maternal grandmother, the renowned German poet and writerJohann Wolfgang von Goethe belonged to the descendants of the Soldan family and thus had Turkish ancestry.[17][18][19][12]Bernt Engelmann has said that "the German poet prince [i.e. Goethe] with oriental ancestors is by no means a rare exception."[12] Indeed, other descendants of the first recorded Turk in Germany include the lawyerHans Soldan [de];[20] the city architects and wine mastersHeinrich Soldan and his sonJohann Soldan who both served as Mayor ofFrankenberg;[16][21] the sculptor and artistPhilipp Soldan [de];[22] and the pharmacist Carl Soldan who founded the confectionery company "Dr. C. Soldan [de]".[23] Carl Soldan's grandson, Pery Soldan, has said that the family continue to use the crescent and star on their coat of arms.[24][13] According to Latif Çelik, as of 2008, the Soldan family numbered 2,500 and are also found in Austria, Finland, France and Switzerland.[25]
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TheTurkish people had greater contact with theGerman states by the sixteenth century when theOttoman Empire attempted to expand their territories beyond the north Balkan territories. The Ottoman Turks held two sieges inVienna: the firstSiege of Vienna in 1529 and theSecond Siege of Vienna in 1683. The aftermath of the second siege provided the circumstances for a Turkish community to permanently settle in Germany.[32][33]
Many Ottoman soldiers and camp followers who were left behind after the second siege of Vienna became stragglers or prisoners. It is estimated that at least 500 Turkish prisoners were forcibly settled in Germany.[26] Historical records show that some Turks became traders or took up other professions, particularly in southern Germany. Some Turks fared very well in Germany; for example, one Ottoman Turk is recorded to have been raised to theHanoverian nobility.[33] Historical records also show that many Ottoman Turks converted toChristianity and became priests or pastors.[33]
The aftermath of the second siege of Vienna led to a series of wars between the Ottoman Empire and theHoly League, known as the "Great Turkish War", or the "War of the Holy League", which led to a series of Ottoman defeats. Consequently, more Turks were taken by the Europeans as prisoners. The Turkish captives taken to Germany were not solely made up of men. For example, GeneralSchöning took "two of the most beautiful women in the world" inBuda who later converted to Christianity.[29] Another Turkish captive named Fatima became the mistress ofAugustus II the Strong,Elector of Saxony of the Albertine line of theHouse of Wettin. Fatima and Augustus had two children: their son,Frederick Augustus Rutowsky, became the commander of theSaxon army in 1754-63[29] whilst their daughter,Maria Anna Katharina Rutowska, married into Polish nobility. Records show that at this point it was not uncommon for Turks in Germany to convert to Christianity. For example, records show that 28 Turks converted to Christianity and were settled inWürttemberg.[29]
With the establishment of theKingdom of Prussia in 1701, Turkish people continued to enter the German lands as soldiers employed by the Prussian kings.[32] Historical records show that this was particularly evident with the expansion ofPrussia in the mid-18th century. For example, in 1731, theDuke of Kurland presented twenty Turkish guardsmen to KingFrederick William I, and at one time, about 1,000 Muslim soldiers are said to have served in thePrussian cavalry.[33] The Prussian king's fascination with theEnlightenment was reflected in their consideration for the religious concerns of their Muslim troops. By 1740Frederick the Great stated that:
"All religions are just as good as each other, as long as the people who practice them are honest, and even if Turks and heathens came and wanted to populate this country, then we would build mosques and temples for them."[36]
By 1763, an Ottoman legation existed at the Prussian court inBerlin. Its third envoy,Ali Aziz Efendi, died in 1798 which led to the establishment of the first Muslim cemetery in Germany.[37] However, several decades later, there was a need for another cemetery, as well as a mosque, and the Ottoman sultanAbdulaziz was given permission to patronize a mosque inBerlin in 1866.[32][33]
Once trading treaties were established between the Ottomans and the Prussians in the nineteenth century, Turks and Germans were encouraged to cross over to each other's lands for trade.[38] Consequently, the Turkish community in Germany, and particularly inBerlin, grew significantly (as did a German community inIstanbul) in the years before theFirst World War.[33] These contacts influenced the building of various Turkish-style structures in Germany, such as theYenidze cigarette factory inDresden[35] and theDampfmaschinenhaus für Sanssouci pumping-station inPotsdam.
During this time, there were also marriages between Germans and Turks. For example,Karl Boy-Ed, who was the naval attaché to the German embassy in Washington duringWorld War I, was born into a German-Turkish family.[30][31]
The Heuss Turks were the name given to around 150 young Turkish citizens who came to Germany in 1958. They followed an invitation that the then Federal PresidentTheodor Heuss had extended to Turkish vocational school graduates during a visit to Turkey in Ankara in 1957. The exchange, which was intended as a vocational training measure and began for some of the group as apprentices at theFord plant in Cologne, became the starting point for their immigration to the Federal Republic for some. A number worked atFord until they retired in the late 1980s/early 1990s. It was the first large group of Turkish workers to come to Germany together, even before the start of actual Turkish immigration with the recruitment agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Turkey in 1961. According to DOMiD reports, they were given a warm welcome in Germany and were extremely popular with their work colleagues.[39]
The Turkish Student Federation in Germany (ATÖF; Turkish: Almanya Türk Öğrenci Federasyonu) is a nationwide interest group for Turkish students in Germany founded in 1962, which was dissolved in 1977. The first regional German-Turkish student association after the Second World War was founded in Munich in 1954. In the following years, others were founded, including in Berlin and Karlsruhe in 1957. The ATÖF was founded in 1962 as a merger of nine such student associations. Its founding location was again Munich. In 1977, the ATÖF was dissolved due to internal problems.[40]
In the 1950s,West Germany experienced an economic boom (Wirtschaftswunder, or 'economic miracle'), exacerbated by the construction of theBerlin Wall in 1961 that prevented migration fromEast Germany. In response, the West German government signed a labour recruitment agreement with Turkey on 30 October 1961 and officially invited Turkish workers to emigrate to the country, initially on visas limited to two years, although this was quickly lifted following complaints by German employers.[41]
Most Turkish immigrants intended to live there temporarily and then return to Turkey so that they could build a new life with the money they had earned. Indeed, return-migration increased during therecession of 1966–1967 and the1973 oil crisis. UnderHelmut Kohl, the government also attempted to encourage immigrants to return to their countries of origin with financial incentives, although this was largely unsuccessful.[42] Overall, the proportion of Turkish immigrants who returned to Turkey remained relatively small.[43] This was partly due to thefamily reunification rights that were introduced in 1974 which allowed Turkish workers to bring their families to Germany.[44] Consequently, between 1974 and 1988 the number of Turks in Germany nearly doubled, acquiring a balancedsex ratio and a much younger age profile than the German population.[45] Once the recruitment of foreigner workers was reintroduced after the recession of 1967, the BfA (Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte) granted most work visas to women. This was in part because labour shortages continued in low paying, low-status service jobs such as electronics, textiles, and garment work; and in part to further the goal of family reunification.[46]
Thefall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, andthe reunification of East and West Germany, was followed by intense public debate around national identity and citizenship, including the place of Germany's Turkish minority in the future of a united Germany. These debates about citizenship were accompanied by expressions ofxenophobia and ethnic violence that targeted theTurkish population.[47] Anti-immigrant sentiment was especially strong in the four former eastern states of Germany, which underwent profound social and economic transformations during the reunification process. Turkish communities experienced considerable fear for their safety throughout Germany, with some 1,500 reported cases of right wing violence, and 2,200 cases the year after.[48] The political rhetoric calling for foreigner-free zones (Ausländer-freie Zonen) and the rise ofneo-Nazi groups sharpened public awareness of integration issues and generated intensified support among liberal Germans for the competing idea of Germany as a "multicultural" society. Citizenship by birth was restricted to the children of German citizens until the mid-2000s. However, increasing numbers of second-generation Turkish-Germans have opted forGerman citizenship and are becoming more involved in the political process.[49]
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Initially,Turkish Bulgarians arrived in Germany following the introduction offamily reunification laws in 1974. They were able to take advantage of this law despite the very small number of Bulgarian citizens in Germany because some Turkish workers in Germany who arrived from Turkey were actually part of the Turkish minority who had left Bulgaria during the communist regime in the 1980s and still heldBulgarian citizenship, alongside theirTurkish citizenship.[52]
The migration of Turkish Bulgarians to Germany increased further once communism inBulgaria ended in 1989. In particular, Turkish Bulgarians who did not join the massive migration wave to Turkey during the so-called "Revival Process" faced severe economic disadvantages and discrimination resulting from the state policies ofBulgarisation. Hence, from the early 1990s onwards many Bulgarian Turks sought asylum in Germany.[53][54]
The number of Turkish-speaking Roma people from Bulgaria in Germany has significantly increased since Bulgaria was admitted into theEuropean Union, which has allowed many Bulgarian Turkish Roma to use thefreedom of movement to enter Germany.[55] The Bulgarian Turkish Roma have generally been attracted to Germany because they rely on the well-established Turkish-German community for gaining employment.[56]
Thus, the social network of the first waves of political emigration, as well as the preservation of kinship, has opened an opportunity for many Turkish Bulgarian to continue to migrate to Western Europe,[57] with the majority continuing to settling in Germany. As a result, Turkish Roma from Bulgaria in Germany outnumber the large Turkish Roma Bulgarian diasporas in countries such as theNetherlands,[56] where they make up about 80% of Bulgarian citizens.[58]
From the 1950s onward, theTurkish minority ofGreece, particularly theTurks of Western Thrace, began to immigrate toGermany alongside other Greek citizens.[60] Whilst many Western Thrace Turks had intended to return to Greece after working for a number of years, a new Greek law was introduced which effectively forced the minority to remain in Germany. Article 19 of theGreek Nationality Law gave the government the power to strip "non-ethnic" Greek citizens of their citizenship upon leaving the country without the possibility of an appeal. This law continued to affect Western Thrace Turks studying in Germany in the late 1980s, even those who had intended to return to Greece. It was not repealed until 1998.[61]
Despite risking the loss of their Greek citizenship, Western Thrace Turks continued to emigrate to Germany in large numbers. Firstly, in the 1960s and 1970s many came to Germany because the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. Between 1970 and 2010, approximately 40,000 Western Thrace Turks emigrated to Western Europe, most of whom settled in Germany.[62] In addition, between 2010 and 2018, a further 30,000 Western Thrace Turks left for Western Europe due to theGreek government-debt crisis.[62] Of these 70,000 immigrants (which excludes the numbers which arrived before 1970),[62] around 80% live in Germany.[63]
In 2013Cemile Giousouf became the first Western Thrace Turk to become a member of the German parliament. She was the firstMuslim to be elected for theChristian Democratic Union of Germany.
There has been migration from theTurkish Macedonian minority group which have come to Germany alongside other citizens ofNorth Macedonia, includingethnic Macedonians andAlbanian Macedonians.[64]
In 2021, Furkan Çako, who is a former Macedonian minister and member of the Security Council, urged Turkish Macedonians living in Germany to participate in North Macedonia's 2021 census.[65]
Between 2002 and 2011 there was a significant decrease in the population of theTurkish Romanian minority group due to the admission ofRomania into theEuropean Union and the subsequent relaxation of the travelling and migration regulations. Hence, Turkish Romanians, especially from theDobruja region, have joined other Romanian citizens (e.g. ethnicRomanians,Tatars, etc.) in migrating mostly to Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and the UK.[66]
Turkish Cypriots migrants began to leave the island ofCyprus for Western Europe due to economic and political reasons in the 20th century, especially after theCyprus crisis of 1963–64 and then the1974 Cypriot coup d'état carried out by theGreek military junta which was followed by the reactionaryTurkish invasion of the island. More recently, with the2004 enlargement of the European Union, Turkish Cypriots who holdCypriot citizenship have had theright to live and work across theEuropean Union, including in Germany, asEU citizens. As of 2016, there are approximately 2,000 Turkish Cypriots in Germany,[68] which is the second largestTurkish Cypriot diaspora in Western Europe (after theUK).[68]
TheTRNC (unrecognised) provides assistance to its Turkish Cypriots residents living in Germany via the TRNC Berlin Honorary Representative Office; the TRNC Köln Honorary Representative Office; the TRNC Bavarian Honorary Attaché; and the TRNC Bavarian Honorary Representative Office. TheseRepresentative Offices and Honorary Representatives also promote friendly relations between Northern Cyprus and Germany, as well as economic and cultural relations.[69][70]
Due to the numerouswars inLebanon since the 1970s onwards, manyTurkish Lebanese people have soughtrefuge inTurkey andEurope, particularly inGermany. Indeed, many Lebanese Turks were aware of the large Turkish-German population and saw this as an opportunity to find work once settling in Europe. In particular, the largest wave of Turkish Lebanese migration occurred once theIsrael-Lebanon war of 2006 began. During this period more than 20,000 Turks fled Lebanon, particularly fromBeirut, and settled in European countries, including Germany.[71]
In 2008 there were 85,000Iraqis living in Germany, of which approximately 7,000 were from theTurkish Iraqi minority group; hence, the Iraqi Turks formed around 8.5% of the total number ofIraqi citizens living in Germany.[73] The majority of Iraqi Turks live inMunich.
Established in Germany, theSuriye Türkmen Kültür ve Yardımlaşma Derneği – Avrupa, or STKYDA, ('Syrian Turkmen Culture and Solidarity Association – Europe') was the firstSyrian Turkmen association to be launched in Europe.[74] It was established in order to help the growing Syrian Turkmen community which arrived in the country since theEuropean migrant crisis which started in 2014 and saw its peak in 2015. The association includes Syrian Turkmen youth activists originating from all Syrian cities and who are now living across Western European cities.[75]
In addition to ethnic Turkish people that have migrated to Germany from post-Ottoman modern nation-states, there has also been an increasing migration wave from the modernTurkish diaspora. For example, members of theTurkish Dutch community have also arrived in Germany as Dutch citizens. According to a study by Petra Wieke de Jong, focusing on second-generation Turkish-Dutch people specifically born between the years 1983 and 1992 only, 805 people from this age group and generation reported Germany as their country of emigration in 2001 to 2017. A further 1,761 people in this group did not report their emigration destination.[76]
The German state does not allow citizens to self-declare their identity; consequently, the statistics published in the official German census does not show data on ethnicity.[78] According to the 2023 estimation, roughly 3 million German residents had a "migration background" from Turkey.[2]
Throughout the decades estimates by academics of the Turkish-German population have varied. In 1990, David Scott Bell et al. put it at between 2.5 million and 3 million Turks in Germany.[79] A lower 1993 estimate byStephen J. Blank et al. said there were 1.8 million Turks.[80] The German Government's Special Commission on IntegrationBarbara John [de] estimated[when?] that there weremore than 3 million Turks, including third-generation descendants, and that 79,000 new babies were born each year within the community.[81] The estimate of three million was also given by other scholars in the mid-1990s.[82][83] A higher estimate of 4 million Turks (including three generations) was reported byJohn Pilger in 1993[84] and theDeutsches Orient-Institut in 1994.[85] Moreover, Marilya Veteto-Conrad said that in the German capital there was already "over a million Turks inBerlin alone" in 1996.[86]
In 2003, Ina Kötter et al. said that there was "more than 4 million people of Turkish origin" in Germany;[87] this has also been reiterated by other scholars.[88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95] However,Michael Murphy Andregg said that by the 2000s "Germany was home toat least five million Turks";[96] various scholars have also given this estimate.[97][98][99][100][101]Jytte Klausen cited German statistics in 2005 showing 2.4 million Turks, but acknowledged that unlike Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, the Turkish community cannot allocate their ethnic or religious identity in official counts.
The Turkish community in Germany is concentrated predominantly inurban centers. The vast majority are found in the formerWest Germany, particularly in industrial regions such as the states ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia (where a third of Turkish Germans live),[102] andBaden-Württemberg and the working-class neighbourhoods of cities likeBerlin,Hamburg,Bremen,Bochum,Bonn,Cologne,Dortmund,Duisburg,Düsseldorf,Essen,Frankfurt,Hanover,Heidelberg,Mannheim,Mainz,Nuremberg,Munich,Stuttgart,Aachen andWiesbaden.[103][104] Among the German districts in 2011,Duisburg,Gelsenkirchen,Heilbronn,Herne andLudwigshafen had the highest shares of migrants from Turkey according to census data.[105]
In regards to return-migration, many Turkish nationals and Turkish Germans have also migrated fromGermany toTurkey, for retirement or professional reasons. Official German records show that there are 2.8 million "returnees"; however, the German Embassy inAnkara estimates the true number to be four million, acknowledging the differences in German official data and the realities of the under-reporting by migrants.[106]
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Turkish immigrants make up Germany's largest immigrant group and have been ranked last in Berlin Institute's integration ranking.[107][108]
During a speech inDüsseldorf in 2011, Turkish Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Turks in Germany tointegrate, but notassimilate, a statement that caused a political outcry in Germany.[109]
The Turks in Turkey (especially more progressive-leaning, and those from large cities likeIstanbul) can occasionally have somewhat negative views of the Turks in Germany, specifically (descendants of) the first TurkishGastarbeiters, for their generally more conservative/Islamist political views, sometimes they are calledalmancı (literal translation "german-er", Almanya meaning "Germany" in Turkish). They are sometimes regarded as "having insufficiently assimilated by the Germans, yet having excessively assimilated by the Turks in the homeland".[110]
For decades Turkish citizens in Germany were unable to becomeGerman citizens because of the traditional German construct of "nationhood". The legal notion of citizenship was based on "blood ties" of a German parent (jus sanguinis) – as opposed to citizenship based on country of birth and residence (jus soli). This adhered to the political notion that Germany was not a country of immigration.[111] For this reason, only those who were of partial Turkish origin (and had one parent who wasethnicallyGerman) could obtain German citizenship.
In 1990 Germany's citizenship law was somewhat relaxed with the introduction of the Foreigner's Law; this gave Turkish workers the right to apply for a permanent residency permit after eight years of living in the country.[112] People of Turkish origin born in Germany, who were also legally "foreign", were given the right to acquire German citizenship at the age of eighteen, provided that they gave up their Turkish citizenship. There was no right todual citizenship out of fears it would increase the Turkish population in the country. ChancellorHelmut Kohl officially gave this as the main reason for denying dual citizenship in 1997:
If today [1997] we give in to demands for dual citizenship, we would soon have four, five, or six million Turks in Germany, instead of three million – ChancellorHelmut Kohl, in 1997.[113]
However, in 1999 the centre-left government ofGerhard Schröder further liberalised Germany's citizenship laws. Non-citizens became eligible fornaturalization after eight years of legal residence in the country, and children born in Germany to foreign parents automatically became citizens if at least one had been a permanent resident for at least eight years. Such children also gained a right to dual citizenship until the age of 23, at which point they had to choose between their German citizenship or the citizenship of their parent's country of birth.[114] Former Turkish citizens who have given up their citizenship can apply for the 'Blue Card' (Mavi Kart), which gives them some rights in Turkey, such as the right to live and work in Turkey, the right to possess and inherit land or the right to inherit, but not the right to vote.
In 2000, the year following the citizenship reform, a then-record 187,000 people were naturalised in Germany,[115] 44% (83,000) of whom were of Turkish origin. Over the following two decades, a further 630,000 Turkish people took German citizenship.[116] By 2011 theEmbassy of Germany, Washington, D.C. reported that as of 2005 there were 2 million Turks who already had German citizenship.[117]
The Turkish people who immigrated to Germany brought their culture with them, including their language, religion, food, and arts. These cultural traditions have also been passed down to their descendants who maintain these values. Consequently, Turkish Germans have also exposed their culture to the greater German society. Numerous Turkish restaurants, grocery stores, teahouses, and mosques are scattered across Germany. The Turks in Germany have also been exposed toGerman culture, which has influenced the Turkish dialect spoken by the Turkish community in Germany.[citation needed]
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Turkish cuisine first arrived in Germany during the sixteenth century and was consumed among aristocratic circles.[118] However, Turkish food became available to the greater German society from the mid-twentieth century onwards with the arrival of Turkish immigrants. By the early 1970s Turks began to open fast-food restaurants serving popularkebap dishes. Today there are Turkish restaurants scattered throughout the country selling popular dishes likedöner kebap in take-away stalls to more authentic domestic foods in family-run restaurants. Since the 1970s, Turks have opened grocery stores and open-air markets where they sell ingredients suitable for Turkish home-cooking, such as spices, fruits, and vegetables.[citation needed]
Turkish is the second most spoken language in Germany, afterGerman. It was brought to the country by Turkish immigrants who spoke it as their first language. These immigrants mainly learned German through employment, mass media, and social settings, and it has now become asecond language for many of them. Nonetheless, most Turkish immigrants have passed down theirmother tongue to their children and descendants. In general, Turkish Germans becomebilingual at an early age, learning Turkish at home and German in state schools; thereafter, a dialectal variety often remains in their repertoire of both languages.[119]
Turkish Germans mainly speak the German language more fluently than their "domestic"-style Turkish language. Consequently, they often speak the Turkish language with aGerman accent or a modelledGerman dialect.[120] It is also common within the community to modify the Turkish language by adding German grammatical and syntactical structures. Parents generally encourage their children to improve their Turkish language skills further by attending private Turkish classes or choosing Turkish as a subject at school. In some states of Germany the Turkish language has even been approved as a subject to be studied for theAbitur.[120]
Turkish has also been influential in greater German society. For example, advertisements and banners in public spaces can be found written in Turkish. Hence, it is also familiar to other ethnic groups – it can even serve as a vernacular for some non-Turkish children and adolescents in urban neighborhoods with dominant Turkish communities.[121]
It is also common within the Turkish community tocode-switch between the German and Turkish languages. By the early 1990s a newsociolect calledKanak Sprak orTürkendeutsch was coined by the Turkish-German authorFeridun Zaimoğlu to refer to the German "ghetto" dialect spoken by the Turkish youth. However, with the developing formation of a Turkish middle class in Germany, there is an increasing number of people of Turkish-origin who are proficient in using the standard German language, particularly in academia and the arts.[119]
The Turkish people in Germany are predominantlyMuslim and form the largest ethnic group which practicesIslam in Germany.[122] Since the 1960s, "Turkish" was seen as synonymous with "Muslim"; this is becauseIslam is considered to have a "Turkish character" in Germany.[123][124] This Turkish character is particularly evident in the Ottoman/Turkish-style architecture of many mosques scattered across Germany. In 2016, approximately 2,000 ofGermany's 3,000 mosques were Turkish, of which 900 were financed by theDiyanet İşleri Türk-İslam Birliği (DİTİB), an arm of the Turkish government, and the remainder by other political Turkish groups.[125] There is an ethnic TurkishChristian community in Germany; most of them came from recent Muslim Turkish backgrounds.[4] Germany's biggest mosque, theCologne Central Mosque, was commissioned by DİTİB and completed in 2017. It is also the biggest European mosque outside of Turkey.[126]
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 Attack on Turkish elementary school pupil in Duisburg TRT World |
In 1985 the German journalistGünter Wallraff shocked the German public with his internationally successful bookGanz unten ('In the Pits' or 'Way Down') in which he reported the discrimination faced by Turkish people in German society. He disguised himself as a Turkish worker called "Ali Levent" for over two years and took on minimal-wage jobs and confronted German institutions. He found that many employers did not register or insure their Turkish workers. Major employers likeThyssen did not give their Turkish workers adequate breaks and did not pay them their full wage.[127]
It has been, and still is, also reported that Turkish-Germans were being discriminated against at school from early age and in workplaces. It has also been found that teachers discriminate against non-German sounding names and tend to give worse grades based on names alone. The studies showed that even though a student might have had the exact number of right and wrong answers, or the exact paper, the teachers favour German names. This creates a vicious cycle where teachers favour students of German descent over non-Germans, including Turkish students, which results in worse education. This later results in Turkish people not being able to take what are deemed to be "higher-skill jobs", which nonetheless deepens the cracks in the cycle.[citation needed]
There are also the reports of discrimination against Turkish-Germans in other areas such as sports, one example being the discrimination against the football playerMesut Özil.[citation needed]
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The fall of theBerlin Wall in 1989, and thereunification of Germany, saw a sharp rise in violent attacks against Turkish-Germans.[citation needed] A series of arson attacks, bombings, and shootings have targeted the Turkish community in both public and private spaces, such as in their homes, cultural centres, and businesses. Consequently, many victims have been killed or severely injured by these attacks.
On 27 October 1991,Mete Ekşi [de], a 19-year-old student fromKreuzberg, along with his four Turkish friends were involved in a violent confrontation with three German brothers.[129] As a consequence, Ekşi died due tohead injuries caused with abaseball bat which was wrested by the 25-year-old attacker from Ekşi's friend.[129] His death sparked a massive outrage in the local Turkish community allegingfascist motives.[129] This was, however, dismissed by a court as an "overreaction" while acknowledging and condemning open and hiddenxenophobia in Germany.[129] His funeral in November 1991 was attended by 5,000 people.[130]
A year after Ekşi's murder, on 22 November 1992, two Turkish girls, Ayşe Yılmaz and Yeliz Arslan, and their grandmother, Bahide Arslan, were killed by twoneo-Nazis inan arson attack in their home in Mölln.[131][132]
On 9 March 1993,Mustafa Demiral [de], aged 56, was attacked by two members of the Germananti-immigrantpolitical party "The Republicans" whilst waiting at a bus stop inMülheim. The attackers verbally assaulted him prompting a defensive reaction after which one of the attackers threatened him with a gun pointing at his head. Demiral suffered a heart-attack and died at the scene of the crime.[133]
Two months later, on 28 May 1993,four young neo-Nazi German men aged 16–23 set fire to the house of a Turkish family in Solingen. Three girls and two women died and 14 other members of the extended family were severely injured in the attack. German ChancellorHelmut Kohl did not attend the memorial services.
Neo-Nazi attacks continued throughout the 1990s. On 18 February 1994, the Bayram family were attacked on their doorstep by a neo-Nazi neighbour inDarmstadt. The attack was not well publicised until one of the victims,Aslı Bayram, was crownedMiss Germany in 2005. The armed neo-Nazi neighbour shot Aslı on her left arm and then the attacker shot Aslı's father, Ali Bayram, who died from the gunshot.[134]
Between 2000 and 2006 several Turkish shopkeepers were attacked in numerous cities in Germany. The attacks were called the "Bosphorus serial murders" (Mordserie Bosporus) by the German authorities orpejoratively "Kebab murders" (Döner-Morde) by the press – which saw eight Turkish and oneGreek person killed. Initially, the German media suspected that Turkish gangs were behind these murders. However, by 2011 it came to light that the perpetrators were in fact the neo-Nazi group theNational Socialist Underground.[135] This neo-Nazi group was also responsible for the June2004 Cologne bombing which resulted in 22 Turkish people being injured.[136]
On 3 February 2008, nine Turkish people, including five children, died in a blaze inLudwigshafen (de).[131] While there have been speculations by the Turkish media about the origin of the fire suspecting anarson attack and allegations of slowfire response time,[137] these were rejected by an investigation and the cause of the fire was determined to have been an electrical fault. Nevertheless, many German and Turkish politicians includingTurkish prime ministerRecep Tayyip Erdoğan together with locally electedMP of theGerman parliament and appointed Minister of State for Integration in theFederal Chancellery and German Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and IntegrationMaria Böhmer orMinister President ofRhineland-PalatinateKurt Beck visited the site to express their condolences.[138] ChancellorAngela Merkel was criticised for not attending a demonstration held in memory of the victims by 16,000 people.[131]
Not all attacks on Turks have been perpetrated by neo-Nazi right-wing Germans: for example, the perpetrator ofa mass shooting in Munich on 22 July 2016 who deliberately targeted people of Turkish and Arab origin. On that day, he killed nine victims, of which four victims were of Turkish origin: Can Leyla, aged 14, Selçuk Kılıç, aged 17, and Sevda Dağ, aged 45;[139] as well as Hüseyin Dayıcık, aged 19, who was a Greek national of Turkish origin.[140]
On 19 February 2020, a German neo-Nazi who expressed hate for non-German people,carried out two mass shootings in the city ofHanau, killing nine foreigners. He then returned to his home, killed his mother and committed suicide. Five of the nine victims were Turkish citizens.[141]
On 2 April 2020, inHamburg, a German family of Turkish descent claimed to have received a threatening letter with xenophobic content allegedly containingthe coronavirus.[142]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Almanya'daki Türk çetesi 36 Boys (Turkish Gangs in Germany) Al-Jazeera |
In 2014, the annual report into organized crime, presented inBerlin by interior minister Thomas de Maizière, showed that there were 57 Turkish gangs in Germany. In 2016, theDie Welt andBild reported that new Turkish motorbike gang, the Osmanen Germania is growing rapidly. TheHannoversche Allgemeine newspaper claimed that the Osmanen Germania is advancing more and more into red-light districts, which increases the likelihood of a bloody territorial battle with established gangs like theHells Angels Motorcycle Club.[143]
As a result of the immigration wave in the 1960s and 1970s, far right and ultranationalist organisations established themselves in Germany such as theGrey Wolves,Türkische Föderation der Idealistenvereine in Deutschland,Europäisch-Türkische Union (ATB) andTürkisch Islamische Union Europa (ATIB). In 2017, ATB and ATIB together had about 303 locations with 18,500 members.[144]
The first phase inTurkish-German Cinema began in the 1970s and lasted through to the 1980s; it involved writers placing much of their attention on story-lines that represented the living and working conditions of the Turkish immigrant workers in Germany. By the 1990s a second phase shifted towards focusing more on mass entertainment and involved the work of Turkish and German-born Turkish German filmmakers. Critical engagements in story-telling increased further by the turn of the twenty-first century. Numerous films of the 1990s onwards launched the careers of many film directors, writers, and actors and actresses.[145]
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Fatih Akin's films, which often examine the place of the Turkish diaspora in Germany, have won numerous awards and have launched the careers of many of its cast includingShort Sharp Shock (1998) starringMehmet Kurtuluş andİdil Üner;Head-On (2004) starringBirol Ünel andSibel Kekilli;Kebab Connection (2004) starringDenis Moschitto;The Edge of Heaven (2007) starringBaki Davrak; andSoul Kitchen (2009) starringBirol Ünel.
Other notable films which have atransnational context includeFeridun Zaimoğlu's book-turned-filmKanak Attack [de] (2000);Kerim Pamuk's [de]Süperseks (2004); andÖzgür Yıldırım'sChiko (2008).[148] Several Turkish-German comedy films have also intentionally used comical stereotypes to encourage its viewers to question their preconceived ideas of "the Other", such asZüli Aladağ's film300 Worte Deutsch ("300 words of German", 2013), starringAlmila Bagriacik,Arzu Bazman [de],Aykut Kayacık, andVedat Erincin.[149] Similarly, other recent Turkish-German comedies likeMeine verrückte türkische Hochzeit (Kiss me Kismet [de], 2006), starringHilmi Sözer,Ercan Özçelik,Aykut Kayacık, andÖzay Fecht, and the filmEvet, I Do! [de] (2009), starring numerous Turkish-German actors such asDemir Gökgöl,Emine Sevgi Özdamar,Erden Alkan,Gandi Mukli,Hülya Duyar,Jale Arıkan,Lilay Huser,Meral Perin,Mürtüz Yolcu,Sema Meray, andSinan Akkuş, have emphasised how the Turkish and German cultures come together in contemporary German society. By focusing on similarities and differences of the two cultures using comedy, these films have shifted from the earlier Turkish-German drama films of the 1980s which focused on culture clashes; in its place, these films have celebrated integration and interethnic romance.[150]
By 2011Yasemin Şamdereli andNesrin Şamdereli's comedy filmAlmanya: Welcome to Germany, starringAylin Tezel andFahri Yardım, premiered at theBerlin Film Festival and was attended by the German President and the Turkish Ambassador to celebrate fifty years since the mass migration of Turkish workers to Germany. Indeed, stories confronting Turkish labour migration, and debates aboutintegration,multiculturalism, and identity, are reoccurring themes in Turkish-German cinema.[151]
Nonetheless, not all films directed, produced or written by Turkish Germans are necessarily about the "Turkish-experience" in Germany. Several Turkish Germans have been involved in other genres, such asBülent Akinci who directed the German dramaRunning on Empty (2006),[152]Mennan Yapo who has directed the American supernatural thrillerPremonition (2007),[153] andThomas Arslan who directed the German Western filmGold (2013).[154]
Several Turkish-origin actors from Germany have also starred in Turkish films, such asHaluk Piyes who starred inO da beni seviyor (2001).[155]
In the first decade of the twenty-first century several German television series in which the experience of Turkish-Germans as a major theme gained popularity in Germany and in some cases gained popularity abroad too. For example,Sinan Toprak ist der Unbestechliche ("Sinan Toprak is the Incorruptible", 2001–2002) andMordkommission Istanbul ("Homicide Unit Istanbul", 2008–present) which both starErol Sander.[158] In 2005Tevfik Başer's bookZwischen Gott und Erde ("Time of Wishes") was turned into a primetime TV German movie starringErhan Emre,Lale Yavaş,Tim Seyfi, andHilmi Sözer, and won the prestigiousAdolf Grimme Prize. Another popular Turkish-German TV series wasAlle lieben Jimmy ("Everybody Loves Jimmy", 2006–2007) starringEralp Uzun [de] andGülcan Kamps.[159] Due to the success ofAlle lieben Jimmy, it was made into a Turkish series calledCemil oldu Jimmy – making it the first German series to be exported to Turkey.[160]
By 2006 the award-winning German television comedy-drama seriesTürkisch für Anfänger ('Turkish for Beginners', 2006–2009) became one of the most popular shows in Germany. The critically acclaimed series was also shown in more than 70 other countries.[161] Created byBora Dağtekin, the plot is based on interethnic-relations between German and Turkish people.Adnan Maral plays the role of a widower of two children who marries an ethnic German mother of two children – forming the Öztürk-Schneider family. The comedy consisted of fifty-two episodes and three seasons.[162] By 2012Turkish for Beginners [de] was made into a feature film; it was the most successful German film of the year with an audience of 2.5 million.[163]
Other notable Turkish-origin actors on German television includeErdoğan Atalay,[164]Erkan Gündüz [de],İsmail Deniz [de],Olgu Caglar [de],[165]Özgür Özata,[166]Taner Sahintürk [de], andTimur Ülker [de].
Whilst Turkish-origin journalists are still underrepresented, several have made successful careers as reporters and TV presenters includingErkan Arikan [de][167] andNazan Eckes.[167]
Many Turkish Germans have also starred in numerous critically acclaimedTurkish drama series. For example, numerous actors and actresses inMuhteşem Yüzyıl were born in Germany, includingMeryem Uzerli,[168]Nur Fettahoğlu,[169]Selma Ergeç,[170] andOzan Güven.[171] Other popular Turkish-German performers in Turkey includeFahriye Evcen who has starred inYaprak Dökümü andKurt Seyit ve Şura.[172]
One of the first comedians of Turkish origin to begin a career as a mainstream comedian isDjango Asül who began his career in satire in the 1990s.[173] Another very successful comedian isBülent Ceylan, who performed his first solo show "Doner for one" in 2002. By 2011 the broadcasting agency RTL aired Ceylan's own comedy showThe Bulent Ceylan Show.[173] Other notable comedians includeÖzcan Cosar [de],Fatih Çevikkollu [de],[173]Murat Topal [de],[173]Serdar Somuncu [de],[173]Kaya Yanar,[173] and female comedianIdil Baydar [de].[173]
Since the 1960s Turkish people in Germany have produced a range of literature. Their work became widely available from the late 1970s onwards, when Turkish-origin writers began to gain sponsorships by German institutions and major publishing houses.[174] Some of the most notable writers of Turkish origin in Germany includeAkif Pirinçci,[174]Alev Tekinay,[174]Emine Sevgi Özdamar,[174]Feridun Zaimoğlu,[174]Necla Kelek,[174]Renan Demirkan,[174] andZafer Şenocak.[174] These writers approach a broad range of historical, social and political issues, such as identity, gender, racism, and language. In particular, German audiences have often been captivated by Oriental depictions of the Turkish community.
In the mid-twentieth century the Turkish immigrant community in Germany mostly followed the music industry in Turkey, particularly pop music andTurkish folk music. Hence, theTurkish music industry became very profitable in Germany. By the 1970s, the "arabesque" genre erupted in Turkey and became particularly popular among Turks in Germany. These songs were often played and sang by the Turkish community in Germany in coffee houses and taverns that replicated those in Turkey. These spaces also provided the first stage for semi-professional and professional musicians. Consequently, by the end of the 1960s, some Turks in Germany began to produce their own music, such asMetin Türköz [de] who took up themes of the Turkish immigration journey and their working conditions.[175]
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By the 1990s the Turkish Germans became more influential in the music industry in both Germany and Turkey. In general, many Turkish Germans were brought up listening to Turkish pop music, which greatly influenced the music they began to produce. They were also influenced byhip-hop music andrap music.
Since the 1990s, the Turkish-German music scene has developed creative and successful new styles, such as "Oriental pop and rap" and "R'n'Besk" – a fusion of Turkish arabesque songs andR&B music. Examples of Oriental-pop and rap emerged in the early 2000s with Bassturk's first single "Yana Yana" ("Side by Side").[177] The "R'n'Besk"-style gained popularity in Germany withMuhabbet's 2005 single "Sie liegt in meinen Armen" ("She lies in my Arms").[178] By 2007 Muhabbet released the song "Deutschland" ("Germany"); the lyrics appeal to Germans to finally accept the Turkish immigrants living in the country.[179]
In 2015 several Turkish-German musicians released the song "Sen de bizdensin" ("You are one of us"). The vocalists includedEko Fresh,Elif Batman,Mehtab Guitar,Özlem Özdil [de], andVolkan Baydar [de].Dergin Tokmak [de],Ercandize,Serdar Bogatekin, andZafer Kurus were also involved in the production.[180] The song was used in a campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of theAy Yildiz telephone network and was extensively broadcast on TV and radio.[181] Thereafter, a competition and group was formed calledDie Stimme einer neuen Ära/Yeni neslin sesi ("The voice of the new generation") to find new Turkish-German talent and "Sen de bizdensin" was re-released with different lyrics.[182][183]
Other Turkish-origin musicians in the German music industry includeBahar Kızıl (from the former girl-groupMonrose),[176] and winner of Germany's"Star Search"Martin Kesici.[184]
Several Turkish-origin singers born in Germany have also launched their careers in Turkey, such asAkın Eldes,[185]Aylin Aslım,[186]Doğuş [tr],[187]İsmail YK,[188]Ozan Musluoğlu,[189]Pamela Spence,[190] andTarkan.[191] The German-bornTurkish Cypriot pianistRüya Taner has also launched her career in Turkey.[192]
There are also some musicians who perform and produce songs in the English language, such asAlev Lenz,[193]DJ Quicksilver,[194]DJ Sakin,[195] andMousse T.[196]
Bülent Aris [de], music producer
Especially in the 1990s, Turkish-German rap groups have sold hundreds of thousands of albums and singles in Turkey, telling their stories of integration and assimilation struggles they experienced due to discrimination they faced during their upbringing in Germany.[197][198]
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Many football players of Turkish origin in Germany have been successful in first-division Germany and Turkey football clubs, as well as other European clubs. However, in regards to playing for national teams, many players of Turkish origin who were born in Germany have chosen to play for theTurkey national football team. Nonetheless, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of players choosing to represent Germany.
The first person of Turkish descent to play for theGermany national football team wasMehmet Scholl in 1993,[199] followed byMustafa Doğan in 1999 andMalik Fathi in 2006.[199] Since the twenty-first century there has been an increase in German-born individuals of Turkish origin opting to play for Germany, includingSerdar Tasci[200] andSuat Serdar,Kerem Demirbay,[201]Emre Can,[202]İlkay Gündoğan,[202]Mesut Özil,.[202] Of those, Mesut Özil played the most matches for Germany (92 apps). His photo with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (together with Ilkay Gündogan and Cenk Tosun) just before the World Cup 2018 and his subsequent retirement after World Cup led to a controversy as well as political and social discussion. In his retirement statement, Özil also reported about racism experiences after his photo with Erdoğan.
Those who have chosen to retain their Turkish citizenship and who have competed for Turkey includeCenk Tosun,[200]Ceyhun Gülselam,[200]Gökhan Töre,[202]Hakan Balta,[199]Hakan Çalhanoğlu,[202]Halil Altıntop,[199]Hamit Altıntop,[199]İlhan Mansız,[203]Nuri Şahin,[199]Ogün Temizkanoğlu,[203]Olcay Şahan,[202]Mehmet Ekici,[200]Serhat Akin,[200]Tayfun Korkut,[203]Tayfur Havutçu,[203]Tunay Torun,[200]Ümit Davala,[203]Umit Karan,[203]Volkan Arslan,[200]Yıldıray Baştürk,[203]Yunus Mallı,[202]Kaan Ayhan,Ahmed Kutucu,Levin Öztunalı,Kenan Karaman,Ömer Toprak,Salih Özcan,Nazim Sangaré,Güven Yalçın,Berkay Özcan,Hasan Ali Kaldırım andKenan Yıldız.
Many Turkish Germans have also played for other national football teams; for example, Turkish German football players in theAzerbaijan national football team includeUfuk Budak,Tuğrul Erat,Ali Gökdemir,Taşkın İlter,Cihan Özkara,Uğur Pamuk,Fatih Şanlı, andTimur Temeltaş [de].[204]
Several Turkish-German professional football players have also continued their careers as football managers such asOnur Cinel,Kenan Kocak,Hüseyin Eroğlu,Tayfun Korkut andEddy Sözer. In addition, there are also several Turkish-German referees, includingDeniz Aytekin.
In regards to women's football, several players have chosen to play for theTurkish women's national football team, includingAylin Yaren,[205]Aycan Yanaç,Melike Pekel,Dilan Ağgül,Selin Dişli,Arzu Karabulut,Ecem Cumert,Fatma Kara,Fatma Işık,Ebru Uzungüney andFeride Bakır.
There are also players who plays for theGerman women's football national football team, includingSara Doorsoun,Hasret Kayıkçı.Alara Şehitler andSelina Cerci.
The Turkish community in Germany has also been active in establishing their own football clubs such asBerlin Türkspor 1965 (established in 1965) andTürkiyemspor Berlin (established in 1978). Türkiyemspor Berlin were the Champions in theBerlin-Liga in the year 2000. They were the winners of theBerliner Landespokal in 1988, 1990, and 1991.Türkgücü München, established in 1975, play in the 3. Liga.
The Turks in Germany began to be active in politics by establishing associations and federations in the 1960s and 1970s – though these were mainly based on Turkish politics rather than German politics. The first significant step towards active German politics occurred in 1987 whenSevim Çelebi became the first person of Turkish origin to be elected as an MP in the West Berlin Parliament.[207]
With the reunification ofEast Germany andWest Germany, unemployment in the country had increased and some political parties, particularly theChristian Democratic Union (CDU), used anti-immigration discourses as a political tool in their campaigns. To counter this, many people of Turkish origin became more politically active and began to work in local elections and in the young branches of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) and theGreen Party. Several associations were founded by almost all German parties to organise meetings for Turkish voters. This played an important gateway for those who aspired to become politicians.[207]
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In1994Leyla Onur [de] from the SPD andCem Özdemir from theGreen Party became MPs in the Federal Parliament. They were both re-elected in the 1998 elections and were joined byEkin Deligöz from the Green party. Deligöz and Özdemir were both re-elected as MPs for the Greens andLale Akgün was elected as an MP for the SPD in the2002 elections. Thereafter, Deligöz and Akgün were successful in being re-elected in the2005 elections; the two female politicians were joined byHakkı Keskin who was elected as an MP for theLeft Party.[209]
By the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, the number of German MPs of Turkish origin remained similar to the previous elections. In the2009 electionsEkin Deligöz andMehmet Kılıç were elected for the Greens,Aydan Özoğuz for the SPD, andSerkan Tören [de] for theFDP.[209] Nonetheless, several Turkish-origin politicians were successful in becoming ministers and co-chairs of political parties. For example, in 2008Cem Özdemir became the co-chair of theGreen Party. In 2010Aygül Özkan was appointed as the Women, Family, Health and Integration Minister, making her the first ever minister of Turkish origin or the Muslim faith. In the same year,Aydan Özoğuz was elected as deputy chairperson of theSPD party. By 2011,Bilkay Öney [de] from the SPD was appointed as Integration Minister in the Baden-Württemberg State.[210]
Since the2013 German elections, Turkish-origin MPs have been elected into Federal Parliament from four different parties.Cemile Giousouf, whose parents immigrated fromGreece, became the first person ofWestern Thracian Turkish-origin to become an MP. Giousouf was the first Turkish-origin MP and first Muslim to be elected from the CDU party.[211] Five MPs of Turkish-origin were elected from the SPD party includingAydan Özoğuz,Cansel Kiziltepe,Gülistan Yüksel,Metin Hakverdi andMahmut Özdemir. Özdemir, at the time of his election, became the youngest MP in the German Parliament.[212][213] For the Green Party,Cem Özdemir,Ekin Deligöz andÖzcan Mutlu were elected as MPs, andAzize Tank for theLeft Party.[214]
In 1989Leyla Onur [de] from theSPD party was the first person of Turkish-origin to be a member of theEuropean Parliament for Germany.[215] By 2004Cem Özdemir andVural Öger also became members of the European Parliament. Since then,Ismail Ertug was elected as aMember of the European Parliament in 2009 and was re-elected in 2014.[216]
| Political parties in Germany | Year established | Founders | Current Leader | Position | Ideologies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative for Migrants (German:Alternative für Migranten,AfM;Turkish:Göçmenler için Alternatif) | 2019 | Turkish and Muslim minority interests | |||
| Alliance for Innovation and Justice (German:Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit,BIG;Turkish:Yenilik ve Adalet Birliği Partisi) | 2010 | Haluk Yıldız | Haluk Yıldız | Turkish and Muslim minority interests | |
| Alliance of German Democrats (German:Allianz Deutscher Demokraten,ADD;Turkish:Alman Demokratlar İttifakı) | 26 June 2016[217] | Remzi Aru | Ramazan Akbaş | Turkish and Muslim minority interests, Conservatism | |
| Bremen Integration Party of Germany (German:Bremische Integrations-Partei Deutschlands,BIP;Turkish:Almanya Bremen Entegrasyon Partisi) | 2010 | Levet Albayrak | Turkish and Muslim minority interests |
Some Turks born or raised in Germany have entered Turkish politics. For example,Siegen-born,Justice and Development Party (AKP) affiliatedAkif Çağatay Kılıç has been theMinister of Youth and Sports ofTurkey since 2013.[218]
Germany is effectively Turkey's 4th largest electoral district. Around a third of this constituency vote in Turkish elections (570,000 in the 2015 parliamentary elections), and the share ofconservative votes for theJustice and Development Party (AKP) andRecep Tayyip Erdoğan is even higher than in Turkey itself.[219]
Following the2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, huge pro-Erdoğan demonstrations were held by Turkish citizens in German cities.[219]The Economist suggested that this would make it difficult for Germany politicians to criticize Erdoğan's policies and tactics.[219] However, equally huge demonstrations by Turkish Kurds were also held in Germany some weeks later against Erdoğan's2016 Turkish purges and against the detention the HDP party co-chairpersonsSelahattin Demirtaş andFigen Yüksekdağ in Turkey.[220]
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...die er taufen ließ und zur Ehefrau nahm , und fast jeder der heimkehrenden Barone und Grafen hatte Kriegsgefangene in seinem Gefolge...Der deutsche Dichterfürst mit orientalischen Vorfahren stellt indessen keineswegs eine seltene Ausnahme dar.
Die Herren von Magenheim (nach anderen Quellen war es Reinhard von Württemberg) beispielsweise verschleppten einen türkischen Kriegsgefangenen und nahmen ihn mit auf ihre Burg in Cleebronn: Sadok Seli Soltan sollte der erste Deutsch-Türke werden. Um die 30 Jahre alt dürfte er gewesen sein, als er sich zwangsweise in Deutschland niederließ.
Und doch gibt es unter Goethes Vorfahren mütterlicherseits einen Ahnen türkisch-osmanischer, muslimischer Herkunft: Johann Soldan hieß vor seiner christlichen Taufe, die im Jahr 1305 in Brackenheim (Landkreis Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg) vorgenommen wurde, auf Türkisch vermutlich Mehmet Sadık Selim Sultan. Überliefert in deutschen Quellen ist der Name als "Sadok Seli Soltan". Johann Soldan jedenfalls starb 1328 und gilt als der erste urkundlich erfasste Deutsche türkischer Herkunft.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , einen fremdländischen Vorfahren : Er soll von dem türkischen Offizier Sadok Seli Zoltan abstammen , den Graf Reinhart von Württemberg im Jahre 1291 von einem der Kreuzzüge aus dem Heiligen Land mit nach Süddeutschland gebracht hatte
Dass Johann Wolfgang von Goethe türkische Vorfahren hatte, war bekannt. Dass diese Wurzeln jedoch nach Baden-Württemberg zurückreichen, weniger. Das hat jedenfalls der Brackenheimer Dekan Werner-Ulrich Deetjen herausgefunden Laut dem promovierten Kirchenhistoriker gehen Goethes Vorfahren auf Sadok Selim zurück, der gegen Ende des 13. Jahrhunderts bei Kämpfen mit Kreuzfahrern im Heiligen Land in die Gefangenschaft des Deutschritterordens geriet.
Gedachter Johann Soldan heiratete Rebekka Dohlerin... Kein Geringerer als Johann Wolfgang von Goethe zählt diesen ehemaligen türkischen Beamten und Offizier zu seinen Vorfahren
Die Ursprünge der Familie Soldan reichen bis ins frühe 14. Jahrhundert zurück. Stammvater soll der türkische Offizier Sadok Seli Soltan gewesen sein, der während eines Kreuzzugs vom Grafen von Lechtimor gefangen genommen wurde, der ihn wegen seiner Tapferkeit und besonderen Größe zu einem seiner Obersten ernannte.
Nach Ansicht der Erforscher des Stammbaums vom Herrn Geheimrat hatte dieser zumindest einen türkischen Vorfahren. Über seine Urgroßmutter mütterlicherseits, Elisabeth Katharina Seip (1680-1759), stammt Jowo Goethe von einem gewissen Heinrich Soldan ab, Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts Bürgermeister des hessischen Städtchens Frankenberg. Die (noch heute blühende) Familie Soldan sieht als ihren Stammvater Johann Soldan an, Oberst in Diensten des Grafen von Württemberg. Das türkische daran? Johann Soldan (1270-1328) gilt als der erste urkundlich nachweisbare Türke in Deuschland. Mehmet Sadık Selim Sultan (auch: Sadok Seli Soltan) war türkischer Offizier.
Der eine war Mehmed Ludwig Maximilian von Königstreu (um 1660-1726), Sohn eines türkischen Gouverneurs. Er fiel als Kind 1685 im Türkenkrieg in die Hände der hannoverschen Truppen. Am Hof von Ernst August galt er als exotische...
Es war seinerzeit modisch , junge Türken in Samt und Seide zu kleiden und um sich zu haben . ... Erbprinz Georg Ludwig und sein Bruder Prinz Maximilian brachten demnach zwölf Türkenkinder heim , die am kurfürstlichen Hofe erzogen wurden . ... Da sich dieser Mehmed durch Fleiß und Redlichkeit auszeichnete , wurde er unter dem Namen " Mehmed von Königstreu " vom Kurfürsten in den erblichen ...
Karl Boy-Ed was half German and half Turkish and was an experienced naval attaché, if not a professional intelligence officer.
Karl Boy-Ed, son of a Turkish father and a German mother, had received a special executive training and had served as naval attaché in several parts of the world.
As the illegitimate son of King Augustus II of Poland and Elector of Saxony (Frederick Augustus I) and a Turkish woman who later became Frau von Spiegel R. was educated at Parisian and Sardinian courts.
Bizimkiler Bulgaristan göçmeni. Sonra Almanya'ya gitmişler. Ben orada doğmuşum, Nürnberg'de.
Bilgin und Filiz Osmanodja, Geschwister-Paar einer bulgarischen Familie mit türkischen Wurzeln, wohnen nun in einer WG in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.
Giousouf ist die erste muslimische Abgeordnete der CDU im Bundestag; ihre Eltern gehören der türkischen Minderheit in der griechischen Region Thrakien an.
Furkan Çako, yurt dışında yaşayan Makedonya Türklerini, ülkedeki nüfus sayımına katılmaya ve kendilerini Türk olarak kaydettirmeye çağırdı. Diplomatımız, Twitter hesabından yaptığı çağrıda şu ifadeleri kullandı: Ülkemizde devam eden #NüfusSayımı2021 sürecine katılmak ve kaydınızı #Türk olarak gerçekleştirmek için yurtdışında yaşayan ve Türkiye, Slovakya, Çek Cumhuriyeti, Almanya, Avusturya, İsviçre, İtalya ve İsveç'te bulunan vatandaşlarımız aşağıdaki bilgilerden yararlanabilirler.
The pianist, who was born in Schwenningen (Germany) in 1971 to Cypriot parents, showed great musical talent at a very young age, and was praised as a child prodigy by many professional musicians.
Recent estimates suggest that there are now 500,000 Turkish Cypriots living in Turkey, 300,000 in the United Kingdom, 120,000 in Australia, 5000 in the United States, 2000 in Germany, 1800 in Canada, and 1600 in New Zealand with a smaller community in South Africa.
Yasemin Mansoor (Jahrgang 1979) ist Miss Germany 1996. Die damals 16-Jährige brach brach den Rekord als jüngste gewinnerin des schönheitswettbewerbs. Später arbeitete die Tochter irakisch-türkischer Immigranten als Fotomodell und produzierte Popmusik mit der Mädchenband "4 Unique...
Genau 102 Nachkommen des ersten Türken in Berlin – sie nennen ihn den "Urtürken" ... Geht man von einer Generationsspanne von durchschnittlich 35 Jahren aus, dann stammen Götz Aly und die anderen in sechster, siebter und achter Generation vom Urtürken ab.
The German census does not gather data on ethnicity, however according to estimates, somewhere between 4–7 million people with Turkish roots, or 5–9% of the population, live in Germany.
The result is that the two and a half to three million Turks in Germany are not seen as 'immigrants' but as 'guest workers'.
Fourth, the rise of xenophobic groups in Germany that have focused their sometimes deadly attacks on the 1.8 million ethnic Turks living in Germany has also strained relations.
Barbara John, a member of the German Government's Special Commission on Integration has observed that.. more than three million are Turkish guest workers and their descendants, some of them third-generation residents of Germany... Each year, about 20,000 of them are nationalized, but 79,000 babies are born...
The law concerning non – Germans was also very liberal until repealed in 1993; three million Turks live in Germany as a consequence of the liberal immigration policy of the 1960s and 1970s.
Very few of Germany's three million Turks, for example, have been afforded citizenship, even those who are second – or even third-generation German residents.
Western Europe still denies political rights to millions of inhabitants, notably the four million Turks whose families have lived and worked in Germany for three generations, or the three million Arabs in France.
Einst lud man 100000, 200000 Arbeiter nach Deutschland ein. Jetzt sind es ihrer schon vier Millionen Türken.
One might argue that Greek culture is also very different from German, but there are merely some two to three hundred thousand Greeks in the Federal Republic as opposed to over a million Turks in Berlin alone.
Today, more than 4 million people of Turkish origin are living in Germany.
Approximately four million people with Turkish roots are living in Germany at this time.
Today, there are nearly four million people with Turkish ancestry in Germany, which makes them the largest minority in Germany (5 percent of 82 million people).
By the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century there were around four million people of Turkish descent living in Germany...
...at least 4 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany.
Nearly fifty years later, close to four million Turks and their children continue to reside in the margins of German society
Today, for example, it is estimated that are more than 4 million Turks and German citizens with part of full Turkish ancestry live in Germany alone.
...about four million Turks are thought to live in Germany.
By 2010 the number of Turkish descent living in Germany had increased to four million.
By the twenty-first century, Germany was home to at least five million Turks
It's estimated that about five million Turks and a few million Russian-speaking people live in Germany.
Despite its 5 million Turks, Germany tends to deny being an immigrant country (Beck 2003).1
Approximately 1.6 million Turkish immigrants live in Germany, and another 4 million people have at least one parent that was a Turkish immigrant [totalling 5.6 million].
. The country's largest minority, nearly five million Turks, including the second and third generations...
...weil sie türkisches Fernsehen konsumieren und in der gewachsenen Community von insgesamt fünf Millionen Türken unter sich bleiben können (Pfeiffer 2012, Buschowsky 2012, Mansour 2015).
...the German Embassy's estimation of around 4 million to be more realistic than the official number of approximately 2.8 million returnees.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl warned [in 1997]: 'If we today give in to demands for dual citizenship, we would soon have four, five, or six million Turks in Germany instead of three million'.
With a population of roughly 4 million within Germany's borders, Turks make up Germany's largest minority demographic... As of 2005... some 2 million Turks with German citizenship.
Son yıllarda Azerbaycan Milli Takımı da yabancı uyruklu futbolculardan yararlanan milli takımlar sırasına dahil oldu... son dönemlerde ise Almanya doğumlu Türk futbolculara yoğunlaşdı...Cihan Özkara...Ufuk Budak...Ali Gökdemir...Uğur Pamuk...Taşkın İlter...Toğrul Erat...Timur Temeltaş...Fatih Şanlı
The comments hinted at the scientific rigour, unrelenting work ethic and appetite for entrepreneurship that has seen Sahin and Türeci's company outpace more well-established competitors in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine – and made the couple the first Germans with Turkish roots to enter their country's rich list this autumn, at number 93.
