Turks firmly rooted in German culture after 50 years

By dpa correspondents Oct 27, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Berlin - Germany signed an agreement with Turkey to hire Turkish workers 50 years ago on Sunday. Since then, Turkish immigrants have become deeply rooted within Germany and are now approaching their fourth generation.

Suleyman Cozmez lives in Germany, but Turkey remains his home. His grandson, however, will never experience life in Turkey.

Half a century ago, fears and doubts lingered about the move, but the hope of money and prosperity prevailed. And so Cozmez packed his suitcase and boarded a train from Istanbul to Cologne.

Like many other companies in Cologne, Ford was desperately searching for workers during the 1960s and 70s. By 1972, the Ford factory in Cologne was employing more than 12,000 Turks, among them Cozmez.

Today, like thousands of fellow Turkish migrant workers, Cozmez lives as a pensioner in Cologne - and his family, now in its third generation, is still working at Ford.

'The Germans were friendly and helped us a lot. For example, with shopping - at first I could only communicate with my hands,' Cozmez recalls.

The 68-year-old attended German courses immediately. 'Only if you speak the language, can you feel part of a foreign country. Besides, there was an incentive - whoever learnt German, got more pay,' he says.

Cozmez had not initially planned to remain in Germany permanently. 'I worked here, but my thoughts were in Turkey,' he said. 'I wanted to earn some money, and then go back home. But Germany is a beautiful country.'

On October 30, 1961, Germany signed the agreement which intended to lure Turks into taking temporary jobs with the guarantee of a minimum wage and accommodation, wherever there was a shortage of workers.

But there was misconception from the start. When Germany brought over the first Turks 50 years ago, officials believed that the 'guests' would return home some day. Nobody spoke of integration and the consequences can be felt today.

Today in Germany, around 2.5 million people have Turkish roots - the second largest population group after Germans.

For decades, German politics did not see immigration as a major issue. However, a recent book by German politician Thilo Sarrazin - Germany Abolishes Itself - sparked a heated debate on immigration last year.

In 2005, a new Immigration Act came into force, spelling out benefits and obligations for migrants. Whoever wanted to be German had to, amongst other things, pass a citizenship test and demonstrate knowledge of German to an adequate level.

And yet, Islamophobia and xenophobia remain two major issues in Germany.

Following the Sarrazin debate, Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union party, called for an end to Turkish and Arabic immigration.

Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich also challenged German President Christian Wulff, who had said that Islam was also part of Germany.

Cultural researcher Michael Hofmann thinks that Turks make a positive contribution.

'They are part of the German culture. While the kebab belongs to the 'Turkish traces' in Germany, for my 16-year-old son the kebab is part of German culture.'

Hofmann believes the whole development of Turkish integration is a success story.

Mezut Ozil, a Turk who now features regularly in the German national football team, is a prime example of how Germany has become multicultural.

In Berlin's Wedding district, Remzi Kaplan is known as the 'Kebab king.' He only lives a few hundred metres from his factory in the Soldiner neighborhood, which is known as a problem area because of its high number of foreigners and unemployed.

Kaplan, who as a six-year-old sold cucumbers in his local village, now gives some of them work. He is a celebrity and their role model. He is the one who made it: the son of migrant workers turned millionaire.

On a giant screen, he scrutinizes images from 16 surveillance cameras, which he uses to monitor each step of production.

'I see everything here,' the Kebab King says.

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