Reasons For and the Impact of the Various Waves of Migration to Germany Essay

Introduction

Germany was a country of immigration during the 19^th century. This was basically due to the high numbers of immigration of individuals from other countries especially Poland which saw a great multitude of foreigners in Germany. In the period after 1950’s, Germany was one of the important destinations of immigrants from different regions. During this period there was a movement of many Germans who were returning from other countries besides the relocation of foreigners who had no ancestral background to Germany. The reunification period saw the return of many Germans who were living in other territories such a Poland, the Soviet Union and also Romania. The returnees were accepted on the basis of ethnicity. By the early 1990’s, the German government started to take measures related to the issues of returnees. It for example introduced ethnic aids that were directed to lifting the economic livelihood of these individuals in a bid to retain them within the country (Beckmann 2008:14). This paper analyses the major reasons that caused the immigrations and the impacts it had on Germany.

After World War II, immigration became a mass phenomenon and this gave rise to various waves of immigration inflows. The immigration influx raised a lot of questions as to the origin of the immigrants, reasons as to why they were leaving their home countries and also the consequences that resulted from immigration. Immigration to Germany had its main waves during the 19^th century and during the 20th century. The first wave of immigration to Germany took place in the early 1930’s into the Ruhr Area and also the eastern provinces of Germany (Wucker, 2006, p. 34).

Reasons for immigration to Germany after World War II

The major reasons for the immigration to Germany can be traced to economic as well as political reasons. The immigrants mainly focused on the advantages that could be ripped out of the growing German economy. Industries such as the mining and the steel industry were experiencing a very acute shortage of labor and many immigrants wanted to acquire these jobs in these industries. There were many immigrant workers from Poland and Ukraine who were recruited in the German industries in large numbers (Michele 1999, p. 17). The second wave of immigration took a course in the 1950’s after World War II which again was due to economical factors. During this time Germany was under reconstruction a period which is normally referred to as the Wirtschaftswunder which refers to an economic miracle (Simon 2001, p. 28). The demand for labor was at its peak and this could not be satisfied by the domestic labor despite the fact that there was a multitude of refugees in the country. The government of Germany actually had to construct the Berlin wall in 1961 to prevent people from leaving Germany. It also introduced a recruitment policy to hire immigrant workers from other regions especially from the Mediterranean countries. Other major reasons for the immigration to Germany especially during the third wave in 1970’s were the economic and political liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe. At this time Germany was uniquely open to accept the individuals who were persecuted from other failed states and also a reluctance to policies regarding asylum seekers. Political factors were also a great influence especially from the Nazis who were forced to work in the manufacturing sectors of Germany during the Second World War (Messina 2007, p. 24). The Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats always argued on the measures regarding immigration, citizenship and also integration.

Impact of the immigration to Germany

The waves of immigration to Germany resulted in a lot of impact both to Germany and the home countries of the immigrants. One of the major impacts to home countries is that there were much-reduced rates of unemployment since its citizens could secure jobs in Germany. The economies of the home countries also benefited in that some of the earnings that were gained by the immigrant workers were repatriated back to the home country. This improved the economic situation of many families who were left behind in their home countries. In Germany, they benefited from the availability of cheap labor which helped it to reconstruct Germany after World War II. The whole process of repatriating labor from other countries had some effects on the politics and economic relations between these countries. One of the resulting repercussions is the formation of the bilateral agreements between Germany and the host countries. This included bilateral agreements with countries such as Greece, Turkey, Portugal and Yugoslavia. The policies signed required guest workers of low qualification who entered Germany for a period of two years and were expected to go back and create space for new entrants. This saw many European workers settle in Germany and they contributed to the economic growth of Germany a process that was referred to as the Industriestandort Deutschland (Wucker, 2006, p. 43). The immigration of these workers to Germany increased the number of foreigners in Germany to very large figures. This had an impact on the structure of the societies and also the demography of the German population. The social ties of the foreign workers also changed over a period of time. This has brought a great effect on the politics of Germany especially in the period of 1980’s and also in the 1990’s. Germany has had to deal with policy issues related to the immigration of other family members, a high number of refugees and also asylum seekers (Beckmann 2008, p. 42). The country has also been faced with very many cases of illegal immigration across the borders.

The politics in Germany regarding immigrant workers has led to unsolved problems of awarding citizenship to the workers. One major reason is that Germany needs these immigrant workers to keep its economy growing. This is more complicated by the number of individuals seeking asylum from the government of Germany. The government has ever since introduced new rules and regulations to address the issues of asylum seekers (Simon 2001, p39). This has worked to remarkably reduce the number of asylum seekers. The issue of awarding citizenship has remained a problem for a long time and the present regulation is based on the law of blood as opposed to the law of birthplace. Studies in 2004 have indicated that the large Turkish population born in Germany does not have German nationality despite the fact that they were born there. This unfortunate repercussion happens despite the fact that legislation was passed in 2000 to grant foreign children born in Germany citizenship. There has been a debate of introducing double citizenship which has given rise to a lot of controversy in German Politics (Messina 2007, p. 36). The nation is now divided into various regional multicultural societies. The government of Germany never took the initiative to integrate the immigrants with the local societies and this has given rise to a lot of social conflict in Germany.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the immigration to Germany in the four waves of immigration was basically driven by the adequate shortage of labor that hit the German industries after World War II. The need of the German government to reconstruct the economy could not be met by the domestic labor and it, therefore, relaxed the policies related to immigration of the foreigners. This has had a great impact on raising the foreign population in Germany who came in as Guest workers. Other major reasons were politically influenced. Immigration had an impact on the social and demographic structure in Germany which has given rise to a lot of social problems. However, it worked to improve the economic growth of Germany besides lifting the living standards of the guest workers.

References

1. Anton Kaes (2007). Germany in Transit: Nation and Migration, 1955-2005. University of California Press.
2. Anthony M. Messina (2007). The Logics and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western Europe. London: Cambridge University Press.
3. Green, Simon (2001). Immigration, asylum and citizenship in Germany: The impact of unification and the Berlin republic. McGraw Hill Press
4. Kristina Beckmann (2008).The Impact of the Cold War on Germany’s Immigration and Citizenship Policies from 1945 to 2000.Greenwood Press.
5. Langfield, Michele (1999). Recruiting Immigrants: The First World War and Australian Immigration. Journal of Australian Studies. University of Queensland Press.
6. Michele Wucker (2006). Tackling the European migration problem. The Journal of Economic Perspectives. Yale University Press.