Migration in Germany

Dossier: Migration in Germany

Turkish pupils in a German classroom (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Multicultural classrooms

An opportunity not a problem

It is increasingly the case that students from different nations, cultures and religions sit together in the same classroom. Experts at the University of Hildesheim in Germany are considering how teachers worldwide can better prepare themselves for this kind of diversity. Anke Martina Witt takes a look at how this issue is adressed in Germany, Canada, Norway and TurkeyMore

Integration in Germany: Finally growing up The Avicenna scholarship programme: Fostering talented, socially committed Muslim students Qantara dossier: Education

Two young Muslim women attend a ceremony at the Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster in October 2012 (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Integration in Germany

Finally growing up

Attitudes and approaches to integration in Germany have changed a lot over the past 20 years. During this period, Germany has gone from a denial that it is a country of immigration to a concerted effort to improve integration. Aladin El-Mafaalani takes a closer look at what has changedMore

Dual Nationality in Germany: Double Standards in the Citizenship Debate Qantara dossier: integration in Germany Klaus J. Bade on Thilo Sarrazin: Forget Sarrazin!

Photo symbolising the isolation caused by the linguistic difficulties faced by immigrants (photo: Fotolia)

Health and immigration in Germany

Language barriers to psychotherapy for immigrants

Language is a crucial part of therapy when treating psychological disorders. Yet how is therapy possible when the therapist and the patient don't even speak the same language? This is often a huge problem for immigrants. Marcus Lütticke has the detailsMore

UNART theatre project: Integration is about more than just learning German Young Muslims in Germany: Taking a Stand for Society Qantara dossier: Integration in Germany Germany's New Minister for Migration: Aydan Özoguz, a Turkish-German at the Top

Berlin pupils who took part in the UNART theatre competition (photo: DW/A. Kasiske)

UNART theatre project

Integration is about more than just learning German

The theatre performance project UNART gave pupils from a Berlin "welcome class" the chance to perform on the stage of the city's Maxim Gorki Theatre. Would the endless hours of rehearsal pay off and take them into the final? Andrea Kasiske watched them rehearsingMore

Qantara dossier: integration in Germany Artists' Collective Migrantas: A Visual Language of Migration Documentary on Integration Courses in Germany: How to Become a German The Intercultural Theatre Project ''Koran School'': Intensive Course in Muslim Life in Germany

Anti-Sarrazin demonstration in Potsdam in September 2010 (photo: imago/Christian Thiel)

Book review: Klaus J. Bade on Thilo Sarrazin

Forget Sarrazin!

In 2010, the German politician and former member of the board of the Bundesbank Thilo Sarrazin, caused a nationwide uproar with his hugely controversial theories on intelligence, class, race, immigration and multiculturalism. The prominent migration specialist Klaus J. Bade has now written a book on the ensuing debate. According to Andreas Pflitsch, Bade's analysis is thorough, but he completely misses the essence of the matterMore

Thilo Sarrazin and His Comments on Muslims' Intelligence: The Joy of Despising Others Thilo Sarrazin: "Germany Is Abolshing Itself": Take Heed: the End is Nigh!Thilo Sarrazin and Muslim Migrants in Germany: Rejection of Parlour Racism

Germany's New Minister for Migration

Aydan Özoguz, a Turkish-German at the Top

The SPD's Aydan Özoguz is the first politician of Turkish origin to hold a top post in Germany. As integration minister, she gives a voice to the country's many migrants - but she has not been without controversy. By Michael HartlepMore

Muslims in Germany: ''Integration in Germany Is Making Progress''Interview with Integration Minister Bilkay Öney: "Integration Is a Matter of Wanting To"Interview with Minister of Social Affairs Aygül Özkan: Call for Diversity

Prof. Klaus J. Bade (photo: private copyright)

Dual Nationality in Germany

Double Standards in the Citizenship Debate

If a Turk receives and keeps German citizenship in addition to his own Turkish nationality, then he suffers an identity crisis. If a German were to additionally obtain Turkish citizenship however, this would be no problem at all. A commentary by Prof. Klaus J. BadeMore

Dual Citizenship in Germany: Why the Obligation to Choose is Damaging Integration Germany's Disputed Dual Citizenship Law: ''Everyone Must Be Able to Participate''Interview with Doug Saunders: ''Muslim Infiltration Is a Myth''

Rita Süssmuth (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Interview with the Migration Expert Rita Süssmuth

Learning to Deal with Diversity

If Europe's immigration policy is not changed in the coming years, the continent's population will start to shrink dramatically in 2025. Annika Zeitler spoke to the German migration expert and former President of the Bundestag, Rita SüssmuthMore

The Lampedusa Tragedy: EU Refugee Policy Is Morally Bankrupt The EU's Migration and Asylum Policy: Not in Line with European Values Dossier: Policy on Refugees and Migration

A woman holding two passports, one German, and one Turkish (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Dispute about Dual Citizenship in Germany

Why the Obligation to Choose is Damaging Integration

The fight against dual citizenship is an assault on the reality of life in Germany. While it is true to say that those who want to assume German citizenship have to decide, they are not deciding whether to feel a little bit more Turkish or a little bit more German; they are deciding in favour of democracy, a state governed by the rule of law and the basic principles on which the constitution is built. A commentary by Heribert PrantlMore

Germany's Disputed Dual Citizenship Law: ''Everyone Must Be Able to Participate''Interview with Doug Saunders: ''Muslim Infiltration Is a Myth''Qantara.de Dossier: Migration in Germany

Relationship counseling at the Institute for Migration and Intercultural Study in Bonn, Germany (photo: Julie Schwannecke)

Interfaith Partnerships in Germany

Cultural Diversity as an Enrichment

In light of the increasing cultural and religious diversity in society, interfaith partnerships are nowadays no longer a rarity. How do these couples experience everyday life together and how to they deal with each other's different culture, traditions, and value systems? Julie Schwannecke provides some insightMore

Muslims and Inter-Religious Marriages: Negotiating Religion and Social Identity A German-Turkish Love Story: Müzeyyen Adores Christmas Morocco: Peaceful Co-existence between Divine Religions

Gamze Kubasik sits on a beige couch and looks at the camera (photo: Andrea Grunau)

Turkish Victims of the NSU Murders in Germany

A Victim's Daughter Testifies

When she appears in court, Gamze Kubasik will testify in the presence of those accused of killing her father. She hopes for composure. She also seeks justice and a sense of "inner peace" that vanished in April 2006. Andrea Grunau reportsMore

Turkish Victims of the NSU Murders in Germany: A Daughter Demands Justice NSU Trial in Munich: A Thoroughgoing Investigation and Justice The NSU Murders: When No One Takes a Stand for Decency

A statue of Justitia (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Open Letter to a Border Guard

Defending Our Borders against the Scum

In Germany, helpers of Syrian refugees are being put on trial. These lifesavers are being treated like enemies of the state. In his polemic, Stefan Buchen addresses a German border guard and encourages him to prevent the misery of the Syrian civil war from spilling over into EuropeMore

Syrian Refugees: Driven out of Egypt Syrian Boat Refugees in Egypt: "Head Straight on to Europe!"The Lampedusa Tragedy: EU Refugee Policy Is Morally Bankrupt

Refugee boat at the coast of Lampedusa, Italy (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

The Lampedusa Tragedy

EU Refugee Policy Is Morally Bankrupt

The EU's interior ministers have discussed refugee policy following the catastrophe off Lampedusa - without any result. They've failed to use a good opportunity for a new, more humane policy, says Ute SchaefferMore

The EU's Migration and Asylum Policy: Not in Line with European Values Interview with William Spindler: "Europe Has a Legal Duty to Help"EU Migration Policy: EU Makes Africa Its Deputy Sheriff

Syrian refugee children at the police station in Abukir, Egypt (photo: Karim El-Gawhary)

Syrian Boat Refugees in Egypt

"Head Straight on to Europe!"

Many Syrian refugees are trying to reach Europe from Egypt via the Mediterranean. They are risking their lives to escape the civil war in their homeland. A reportage by Karim El-Gawhary in Abukir, EgyptMore

The Lampedusa Tragedy: EU Refugee Policy Is Morally Bankrupt The EU's Migration and Asylum Policy: Not in Line with European Values Camps for Syrian Refugees in Zaatari and Atma: Cut off from the Rest of the World

Germany's "Migrant MPs"

So Where Are You Really From?

Among the new German parliamentarians are 35 with an "immigration background" – a label they find unfortunate, as they are not there to merely fulfill a quota. Naomi Conrad talked to several of these parliamentarians in BerlinMore

Muslims in Germany: ''Integration in Germany Is Making Progress''Islam and Enlightenment: A Space for Doubts and Questions Qantara Dossier: Integration in Germany

The Film "Ummah – Among Friends"

My Neighbours, the Muslims

With his first feature film, "Ummah – unter Freunden," the German-Turkish film director Cüneyt Kaya deliberately confronts viewers with a world that stands in sharp contrast to prevalent prejudices. The film, set in the Berlin problem district of Neukölln, can be taken as an invitation to get to know the Muslim community. By Anke SterneborgMore

Multiculturalism in German Cinema: We Are Here and That Is How It Should Be!Fatih Akin's Film "The Edge of Heaven": Transcending Prejudice and Ideology Turkish Cinema: Miracle Spirit of Optimism and a Lack of Craftsmanship