Generation Turks’ identity politics in Germany through following the content of the movie, Berlin in Berlin

Authors : Çağlar Enneli

Pages : 0-0

Doi:10.1501/antro_0000000008

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Publication Date : 2007-04-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :In 1960s and 1970s, Germany was a country huge foreign labour force from various ethnic origins migrated to as a result of the agreements signed between German government and countries like Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Turkey. Though considered to be the main reason of rapidly growing German economy, this labour force, as time went on, was began to be treated as problem, especially after the international oil crisis in 1973 and unemployment problem in Germany emerged as a consequence of this development. Turkish guestworkers were, probably, the main subjects of this reconsideration as they both formed the biggest population among the foreign labourers and were labelled as people with inability to integrate to German community. In this article, I will challenge the latter statement and suggest that Turkish presence in Germany should be reviewed with the terms of identity politics of betweenness, I mean, of everyday experiences of Turkish people between what is thought to be German and what is thought to be Turkish. Adding the content of one of the latest movies concerning Turks in Germany, Berlin in Berlin, to my analysis, I will argue that adaptation, rather than naïve statement of inability to integrate, is a key process, to reach the terms of which first, second, and third generations of Turks in Germany have distinct possibilities, limitations, strategies and choices especially in respect of age and gender and that negotiation of identities in everyday lives between two worlds is an ongoing practice through adaptation.
Keywords : Turks in Germany, Berlin in Berlin, identity