The integration of immigrants in Germany describes the historical development, political frameworks and social dynamics through which migrants and refugees have been incorporated into German society since 1945.
History
In the theory of social , integration is understood as a successful relationship between freedom and commitment, with three dimensions being considered: the social structural, institutional and personal dimensions. If integration fails and disintegration occurs, this leads to a loss of social cohesion and is ultimately the cause of violence.
Integration of refugees and forcibly resettled Germans from Eastern Europe
The more than 8 million displaced persons who were taken in by West Germany and almost four million by East Germany between the end of the war and 1950 were not counted as immigrants. In East Germany, these displaced persons – also known as "resettlers" – made up almost a quarter of the population, and they initially experienced exclusion and decline, especially in rural areas. Until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, there were also more than 4.3 million resettlers () from the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany and almost 400,000 resettlers from the Federal Republic of Germany to the GDR. The GDR refugees integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany without developing an identity as a group, and they had German citizenship from the outset.
Since 1950, approximately 4.5 million (late) resettlers have been accepted into Germany. S. 35.
Repatriates and late repatriates since the eastern treaties
Although ethnic German had and in some cases still have similar integration problems as foreign migrants and their descendants, and although migration researcher Jannis Panagiotidis argues for analyzing the development of Germans from Russia who immigrated to Germany after 1991 under the category of "post-Soviet migration", many of those affected and their associations resist being considered "migrants". This population group often has quick access to German citizenship and sometimes already has a good knowledge of German upon immigration.
In the theory of social , integration is understood as a successful relationship between freedom and commitment, with three dimensions being considered: the social structural, institutional and personal dimensions. If integration fails and disintegration occurs, this leads to a loss of social cohesion and is ultimately the cause of violence.
Recruitment policy under the assumption of return The largest immigrant groups and their descendants in Germany include the population of Turkish origin. Among the foreign population, Turks, Poles and Italians are the most strongly represented (2015 with around 1.5 million, 0.7 million and 0.6 million respectively).
Between 1955 and 1973, approximately 14 million guest workers came to West Germany as a result of recruitment agreements with Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, South Korea, Portugal, Tunisia and Yugoslavia; about 11 million returned home. In post-war West Germany, the integration of foreign immigrants was not part of the political discourse for a long time. This was based on the assumption that the guest workers (Gastarbeiter), who were mostly employed as unskilled laborers, would return to their homeland after a few years. Migration researcher Olaf Kleist emphasizes that when guest workers were recruited in the 1960s, "a certain amount of ghettoization was partly desired. There were special school classes for the children of guest workers. Integration was to be prevented because it was always assumed that the guest workers were only staying in Germany temporarily." And in the East Germany, the contract workers (Vertragsarbeiter) lived clearly separated from the citizens.. In: Tagesschau ARD. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
However, the assumption that most guest workers would return turned out to be wrong over time. Since about 2005, integration policy in Germany has gained in importance.
The guest workers from Turkey were recruited for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs and, in both the first and second generations, have below-average German language skills, an extremely strong limitation of friendship networks to their own ethnic group and the worst integration into the labour market. From Iran, on the other hand, there was an exodus of elites with a high level of education and relatively low levels of religiosity. Most of them are well integrated. The social background of the parents is therefore crucial for the success of integration.
Integration policy since around 2005
The principles of state integration measures are laid down in §§ 43 to 45 of the (AufenthG), which came into force on 1 January 2005, supplemented by the (IntV). Further regulations apply to certain foreigners – for example, EU citizens, asylum seekers, displaced persons, members of the armed forces. Vorschriften 1.1.4 bis 1.1.5.
In the , which contained the first version of the Residence Act, the term "integration" was used for the first time in migration policy legislation in 2005. It was in this context that the modern integration courses were introduced.
Previously, the justification for the revision of the had addressed the role of the right of expulsion in relation to integration. At the time, the legislator had declared that the right of expulsion creates clarity about the possible reasons for termination of residence and thus enables foreigners to "structure their stay in the federal territory in such a way that they do not provide any reason for termination of residence." The right of expulsion is therefore "a — reasonable — basis for integration," because "anyone who stays within the limits of the reasons for expulsion is protected from expulsion".
In 2005, in addition to the previously usual distinction between foreigners and Germans, the microcensus for the first time classified people with German citizenship to investigate the migration of immigrants and the next generation: Since then, the microcensus has differentiated people with and without a migration background based on their migration status and the possible migration of their parents after 1949. According to the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), the background to this distinction was "the question of the need for integration and the actual integration of people who have German citizenship but nevertheless have a migration background (for example, resettlers, naturalised citizens, children of foreign parents)".Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung, 2016. With its definition, the BiB contradicted the claim in 2005 that resettlers and late resettlers are not migrants and should therefore not be included in studies on the topic of migration.
In the , integration policy was seen as a cross-cutting task . At the beginning of the 16th Bundestag, the commissioner for migration, refugees and integration was therefore assigned to the Federal Chancellery and upgraded to minister of state. S. 15. A first integration summit was held in 2006 and it was agreed to draw up a . The Integration Ministers' Conference was subsequently held in 2007.
As a , integration policy affects a wide range of policy areas and is closely linked to migration policy and social policy in particular. While integration policy continues to focus on the local level, a ministry in each federal state is now responsible for the area of integration. At the federal level and in almost every federal state, the office of a foreigners' or integration commissioner has also been created.
The was opened by the Federal Minister of the Interior in September 2006 as an institutionalized dialogue process between the German state and Muslims in Germany.
In a 2012 publication by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the state of integration was described as "not satisfactory despite the of 2007", as significant differences between people with and without a migration background persist. Even well-qualified foreign workers are more affected by unemployment and have a lower labour force participation rate than the corresponding groups without a migration background. It is emphasized that integration policy in Germany is now similar to that of other Western European countries, but that Germany took this step very late.
Today, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) describes the "integration of immigrants living permanently and legally in Germany" as "one of the most important domestic policy tasks", both in terms of granting rights and observing obligations. Previously, the BMI had emphasised the guideline "promoting and demanding", in the tradition of activating social policy, as practiced in Germany especially since Agenda 2010.
Further developments in the refugee crisis from 2015 The presented new challenges regarding the integration of newcomers for German refugee policy. The topic of integration became particularly explosive in German politics in 2015 in the wake of the 2015–2016 German migrant crisis.
With the entry into force of the on 24 October 2015, integration courses were also opened to asylum seekers and tolerated persons, provided they have a good . However, refugee associations criticised the different access to integration courses depending on the prospect of staying: Pro Asyl expressed the view that this sorting in many cases ensures "that the integration of people who will stay permanently in Germany is unnecessarily delayed".
In December 2015, Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) politicians Manuela Schwesig, Andrea Nahles, Barbara Hendricks, Aydan Özoguz and Malu Dreyer presented a twelve-point plan for cohesion and integration in Germany. The integration concept was focused on education as the key to integration and participation and envisaged, among other things, 10,000 additional positions in the Federal Volunteers Service for refugees, 80,000 additional childcare places, 20,000 additional educators and an all-day school programme. In the interests of labour market integration, refugees were to take part in language courses and measures to enter the labour market at the same time, qualifications were to be obtained more quickly and with less bureaucracy and 100,000 additional jobs were to be created in the context of refugee aid. Funding for housing construction for 350,000 new apartments was also included. In response to a request from the Greens, the Federal Government described this integration concept in January 2016 as a "political position paper" on which the Federal Government did not have to comment. Member of the German Bundestag Katja Dörner subsequently assessed the presentation of this plan as a "pure show event".
At the end of 2015, the Federal Voluntary Service with reference to refugees (Section 18 BFDG) was introduced and the BFD was provided with 10,000 additional positions limited to three years. Since 2016, some federal states have been offering legal education classes for refugees in addition to the integration course.
In May 2016, the federal government passed a draft integration law. After amendments, the integration law was passed in July 2016, which, among other things, provides for a residency requirement for recognized refugees, the requirement of integration services for a settlement permit, a partial waiver of the priority test, an expansion of orientation courses and a toleration for the duration of the training and possibly a further two years. It largely came into force on 6 August 2016.
In the course of the 2015–2016 German migrant crisis onwards, there was increased social debate about Islam and Islamism, for example with reference to Sharia law in contemporary Western states and the role of women.