Turks in Germany

In 1961, in the midst of an economic boom that resulted in a significant labor shortage, Germany signed a bilateral agreement with Turkey to allow German companies to recruit Turkish workers.

[10] The earliest documented Turk in Germany is believed to be Sadok Seli Soltan [de] (Mehmet Sadık Selim Sultan) (ca.1270-1328) from the Anatolian Seljuk lands.

By 1304 Soltan married Rebekka Dohlerin; he was baptised the following year as "Johann Soldan", but "out of special love to him", the Count "gave him a Turkish nobility coat of arms".

[14] For example, through his maternal grandmother, the renowned German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe belonged to the descendants of the Soldan family and thus had Turkish ancestry.

For example, in 1731, the Duke of Kurland presented twenty Turkish guardsmen to King Frederick William I, and at one time, about 1,000 Muslim soldiers are said to have served in the Prussian cavalry.

By 1740 Frederick the Great stated that: "All religions are just as good as each other, as long as the people who practice them are honest, and even if Turks and heathens came and wanted to populate this country, then we would build mosques and temples for them.

The exchange, which was intended as a vocational training measure and began for some of the group as apprentices at the Ford plant in Cologne, became the starting point for their immigration to the Federal Republic for some.

[48] The political rhetoric calling for foreigner-free zones (Ausländer-freie Zonen) and the rise of neo-Nazi groups sharpened public awareness of integration issues and generated intensified support among liberal Germans for the competing idea of Germany as a "multicultural" society.

In particular, Turkish Bulgarians who did not join the massive migration wave to Turkey during the so-called "Revival Process" faced severe economic disadvantages and discrimination resulting from the state policies of Bulgarisation.

[60] Whilst many Western Thrace Turks had intended to return to Greece after working for a number of years, a new Greek law was introduced which effectively forced the minority to remain in Germany.

[65] Between 2002 and 2011 there was a significant decrease in the population of the Turkish Romanian minority group due to the admission of Romania into the European Union and the subsequent relaxation of the travelling and migration regulations.

[97][98][99][100][101] Jytte Klausen cited German statistics in 2005 showing 2.4 million Turks, but acknowledged that unlike Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, the Turkish community cannot allocate their ethnic or religious identity in official counts.

The vast majority are found in the former West Germany, particularly in industrial regions such as the states of North Rhine-Westphalia (where a third of Turkish Germans live),[102] and Baden-Württemberg and the working-class neighbourhoods of cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Bochum, Bonn, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hanover, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Mainz, Nuremberg, Munich, Stuttgart, Aachen and Wiesbaden.

By the early 1990s a new sociolect called Kanak Sprak or Türkendeutsch was coined by the Turkish-German author Feridun Zaimoğlu to refer to the German "ghetto" dialect spoken by the Turkish youth.

However, with the developing formation of a Turkish middle class in Germany, there is an increasing number of people of Turkish-origin who are proficient in using the standard German language, particularly in academia and the arts.

[citation needed] A series of arson attacks, bombings, and shootings have targeted the Turkish community in both public and private spaces, such as in their homes, cultural centres, and businesses.

[132][133] On 9 March 1993, Mustafa Demiral [de], aged 56, was attacked by two members of the German anti-immigrant political party "The Republicans" whilst waiting at a bus stop in Mülheim.

The Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper claimed that the Osmanen Germania is advancing more and more into red-light districts, which increases the likelihood of a bloody territorial battle with established gangs like the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

[145] The first phase in Turkish-German Cinema began in the 1970s and lasted through to the 1980s; it involved writers placing much of their attention on story-lines that represented the living and working conditions of the Turkish immigrant workers in Germany.

[150] Similarly, other recent Turkish-German comedies like Meine verrückte türkische Hochzeit (Kiss me Kismet [de], 2006), starring Hilmi Sözer, Ercan Özçelik, Aykut Kayacık, and Özay Fecht, and the film Evet, I Do!

[159] In 2005 Tevfik Başer's book Zwischen Gott und Erde ("Time of Wishes") was turned into a primetime TV German movie starring Erhan Emre, Lale Yavaş, Tim Seyfi, and Hilmi Sözer, and won the prestigious Adolf Grimme Prize.

Whilst Turkish-origin journalists are still underrepresented, several have made successful careers as reporters and TV presenters including Erkan Arikan [de][168] and Nazan Eckes.

For example, numerous actors and actresses in Muhteşem Yüzyıl were born in Germany, including Meryem Uzerli,[169] Nur Fettahoğlu,[170] Selma Ergeç,[171] and Ozan Güven.

[175] Some of the most notable writers of Turkish origin in Germany include Akif Pirinçci,[175] Alev Tekinay,[175] Emine Sevgi Özdamar,[175] Feridun Zaimoğlu,[175] Necla Kelek,[175] Renan Demirkan,[175] and Zafer Şenocak.

Consequently, by the end of the 1960s, some Turks in Germany began to produce their own music, such as Metin Türköz [de] who took up themes of the Turkish immigration journey and their working conditions.

[182] Thereafter, a competition and group was formed called Die Stimme einer neuen Ära/Yeni neslin sesi ("The voice of the new generation") to find new Turkish-German talent and "Sen de bizdensin" was re-released with different lyrics.

[185] Several Turkish-origin singers born in Germany have also launched their careers in Turkey, such as Akın Eldes,[186] Aylin Aslım,[187] Doğuş [tr],[188] İsmail YK,[189] Ozan Musluoğlu,[190] Pamela Spence,[191] and Tarkan.

The first person of Turkish descent to play for the Germany national football team was Mehmet Scholl in 1993,[200] followed by Mustafa Doğan in 1999 and Malik Fathi in 2006.

Those who have chosen to retain their Turkish citizenship and who have competed for Turkey include Cenk Tosun,[201] Ceyhun Gülselam,[201] Gökhan Töre,[203] Hakan Balta,[200] Hakan Çalhanoğlu,[203] Halil Altıntop,[200] Hamit Altıntop,[200] İlhan Mansız,[204] Nuri Şahin,[200] Ogün Temizkanoğlu,[204] Olcay Şahan,[203] Mehmet Ekici,[201] Serhat Akin,[201] Tayfun Korkut,[204] Tayfur Havutçu,[204] Tunay Torun,[201] Ümit Davala,[204] Umit Karan,[204] Volkan Arslan,[201] Yıldıray Baştürk,[204] Yunus Mallı,[203] Kaan Ayhan, Ahmed Kutucu, Levin Öztunalı, Kenan Karaman, Ömer Toprak, Salih Özcan, Nazim Sangaré, Güven Yalçın, Berkay Özcan and Hasan Ali Kaldırım.

[212] Five MPs of Turkish-origin were elected from the SPD party including Aydan Özoğuz, Cansel Kiziltepe, Gülistan Yüksel, Metin Hakverdi and Mahmut Özdemir.

Once the Ottoman army retreated from their unsuccessful campaign at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, at least 500 Turkish prisoners were forcibly settled in Germany. [ 26 ] Captured several years later, in 1685, Ludwig Maximilian Mehmet von Königstreu [ de ] (pictured) is one of the most notable Beutetürken ("booty Turks") who later entered the court of the Elector of Hanover and converted to Christianity. [ 27 ] [ 28 ]
Fatima Kariman was a Turkish captive during the Battle of Buda (1686). She was captured by General Schöning and later sent to Saxony where she became the mistress of Augustus II the Strong . [ 29 ]
Born to a Turkish father and a German mother, Karl Boy-Ed was the naval attaché to the German embassy in Washington during World War I. [ 30 ] [ 31 ]
Of Turkish origin through his mother Fatima, [ 34 ] Frederick Augustus Rutowsky became the commander of the Saxon army during the Siege of Pirna . [ 29 ]
The mosque-style Yenidze tobacco factory in Dresden is a symbolic reminder of the trading relations between the Ottomans and the Prussians. It was named after the importing tobacco region of Ottoman Yenidze . [ 35 ]
Berlin's Turkish cemetery alongside a classic Ottoman style mosque , which was built in 1863. [ 33 ]
Turkish employees in the Barfuß Bar in Hannover .
Born in Nuremberg , the actor Ozan Güven is the son of Bulgarian migrants of ethnic Turkish origin. [ 50 ]
Filiz Osmanodja , who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster in chess, was born in Dresden to Turkish parents from Bulgaria. [ 51 ]
Born in Leverkusen , Cemile Giousouf is the daughter of ethnic Turkish migrants from Greece. Giousouf was the first German of Turkish Western Thracian origin to become a member of the German parliament. She was also the CDU 's first ever elected Muslim MP in the Bundestag . [ 59 ]
The renowned pianist Rüya Taner was born in Schwenningen, Germany, and is of Turkish Cypriot origin. [ 67 ]
Of Turkish Iraqi origin, Yasemin Mansoor [ de ] was crowned Miss Germany in 1996. [ 72 ]
The historian Götz Aly is one of over 100 descendants of an ethnic Turk who was a chamberlain at the Prussian court . Assuming a generation gap of 35 years, the Aly family are now in their sixth, seventh and eighth generations. [ 77 ]
A Turkish demonstration in the capital city of Berlin .
A Turkish demonstration in Cologne .
Distribution of Turkish citizens in districts of Germany in 2021
Turkish Embassy in Berlin, Germany
The döner kebap is one of the most popular fast foods in Germany.
An advertisement by the IKEA branch in Berlin written in the German and Turkish languages.
A symbolic sign at the entrance of Kreuzberg written in the Turkish language: "Kreuzberg Merkezi" (Kreuzberg Centre).
Cologne Central Mosque
The Cologne Central Mosque , built in 2017 by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs , is the biggest mosque in Germany
A memorial stone in remembrance of Mete Ekşi [ de ] .
A demonstration condemning the neo-Nazi attacks outside the house of the Turkish victims of the Solingen arson attack of 1993 .
Former Miss Germany (2005) Aslı Bayram is an Ambassador for Crime Prevention. In 1994, her father was shot dead by a neo-Nazi and she was shot in her left arm. [ 129 ]
A memorial plaque, in Nuremberg , in remembrance of the victims of the " Bosphorus serial murders ".
Fatih Akin is one of the most influential film directors in Turkish-German cinema . [ 147 ]
Sibel Kekilli has played a leading role in several Turkish-German films . [ 148 ]
Erol Sander has starred as a leading role in several Turkish-German TV series'. [ 157 ]
Nazan Eckes is a popular TV presenter. [ 158 ]
Stand-up-comedian Kaya Yanar
Bahar Kızıl is a founding member of the German pop group Monrose . [ 177 ]
Elif Demirezer
Mesut Özil played for Germany national football team
Nuri Şahin played for Turkey
Germany national team player İlkay Gündoğan
Turkey national team player Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Germany national team player Emre Can
Germany national team player Sara Doorsoun
Having served as co-chair of the Alliance 90/The Greens in 2008–18, Cem Özdemir was the first party leader from an ethnic minority background. [ 207 ]
Aydan Özoğuz was the deputy chairperson of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 2011 until 2017. [ 209 ]
Uğur Şahin immigrated to Germany at the age of four. In 2020, Şahin, alongside his Turkish-German wife Özlem Türeci , developed the Pfizer - BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and became the first people of Turkish origin to be included in the hundred wealthiest people list in Germany. [ 222 ] [ 223 ]