Suddenly there. German Petitioners, Turkish Neighbors (2016)
German Petitioners 1709, Turkish Neighbors 1961
The exhibition illustrates through two historical examples what coexistence in an immigrant society looks like when migration is treated purely as a tool of economic policy: In 1709, over 13,000 Germans suddenly arrived in London within a few weeks, believing that the British Queen would grant them land in her North American colonies. Starting in 1973, hundreds of thousands of Turkish “guest workers” brought their families to Germany.
Visitors follow the exhibition along a curved display furniture that structures the space and connects the two themes. Audio and film stations, showcase vitrines with objects, and leaf books are integrated into the furniture. Projections on the walls show people coming and going. They metaphorically represent migration flows. In the museum’s cinema, the short documentary produced for the exhibition, “German-Turkish Love,” will be shown.