Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
June 2016
Group photo of the football team from 1962
Historical Context
It became evident early on that people came to Germany not only for work; they also engaged in sports during their leisure time. Starting in the 1920s with Polish football clubs in the Ruhr area, which produced stars like Ernst Kuzorra and Fritz Szepan from the Schalke team, the so-called ‘guest worker era’ in the 1970s saw the establishment of clubs by Italian, Greek, and Turkish immigrants. Today, self-organization among migrants in football clubs includes several hundred clubs across the Federal Republic.
Brief Biography
Salih Ucar, born on July 10, 1935, in Istanbul, goes to Germany at 19 for his engineering studies. The University of Stuttgart enjoys an excellent reputation among architects and civil engineers at that time. His friends envy him when they bid farewell at the Sirkeci train station in Istanbul on February 19, 1957. Before starting his studies, he first completes a three-month internship at a construction site in Sindelfingen.
He meets his future wife Rosemarie while dancing. After the birth of their son, they attempt to build a new life in Turkey. However, the working conditions in Istanbul are poor, and the political situation in Turkey in the 1960s is tense. In 1969, the Ucar family returns to Germany. Salih Ucar works for 30 years in an engineering office in Stuttgart. Since 2003, Salih and Rosemarie Ucar have been living in Tübingen.
Significance of the Object
The slogan “Sport speaks all languages” represents the integrative power of sport and emphasizes that it connects the participants – athletes, coaches, fans, and managers – and builds bridges. In particular, football, one of the most interculturally understandable and easily communicated team sports, holds a special position.
For many members, belonging to a sports club means more than just athletic activity; it also offers the opportunity to pursue shared cultural or social interests. While these clubs were once classified as barriers to integration by the German Sports Federation, they are now seen as an enrichment for the sports system because they promote the participation of migrants in sports and hence in society.
Salih Ucar’s great passion is football. In the group photo of his student football team, he wears a black jersey. For him, his team means a piece of home, as the team consists of other Turkish students. Playing football with his Turkish classmates helps him forget his homesickness and also allows him to connect with other German students during matches. Regularly, he and the other students from his team organize tournaments on the university campus.
Although football in Germany has always been strongly influenced by migrants, it wasn’t until the summer fairy tale of 2006 that this was finally reflected in the national team. Players like Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, and Jerome Boateng, alongside other players without a migration background, are key figures in the German national team, which is expected to win the European Championship in France this year.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de