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.
September 2020
Certificate from the year 1981
Historical Context
In the mid-1950s, as rapid economic growth led to a shortage of labor, the Federal Republic of Germany began recruiting workers from abroad. By 1973, around 14 million people had come to Germany through this route, of whom about three million stayed. Appropriate educational approaches for children and adolescents from migrant families emerged belatedly in response to societal and political developments. For a long time, the dominant perspective on ‘own’ and ‘foreign’ continued to shape education policy.
Short Biography
Ernail Kaya’s parents come from the Anatolian village of Tekke in Turkey. In 1970, his father Burhan Kaya went to Vaihingen an der Enz near Stuttgart as a so-called ‘guest worker’ and brought his pregnant wife and two of his children three years later. The oldest son initially stayed with the grandparents. After their arrival in Germany, the family moved in with Burhan’s brother, who lived in Gladbeck. The family lived in one of the former miners’ houses. Here, Ernail was born in 1973.
‘I grew up in the Turkish community there. In our street, almost exclusively Turkish families lived. It wasn’t until school that I had more contact with the German language.’
Initially, Ernail Kaya’s parents intended to stay in Germany only for a manageable time and to build their own existence in Turkey with the money earned. They initially spoke of staying in Germany for one to two years. Ultimately, it took 35 years for the Kaya couple to decide to return to Turkey.
Significance of the Object
When Ernail Kaya starts school in 1980, he is initially placed in a ‘foreign class’. There, the Turkish children are taught. Due to his ‘particularly satisfying performance’, as stated in his report card, he moves to the German class in the next school year. At first, he is very sad, as he has just made friends.
‘My parents were not involved in this decision by the school. I only learned about the change to the other class during recess when we were supposed to line up for the different classes. I then also tried to get back in line for the Turkish class. I was the only child from my old class who was allowed to switch. I didn’t know the children in my new class. It was really a terrible time for me at first. Being the only one in a new class with such limited German knowledge and unfamiliar classmates. I felt it was a huge punishment. Although it was actually a diagonal leap – I did save a year by that.’
Ernail Kaya completed his training in Hamburg after graduating from high school. Today he lives in Loxstedt and works in Bremerhaven.
Do you also …
… have a migration or immigration story from your family that you would like to share along with the associated objects and documents with the German Emigration Center for its collection? If so, please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau at the phone number 0471 / 90 22 0 – 0 or by email at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de
Archive: Previous Objects of the Month
Show all objectsDo 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