Suddenly Here. German Petitioners 1709, Turkish Neighbors 1961.
Simone Blaschka-Eick and Christoph Bongert, edition DAH, 2016
Prize: 16,80 €
For many years, Germany has increasingly talked about foreigners who come from various countries and are suddenly “here.” However, this debate is not new: the extent to which it has long occupied people’s minds is illustrated by the book “Suddenly Here. German Petitioners 1709, Turkish Neighbors 1961,” which has been published in the “edition dah” of the German Emigration Center Bremerhaven.
Based on two historical examples, this publication addresses the treatment of strangers and the unfamiliar from various perspectives. Two entirely different migration stories are juxtaposed here: the Palatine emigrants of 1709 and the Turkish immigrants since 1961. Both were considered strangers, whether it was ‘the Germans’ in Great Britain at the beginning of the 18th century or ‘the Turks’ who came to the Federal Republic in the second half of the 20th century. For decades, ‘the Turks’ were the paradigm of foreignness in the Federal Republic, while the Germans experienced situations in Great Britain as early as 1709 that are not unfamiliar to today’s refugees. This book deals with what such perceptions of foreignness were based on, what language was found for them, and in what historical context they were embedded.
The perspectives from which the stories of the German petitioners and the Turkish neighbors are examined are diverse: Notable international scholars, politicians, and interest representatives contributed to the book, including Aydan Özoguz, the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees, and Integration, as well as the lawyer Mehmet Daimagüler, attorney for NSU victims, and the American historian Philip Otterness. Official documents, letters, and photographs, as well as interviews and short essays, illustrate the handling of the unfamiliar and reveal unmistakable commonalities. ‘From a culture of welcome to violent attacks – immigration stories show concerning parallels that should be discussed,’ says Dr. Simone Eick, editor of the book and director of the Deutsches Auswandererhaus.
The book “Suddenly Here. German Petitioners 1709, Turkish Neighbors 1961” was created as part of the eponymous special exhibition, which is the first exhibition from the series “German and Foreign?” In this series, the German Emigration Center explores how Germans deal with the foreign that enters their lives through migration – whether through their own emigration or through immigrants in the Federal Republic. “The publication addresses the theme of the special exhibition, expanding and deepening it,” explains the editor and curator of the special exhibition, Christoph Bongert. “We are quick to say ‘we’ and ‘the foreigners.’ But do we actually have a clearer idea of what we mean by either one? That is the question the book poses.”