Migration, in its many forms, has often been found at the center of public and private discourse surrounding German nationalism and identity, significantly influencing how both states construct conceptions of what it means to be "German" at any given place and time. The attempt at constructing an ethnically homogeneous Third Reich was shattered by the movement of refugees, expellees, and soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World War, and the contracting of foreign nationals as Gastarbeiter in the Federal Republic and Vertragsarbeiter in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s and 70s diversified the ethnic landscape of both Cold War German states during the latter half of the Cold War. Bethany Hicks shows how the regional migration of East Germans into the western federal states both during and after German unification challenged essential Cold War assumptions concerning the ability to integrate two very different German populations.

Migration, in its many forms, has often been found at the center of public and private discourse surrounding German nationalism and identity, significantly influencing how both states construct conceptions of what it means to be "German" at any given place and time. The attempt at constructing an ethnically homogeneous Third Reich was shattered by the movement of refugees, expellees, and soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World War, and the contracting of foreign nationals as Gastarbeiter in the Federal Republic and Vertragsarbeiter in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s and 70s diversified the ethnic landscape of both Cold War German states during the latter half of the Cold War. Bethany Hicks shows how the regional migration of East Germans into the western federal states both during and after German unification challenged essential Cold War assumptions concerning the ability to integrate two very different German populations.

Migration, in its many forms, has often been found at the center of public and private discourse surrounding German nationalism and identity, significantly influencing how both states construct conceptions of what it means to be "German" at any given place and time. The attempt at constructing an ethnically homogeneous Third Reich was shattered by the movement of refugees, expellees, and soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World War, and the contracting of foreign nationals as Gastarbeiter in the Federal Republic and Vertragsarbeiter in the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s and 70s diversified the ethnic landscape of both Cold War German states during the latter half of the Cold War. Bethany Hicks shows how the regional migration of East Germans into the western federal states both during and after German unification challenged essential Cold War assumptions concerning the ability to integrate two very different German populations.

Since the end of World War II, millions of people from different parts of the world have migrated to the Federal Republic of Germany - and its immediate predecessors, the Western zones of occupation. This dissertation investigates the German population's changing views on immigrants and on issues related to immigration between 1945 and 2006. As people from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds have migrated to the country in the period under consideration, the population's views provide tantalizing insights into changing perceptions of German identity. Dissertation. (Series: Studien zu Migration und Minderheiten/Studies in Migration and Minorities - Vol. 22)

Over the course of the 20th century, there have been three primary narratives of American national identity: the melting pot, Anglo-Protestantism, and cultural pluralism/multi-culturalism. This book offers a social and historical perspective on what shaped each of these imaginings, when each came to the fore, and which appear especially relevant early in the 21st century. These issues are addressed by looking at the United States and elite notions of the meaning of America across the 20th century, centering on the work of Horace Kallen, Nathan Glazer and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Samuel P. Huntington. Four structural areas are examined in each period: the economy, involvement in foreign affairs, social movements, and immigration. What emerges is a narrative arc whereby immigration plays a clear and crucial role in shaping cultural stories of national identity as written by elite scholars. These stories are represented in writings throughout all three periods, and in such work we see the intellectual development and specification of the dominant narratives, along with challenges to each. Important conclusions include a keen reminder that identities are often formed along borders both external and internal, that structure and culture operate dialectically, and that national identity is hardly a monolithic, static formation.

German migration policy now stands at a major crossroad, caught between a fifty-year history of missed opportunities and serious new challenges. Focusing on these new challenges that German policy makers face, the authors, both internationally recognized in this field, use historical argument, theoretical analysis, and empirical evaluation to advance a more nuanced understanding of recent initiatives and the implications of these initiatives. Their approach combines both synthesis and original research in a presentation that is not only accessible to the general educated reader but also addresses the concerns of academic scholars and policy analysts. This important volume offers a comprehensive and critical examination of the history of German migration law and policy from the Federal Republic’s inception in 1949 to the present.