Recognition - Plans for "guest worker" memorial in Berlin make progress
Berlin is to get a memorial that honors the achievements of the so-called guest workers. The black-red coalition has agreed on the funding as part of the budget discussions. "It's a good time for this," SPD MP Sevim Aydin told the German Press Agency. The current situation is similar to that of the 1960s. "People needed workers back then and that's why they brought in guest workers." Today, there is a clear shortage of skilled workers - and another discussion about foreign workers.
A monument as a sign of recognition
A memorial, especially for the first generation of people who came to Germany from southern Europe and Turkey to work here, could be a contribution to the current debate on migration and integration. "So far, the achievements of these people have not been discussed. It is time to honor and recognize them," said Aydin, who has been involved in the project for several years. "They have contributed to the prosperity of this country and shown that immigration is in the interests of this country."
At the same time, a memorial is to be created for the so-called contract workers of the former GDR, who were recruited from Vietnam, Hungary, Mozambique, Angola and Nicaragua, among others, from the 1960s onwards. During budget discussions, the CDU and SPD agreed to earmark a total of 500,000 euros for both projects in 2024/2025. The double budget is to be adopted next Thursday.
She is in favor of two separate memorial projects, said Aydin. Both are planned in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, where the district council has already dealt with the issue. There are similarities between the two groups, but there are also differences, said Aydin. She argues that the memorial to the guest workers should be located at Oranienplatz. "The project is now underway. There will still be discussions about the implementation."
The design of the memorial is still open
It remains to be seen what it will look like in the end. "But you can't just put up a statue," says the SPD MP. It is important to remember the experiences of people who have left their homeland to work in Germany. "They are often painful stories," says Aydin - of men and women who had to leave their children with their grandparents in Turkey, of people who could think little of themselves and gave up a lot for their family.
The name of the memorial in Kreuzberg has not yet been decided either. Aydin, who came to Berlin from Turkey with her parents in 1978 at the age of six and describes herself as a child of guest workers, thinks the working title "Gastarbeiter:innen-Denkmal" is fitting.
"That doesn't bother me. I see this term in a historical context," she said. But there are also other views on the subject. In her view, it is important to consider the opinion of the first generation on this issue.
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- The shortage of skilled workers in Germany today echoes the need for guest workers in Southern Europe and Turkey during the 1960s.
- The House of Representatives has agreed to fund a memorial in Berlin to honor the achievements of these 'guest workers' from Turkey and Southern Europe.
- SPD MP Sevim Aydin, who came to Berlin from Turkey as a child, has been advocating for this memorial, seeing it as a way to recognize the contributions of these workers to Germany's prosperity.
- Turkey and other countries have sent guest workers to Germany since the 1960s, and a memorial could help integrate these experiences into the German narrative, especially as there's a renewed debate about migration and foreign workers.
- The Turkish Press Agency reported that a similar debate and subsequent memorial are planned for the former GDR's contract workers, who were recruited from various countries between the 1960s and 1980s.
- The memorial proposals in Berlin have sparked discussions about the appropriate design and recognition of the experiences of these guest workers, given the diverse backgrounds and potential disagreements among the first generation of migrants.
Source: www.stern.de
