[Bilimsel Haber] Review: _Germany in Transit: Nation and Migration, 1955-2005_, ed. by D. Göktürk et al.

[Gonul Pultar]

Deniz Göktürk, David Gramling, and Anton Kaes, eds. Germany in Transit: 
Nation and Migration, 1955-2005. Weimar and Now: German Cultural 
Criticism Series. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. xxii + 
588 pp. Illustrations, chronology, glossary, bibliography, filmography, 
internet resources, index. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-520-24893-9; 
$29.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-520-24894-6.
*Reviewed by:* Jason James, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, 
University of Mary Washington.
*Published by:* H-Nationalism <http://www.h-net.org/%7Enational> (March, 
2008)


The intertwined issues of migration, collective identity, and cultural 
diversity are among the most difficult and pressing problems facing 
Europe today. If "Europe" and the nation-states that compose it can be 
regarded as imaginary constructs (albeit with very real consequences), 
the conditions under which they are now imagined are as complex as ever. 
While most European countries with histories of migration have come to 
acknowledge that fact more openly than in the past, the various official 
and informal ways in which these nations and "Europe" are reproduced do 
not yet reflect the realities of a Europe that includes not only Poles 
and Bulgarians, but also East Indians, Turks, and Algerians--or, more 
precisely, East Indian British, German Turks, and French Algerians. 
Recent anxiety about Islamic extremism and the integration of Muslims 
has only exacerbated what was already a tense situation.

The stakes of migration in Germany have been especially high for a 
number of reasons, the most important and obvious of which are the 
intersection of migration and diversity with the country's attempts to 
redefine itself in the face of Cold War division, the National Socialist 
legacy, and the racial and cultural essentialism that has continued to 
define German identity and citizenship after the end of fascism. Reports 
of xenophobia and violence against migrants and minorities in other 
European countries do not attract the same kind of attention and anxiety 
as do images of German skinheads doing the Adolf Hitler salute and 
shouting "Foreigners out!" Germans are quite aware of this. And, 
although the legacy of the Holocaust has certainly shaped official and 
popular approaches to migration and diversity in Germany, it has not 
produced the kind of openness in attitudes and policies for which one 
might have hoped.

Germany in Transit will prove an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to 
better grasp or teach about the complexities of migration and diversity 
in postwar Germany. The volume is best described as a sourcebook. The 
editors, Deniz Göktürk, David Gramling, and Anton Kaes, have compiled a 
rich collection of documents that illuminate the subject from multiple 
angles. Placed in thematic chapters, the documents range from newspaper 
and magazine articles, legal codes, and political speeches to song 
lyrics and Internet manifestoes. The chapters encompass a wide range of 
themes, such as xenophobia and racially motivated violence, citizenship, 
and "guest worker" programs in the western Federal Republic of Germany 
and the eastern German Democratic Republic in the 1960s and 1970s, to 
name a few. The volume begins with a brief general introduction and 
concludes with a brief epilogue. Each chapter also includes introductory 
remarks that help to contextualize the selections, and a brief note 
introduces each selection, some providing more context than others.

As suggested by its title and length, this is an ambitious volume. To 
document the "cultural history of postwar Germany through the lens of 
migration" via a collection of primary and secondary texts is no small 
task, particularly if one seeks to include not just standard political, 
journalistic, and academic sources but also samples of popular culture 
and unofficial discourse (p. xviii). Achieving a balance between breadth 
and depth in a volume such as this is a difficult endeavor. The editors 
have done an admirable job in this regard. One significant gap in the 
volume's impressive breadth, however, is the absence of texts related to 
E.U. agreements and policies connected with immigration, such as the 
Schengen Treaty. Moreover, although an early chapter is devoted to the 
German Democratic Republic, the differences between East and West 
Germany find little discussion thereafter. And, although cultural 
history can and should include a wide variety of texts, the volume might 
have included more original texts, reviews, and commentaries from 
literature, film, and television. The extensive bibliography, 
filmography, and list of Internet sources compensate for this to some 
degree.

These limitations notwithstanding, Germany in Transit will prove quite 
useful to scholars initiating research on issues of migration, 
diversity, and national belonging in Germany. Even for those familiar 
with this field, it will serve as a handy reference. The volume will 
also prove valuable in courses focused on these topics. For those not 
already thoroughly familiar with the subject area, the volume will 
provide a good overview and rich portrait of the multiple problems that 
converge in the question of migration in Germany. Students and some 
scholars will probably need to consult other works to contextualize 
these documents more fully, but Germany in Transit will provide a good 
introduction as well as a useful reference for later consultation.