Turkey Book Talk Michelle Lynn Kahn on Turkish migration to Germany
Mar 3, 2026
Michelle Lynn Kahn, Associate Professor of Modern European History and author on Turkish-German migration, discusses West Germany's guest worker program and why temporary labor became permanent. She covers rising xenophobia, the 1983 return incentives and 1984 departures, returnees' cultural estrangement in Turkey, and transnational politics shaping migrant identities.
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Guest Worker Scheme Intended As Temporary Fix
- West Germany's guest worker program began in 1961 to fill severe postwar labor shortages and recruited from countries including Turkey.
- The scheme was officially temporary with a rotation principle of two-year stints, but employers and migrants undermined it by preferring longer stays.
Temporary Migration Turned Political Crisis
- By the late 1970s and 1980s public sentiment in West Germany soured as migrants became permanent residents, fueling racism and neo-Nazi violence targeting Turks.
- Chancellor Helmut Kohl even discussed expelling half the Turkish population, and a 1983 law paid 10,500 Deutschmarks to encourage voluntary return.
Paid Return Triggered Mass Exodus But Not Half
- The 1983 promotion of voluntary return succeeded in prompting large-scale departures but fell far short of Kohl's stated goal.
- About 15% (≈250,000 people) accepted payments and left in 1984, marking a mass exodus though not a 50% reduction.
