The Greek Gastarbeiter in the Federal Republic of Germany (1960–1974)

Download or read book The Greek Gastarbeiter in the Federal Republic of Germany (1960–1974) written by Maria Adamopoulou and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2024-04-01 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was migration to Germany a blessing or a curse? The main argument of this book is that the Greek state conceived labor migration as a traineeship into Europeanization with its shiny varnish of progress. Jumping on a fully packed train to West Germany meant leaving the past behind. However, the tensed Cold War realities left no space for illusions; specters of the Nazi past and the Greek Civil War still haunted them all. Adopting a transnational approach, this monograph retargets attention to the sending state by exploring how the Greek Gastarbeiter’s welfare was intrinsically connected with their homeland through its exercise of long-distance nationalism. Apart from its fresh take in postwar migration, the book also addresses methodological challenges in creative ways. The narrative alternates between the macro- and the micro-level, including subnational and transnational actors and integrating a diverse set of primary sources and voices. Avoiding the trap of exceptionalism, it contextualizes the Greek case in the Mediterranean and Southeast European experience.