Gaby Straßburger

Colonies of Turkish Immigrants in Germans and in France: Case Studies at the Community Level on the Influence of the Societies taking in Immigrants on the Immigrants’ Networks

In 1994 and 1995 the author conducted field research in Germany (Bamberg) and in France (Colmar) on the origins and development of two Turkish immigrant colonies. A comparison between France and Germany shows that the structure of the networks of immigrants was influenced to a high degree by the different administration of the recruitment treaty with Turkey, although the treaty was relatively similar in the two countries. Whereas in Germany the immigration centred on individuals, and was moved along in this manner, the Turkish immigration to France followed, already during the early phase of recruitment, exclusively the principle of chain migration. The Turkish immigration to Bamberg was largely initiated by the German employers, and as a result it was possible for people who did not have any previous contacts in Germany to come to Bamberg. In Colmar in contrast the starting point for the immigration was trans-national, largely familial relationships to pioneer immigrants, who were already living in France. This meant that the Turkish colony in Colmar was characterised by a large number of people coming from the same region and a high number of personal relatives, whereas the Turkish colony in Bamberg was more heterogeneous, both in where the members of the colony came from and in the degree to which the members of the colony were related to one other.