Edith Pichler

Pioneers, Workers, Rebels, Post-Modernists, and the Upwardly Mobile: Italians in Berlin

The formation of the Italian community in Berlin has gone through different phases and was characterised by the migration of different types of people. Those Italians who came to Berlin differed in many important ways from those who went to West Germany, who were a much more homogenous group. In Berlin, as a result of the recruitment politics of the Berlin industry, the Italian working class was less represented than in the West German cities. Of course, there were many factors behind the decision to go to Berlin and to remain there. The political, cultural and social situation of Berlin was, and is, something that drew people to Berlin. For some of them it was not only the economic situation at home which made them decide to move to a foreign country but also the social climate in their land of birth, from which they wished to run away. These characteristics enticed different types of migrants. One can distinguish between the following types of migrant: the pioneer, the worker, the rebel, the post-modernist and the upwardly mobile. Berlin gave pioneers the possibility of building up a new existence for themselves and their families in the years after the war and the desolate post-war situation in Italy. The worker had the possibility, as a result of the extra pay in Berlin, to earn more than was the case in West Germany. Furthermore the city was politically interesting, and the PCI and its activities were popular among the Berlin left and the students. For the "rebels" the city was a place to retreat to, a place in which they could be more free, and could further develop their personalities. The "post modernists" enjoyed the big city life, the "multicultural milieu" and the possibility of being inter-culturally active. For the upwardly mobile Berlin offered the possibility of either improving their standing in their profession, or of just being mobile once again. These different types of migrants have, as a result of their different needs and styles of life, contributed to the development of varied activities of an economic, social and cultural character within the immigrant community, and thus to their diversification.