Introduction

The immigration of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union played a significant role in the post-Second World War immigration and integration experience of Germany. But in contrast to labour migrants, the inflow of ethnic Germans was not related to economic factors like recruitment programs or the business cycle. Because ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union had experienced forced resettlement and ethnic discrimination during and after Second World War, they were allowed to enter Germany and were granted German citizenship upon arrival.

Until the end of the 1980s, the integration of ethnic German immigrants (Aussiedler) into the German economy and society proceeded comparatively straightforwardly. However, since the political changes in Eastern Europe and the break-up of the Soviet Union, the integration of Aussiedler has been characterised by frictions, which are similar to those of other immigrant populations in Germany. As a result, the integration path of the recent Aussiedler cohorts attracted the interest of migration and integration researchers who had thus far not paid much attention to this group. It became an increasingly discussed research topic to what extent and why the integration process of ethnic Germans had changed. Historians, economists, and social scientists contributed to that debate, referring to various theoretical considerations and comparisons with other immigrant groups.

Against this background, this chapter analyses the framework and the characteristics of the Aussiedler integration and their changes. The article focuses on the historical background of this migration movement, on the German admission policy, on the socio-demographic characteristics of ethnic German immigrants, and on the opportunity structure of the receiving German society. It will be argued that fundamental changes in all of these factors contributed to the frictions in the ethnic German integration experience since the political transformation in Eastern Europe and the break up of the Soviet Union.

Ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Historical Background

The history of ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union is closely related to the history of European migration movements. In addition, shifting borders of the German empire played a role which sometimes included more people who considered themselves German and sometimes less.