The German government's open-door Aussiedler policy, 1988-1992
The political reform process that gathered momentum in eastern and south-eastern
Europe during 1987 and 1988 was accompanied by a growing exodus of ethnic and
cultural Germans (Aussiedler) who sought resettlement in West Germany. The
Aussiedler were welcomed enthusiastically by Chancellor Kohl as fellow German
compatriots who would be a benefit to the economy. The opposition SPD voiced its
concerns over the government's motives for maintaining the open-door Aussiedler
immigration policy and over the likely integration difficulties. The government
sought to respond to public concerns in 1988 by reassessing its Aussiedler policy. It
decided firstly to continue the open-door Aussiedler policy (as a constitutional
right), secondly to implement an Aussiedler integration assistance programme and
thirdly to seek to persuade potential Aussiedler not to emigrate to West Germany.
The thesis adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to analysing the government's
open-door Aussiedler policy during the period 1988 to 1992, formulating the
political and public concerns over the Aussiedler policy into three main research
questions. These questions analyse: 1. Whether the government's declared motives for maintaining the open-door
Aussiedler policy were justified.
2. Whether the government's optimism over the ability of Aussiedler to
successfully integrate into the employment market was justified.
3. Whether the government's policy of seeking to persuade potential
Soviet Aussiedler to remain in their country, by negotiating on the
re-creation of an autonomous German Volga republic, was viable. The findings for these three main questions allow for an assessment of government
Aussiedler policy for the period 1988 - 1992. The thesis argues that there was
evidence during the period of study to support the argument that the Aussiedler
group was to a degree instrumentalised by the government to serve its own political,
economic and nationalistic purposes. Government confidence concerning Aussiedler
employment integration proved to be too optimistic, as Aussiedler had specific
causes of unemployment. Furthermore, the attempt to negotiate the re-creation of
an autonomous German republic in Russia was unsuccessful. The exodus has
continued.
Population and Settlement
Part 1 Population distribution: world population distribution variations in world population distribution population distribution in the Highlands and Islands population distribution in Japan population distribution in Brazil. Part 2 Population growth and movement: population structure the world population explosion variations in population growth migration why do people migrate types of migration in North and West Africa West German migration populating the USSR populating Australia attitudes to population control population and natural resources. Part 3 Settlements: location of settlement settlement types settlement functions settlement patterns South Wales valley settlements the changing village. Part 4 Urbanization: million cities world urbanization rural-urban migration in the developing world urban land use inner city problems urban transport the Tyneside metro spheres of influence changing shopping habits the Dutch Randstad Lagos - a city in the developing world new and expanding towns in the UK new settlements in developing countries green belts or red bricks? Part 5 Further studies: UK population migration Kenya's population problems Sheffield Washington New Town.
Forever in the Shadow of Hitler? : Original Documents of the Historikerstreit, the Controversy Concerning the Singularity of the Holocaust
appears to be the moralistic rigorism of a West German church history professor, and even West German commentators have deplored the absence of any irenical attempt to understand the peculiar situation of a beleaguered church leadership. For outsiders, these documents provide an invaluable sources for analyzing a modern police state's manner of dealing with the continuing presence of religious opponents. But the heated disputes over the churches' responses raise equally intriguing, if unresolved, questions about the appropriate forms of Christian discipleship under conditions of totalitarian rule.