Born Then
1961–1973

Life during the Turkish labour migration to West Germany

Be born in a place it hit, a few years before it began, and see what it did to five ordinary lives.

What it meant for ordinary people

A 1961 agreement let West German factories recruit Turkish workers, and about 870,000 went before recruitment stopped in 1973. Many stayed and brought their families, forming Germany's largest immigrant community.

How hard it hits each person in the game (risk of death, of being conscripted, of leaving) comes from our model, estimated from the sources.

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