Who is the Nation? Democratization of Leftist Media in West Berlin Open Access

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between second- and third-generation Turkish- Germans in Kreuzberg, West Berlin and the local leftist art scene. This exploration begins with a discussion of the Gastarbeiterprogramm, through which the West German government hired temporary “unskilled” workers from surrounding countries to help counteract the postwar labor shortage. While the West German government advertised the program as a temporary solution, often participants chose to stay in West Germany and raise or build families. By the 1960s, most “guest workers” were Turkish, and this association was maintained in the greater German consciousness throughout the 20th century. In order to understand how West Germans reckoned with national identity in the postwar period, one must examine how those with “migration background” interacted with modes of cultural production. To preface a discussion of individual artists, I first examine the history of leftist and independent publishing methods in West Berlin and suggest that various groups—collective publishing houses, independent galleries, and underground publications—all stood to benefit from publishing pro-“guest worker” narratives, though often obscuring their voices in favor of widespread appeal. This thesis also features three artists as case studies: first, as a reference for German leftist artists of the time, infamous communist playwright Bertolt Brecht; second, established artist who moved from Istanbul to West Berlin, Aras Ören; and finally, Turkish-German scholar and artist Feridun Zaimoglu who sourced and transcribed interviews from Kreuzberg residents in the 1990s. By comparing Aras Ören’s poetry to both Bertolt Brecht’s scripts and Feridun Zaimoglu’s transcriptions, I establish how Turkish-Germans in the leftist art scene transitioned from appealing to the broader German public for approval to championing an anti-assimilationist approach. 

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER 1: ............................................................................................. 14

CHAPTER 2:............................................................................................. 25

CONCLUSION:.......................................................................................... 35

REFERENCES:......................................................................43 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	History, European History, Modern
Keyword	Gastarbeiterprogramm Bundesrepublik Deutschland West Germany West Berlin
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Paul Buchholz, Emory University
Committee Members	Matthew Payne, Emory University Astrid M. Eckert, Emory University

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