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rfmcdonaldRadio Free Europe has an interesting series of articles about the aussiedler, ethnically German immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Veyzel Oecsan notes at Migration Information that since the Second World War, the immigration of ethnic Germans from central and eastern Europe to the Federal Republic of Germany has been a major element in German demography.
So far, Radio Free Europe's series on the most recent influx of aussiedler, often including only a minority of ethnic Germans (relatives by blood and marriage can also come) and with few fluent speakers of German in their number, has two segments online (1, 2). The second segment is particularly interesting to me, inasmuch as it details how sport is a key route for the young aussiedler as they integrate.
I'm reminded, here, of the way in which Irish, Jews, and most recently African-Americans in the United States have sought to achieve upwards mobility through participation in sports. The parallel is evocative.
Large numbers of ethnic Germans lived in Eastern Europe and the territories of the former Soviet Union until World War II. Subsequent expulsions, discrimination, and deteriorating economic conditions led huge numbers to emigrate. Between 1950 and 1987, about 1.4 million ethnic Germans and their dependents came to Germany under special provisions. The flow increased dramatically as the Iron Curtain fell into tatters starting in the late 1980s, removing more barriers from their path. This immigration peaked in 1990, when nearly 400,000 Aussiedler immigrated to their ancestral homeland.
The total number of Aussiedler who have "returned" since 1987 is about three million. Over the years, this flow has shifted from Aussiedler born in Eastern European states such as Poland and Romania to those born in former territories of the Soviet Union, such as Kazakhstan. Since 1993, more than 90 percent of the total Aussiedler immigration has come from the territories of the former Soviet Union.
So far, Radio Free Europe's series on the most recent influx of aussiedler, often including only a minority of ethnic Germans (relatives by blood and marriage can also come) and with few fluent speakers of German in their number, has two segments online (1, 2). The second segment is particularly interesting to me, inasmuch as it details how sport is a key route for the young aussiedler as they integrate.
Wotilow is a professional boxer from the Altay, just north of the Kazakh border. He has the characteristic broken nose and is built like a rock. In the training room, the awards won by his "kids" stand in rows on a shelf and a billboard is covered with certificates, awards, and newspaper clippings. Wotilow is proud of his "kids." He says they turned a handicap into an asset: "Maybe the Russians are more motivated to win.... A German child has a computer. He has toys. But the Russians just arrived -- they don't have any of that.... So [the Russian] will try to pull himself out of this [situation]. He'll try to find himself a warm place in the sun, and [knows] that no one will give it to him -- he has to go and get it himself.... And the Germans, they don't have that motivation. They already have it all."
Natalya Kalinowski, with delicate features and long black hair, is Wotilow's pride. Just two years after making the difficult move from Kazakhstan, the 17-year-old has become the junior world flyweight champion in kickboxing. And her sister Yelena is now Berlin champion.
Natalya says that sports helped boost their self-confidence during a difficult transition after their arrival. As they did not know any German, the girls were put in classes with younger kids. They say contact with German classmates is still difficult: "They're all about 15-years-old in our class, and our relations are bad. When they see that we're successful in sports, and at school, that we do better than them, their attitude towards us is [unfriendly]...I don't know why but we just can't make it work. We have more contacts with the Turks, with the 'auslaender' ["foreigners" in German]. We have better relations with them."
I'm reminded, here, of the way in which Irish, Jews, and most recently African-Americans in the United States have sought to achieve upwards mobility through participation in sports. The parallel is evocative.
