Comparative Studies in History and Society

"We Called for Manpower, but People Came Instead" (Max Frisch, 1965)
This famous line by Max Frisch is quoted frequently in articles dealing with the social and political lives and identities of Gastarbeiter (guestworkers) who later settled in Germany (e.g. Luft, 2002). These essays use this line to point out the surprise and the distress the West German society faced with its changing social landscape. This quote also shows the — mostly overlooked — ways migrant populations are understood in relation to their jobs. Migrants, more than most other groups, are defined by their labor. This article lays out the association between a migrant population, Turks, and a form of labor, small business ownership in Germany. It argues that the way Turks in Germany  are understood in the cultural imaginary of Germany shifted from “the guestworker” to “the small business owner” parallel to the changes in the labor patterns among them. The article argues so by analyzing two incidents, i.e. Thilo Sarrazin’s interview about integration and the naming of NSU (Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund) murders as “Döner-Morde” (“döner murders”) by the media.