First Official Turkish Labor Migration to Germany

The first official Turkish labor migration to Germany, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti and the Federal Germany Republic signed on 30 October 1961 and effective from 1 September 1961, the "Agreement on Turkish Labor" marked the beginning of a mass movement in which Turkish citizens legally migrated to Germany for employment. ^【1】  This agreement is regarded as the starting point of the large-scale emigration of Turkish citizens to another country and constitutes the birth of the labor migration process. Indeed, by signing this agreement, Türkiye became one of the key actors in the post-Second World War European reconstruction effort concerning the employment of foreign workers. Due to being the first country to officially send workers abroad and hosting the largest number of Turkish citizens, the Federal Republic of Germany has played a significant role in the history of Turkish labor migration to Germany.^【2】 

The foundation of this movement leading to international labor migration lies in the rapid economic development experienced by Western European countries after the end of the Second World War in 1945, with the Federal Republic of Germany being the foremost example. Despite mechanization, the growing industrial demand for labor remained acute, prompting Germany to address its labor shortage by hiring cheaper foreign workers from Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece and Portugal starting in 1955. The scarcity in the labor market led to rising wages, making the recruitment of foreign workers a viable solution. In particular, in 1961, the construction of the Berlin Wall by the Soviet Union, which cut off the flow of labor from East Germany, facilitated Germany’s decision to recruit workers from Türkiye, a NATO member state.^【3】 The German government accepted these workers under the temporary status of "guest worker" (Gastarbeiter), assuming they would not settle permanently. For Türkiye, this migration emerged during a period of economic hardship, and the demand from Germany was viewed as an opportunity to reduce unemployment and increase foreign exchange earnings.

Under the implementation of the Labor Agreement, Germany’s labor demands and recruitment procedures were carried out through the German Liaison Office established in Istanbul. The selection of worker candidates began with applications submitted to branches of the Employment and Labor Finding Institution across the country, identifying applicants who met the criteria specified by the German side.^【4】 Application documents were categorized and ranked according to applicants’ professions and submission dates. The surge in applications led to opportunism and fraud, prompting the Turkish government to emphasize that worker dispatches must be conducted exclusively through the "Employment and Labor Finding Institution" to prevent illegal attempts to leave the country as tourists.^【5】 

A critical stage of the selection process was the medical examination: in addition to health reports obtained from hospitals, candidates were also evaluated by a doctor at the German Liaison Office in Istanbul, taking into account Germany’s climate and working conditions. Successful candidates were required to sign employment contracts clearly specifying their wages, social benefits and assigned jobs. Under the initial terms of the agreement, Turkish workers were granted only a two-year residence permit in Germany, with the possibility of extension by mutual agreement.^【6】 

In the selection of male workers, the primary factor was Germany’s temporary view of Turkish labor, leading to a preference for unmarried men. For female workers, more specific and physiological criteria were applied. The requirement of being unmarried was also enforced for women. During selection, women with small hands, good vision and no children were preferred due to the delicate nature of the work they would perform. One of the key exclusion criteria for women emerged during the health screening: pregnant women were rejected from the system, and those found to be pregnant after arriving in Germany were sent back.^【7】 

During the first five years of the migration movement, the number of workers sent to Germany increased steadily, and between 1964 and 1965, Türkiye became the country sending the most workers to Germany. The majority of Turkish workers arriving in the Federal Republic of Germany came from rural areas of Anatolia and were poor, unemployed individuals with traditional cultural backgrounds. This migration, which profoundly affected Turkish social life, generated a broader impact than other economic and social events of the period and is regarded as one of the most significant social phenomena of recent decades.

Migrant workers, using their earnings in Germany to invest in their home countries, gradually adopted aspects of the new society’s lifestyle. However, during their time working in Germany, Turkish workers faced a language barrier, which made it difficult to assert their social rights and contributed to social and cultural integration challenges. The Turkish press of the era (Akşam, Ulus, Tercüman, Hürriyet, Milliyet and Cumhuriyet) generally portrayed labor migration in a positive and encouraging light. Despite initial restrictions on permanent settlement under the assumption of temporary employment, permanence gradually became a reality as guest workers began to reunite with their families and transitioned into settled life.

^{First Generation Turkish Women Who Migrated to Germany (}Anadolu Agency⁾

The preference for unmarried men in labor recruitment led to family separations, as men left their wives and children behind. Although men initially intended to return quickly, in practice they remained for many years, forcing women to live apart from their husbands for two or three years. The concentration of migration from the same regions created a network of gossip that psychologically exhausted the women left behind. Unmarried female workers faced stigmatization as having "lost their Turkishness and Muslim identity," a situation that placed women under greater strain than men due to intersectionality—the cumulative disadvantage of being unmarried, female, Turkish, Muslim and poor. Female migrants were predominantly employed in low-wage, degrading jobs such as cleaning, generating psychological pressure and stress. This pressure contributed to psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and burnout among first-generation women. ^【8】 Additionally, due to insufficient or expensive childcare facilities, women were forced to delay motherhood or send their children to relatives in Türkiye. Among the most significant challenges faced by first-generation female migrants were persistent language difficulties and barriers to accessing health and care services compatible with Turkish-Muslim culture, such as nursing homes and care facilities.

The Turkish migrant community organized itself in civil society to sustain its presence and defend its rights in a foreign environment. Associations such as the "Turkish Workers Association of Cologne and Surroundings", co-founded by Şefik Karagüzel, reached tens of thousands of members and actively advocated for migrants’ rights by building relationships with local authorities.^【9】 This experience of organization represents one of the earliest examples of Turkish communities articulating their social demands at an institutional level. What began as a temporary labor arrangement transformed into permanent settlement through family reunification, and over time, migrants became an integral part of Germany’s social and economic structure.