Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Thränhardt, Dietrich
• Dell'Orto, Giovanna
• Wetzstein, Irmgard

Titel

Welcoming Citizens, Divided Government, Simplifying Media: Germany's Refugee Crisis, 2015–2017

Ist Teil von

• Refugee News, Refugee Politics, 2019, Vol.1, p.15-25

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

Routledge

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In 2015, most Germans welcomed the 890,000 refugees who arrived unexpectedly, arguably in reaction to the widely condemned horrors of the Syrian war. An unprecedented wave of volunteers began to assist, and local government and states provided accommodation. The federal asylum bureaucracy was less effective and could not process applications in due time for two years. First hopes of an easy integration were disappointed, as it takes time to find jobs for Syrians or Afghans (the leading nationalities of refugees) in the highly specialized German economy. Terrorist acts created fears, and the discourse became polarized. Based on the analysis of public opinion trends, media coverage, political statements, and implementation statistics, this chapter covers the variance and internal logics of political and administrative processes, citizen engagement, and the media, which tended to create moral heroes and villains of the main politicians involved – especially Chancellor Angela Merkel. It finds that the crisis and its handling by the parties changed the political scene in Germany. In 2015, most Germans welcomed the 890,000 refugees who arrived unexpectedly, arguably in reaction to the widely condemned horrors of Syrian war. An unprecedented wave of volunteers began to assist, and local government and states provided accommodation. More than two years after the mass arrivals, the German public was more realistic but still active, engaging, and welcoming. Instead of following complex bureaucratic processes, the German media personalized and created moral heroes and villains of the main politicians involved – especially Angela Merkel. Leftists suddenly felt sympathy for Merkel. She became the hero of "welcome culture," all the other politicians dwarfed besides her, even when Green politicians were even more enthusiastic in welcoming refugees. Even if most Germans agreed with the government's hospitality toward refugees, uneasiness quickly emerged. Refugees arrived in high numbers, the television pictures showed large groups of people marching over the borders, and there was a feeling of loss of control – one of major determinants of backlash.