Trust is good, control is better

Trust is good, control is better – background information

Migrant workers were usually allocated accommodation away from the local neighbourhoods or on the company premises. There were often no plans for them to organise their own lives – to change jobs or places of residence. But in democratic societies – even in one as young as the Federal Republic of Germany at the time – people's everyday lives cannot be separated from one another.

The separation of migrant workers from their German colleagues was very extensive, especially in the early years: they were usually housed in company-owned accommodation, which was either close to the factories or from where they were shuttled to work. The accommodation had shared rooms, sometimes a communal lounge and all too often inadequate sanitary facilities. The rent that the company deducted from wages was disproportionately high, but private housing was hard to come by: Migrants experienced discrimination on the German housing market and therefore particularly often lived in dilapidated old buildings or at least in flats with below-average facilities, which were rented out at a much higher price. At the time, it was not uncommon for a family of four to share a room. In Cologne, for example, private housing for Turkish families in the 1970s was almost three times more expensive than for the average German population.

For many migrants, life and work were particularly closely interwoven, and there were few shared spaces and opportunities for dialogue. In their free time, however, such opportunities were always actively created. This is evidenced, for example, by celebrations and music-making in the shared accommodation or sporting events. This not only led to friendships, but also romantic relationships and even marriages, which were entered into as early as the 1960s.