REFUGE CITIES The ‘square city’ has long been a pioneer in its approach to welcoming migrants – but now Mannheim is attracting criticism for the ‘ghetto’ character of its giant refugee camp, as Germany agonises over how to integrate When the foreigners arrived at the central station, they were met by crowds of cheering Germans. Brass bands played cheerful tunes; the greeting committee carried flowers and gifts. For the young men on the trains, it was the first glimpse of a country which promised wealth and stability unheard of in the countries they had left behind. These scenes were recorded not in September 2015 but in the 1960s, when “guest workers” from Greece, Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia arrived in Mannheim and other cities in Germany’s wealthy south-west, after the country had signed a series of recruitment agreements with southern European countries in order to meet the labour demands of its booming economy. Continue reading...
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