9.6 Migration and Immigration

Postwar Labor Migration

After 1945, Western European nations facing labor shortages recruited guest workers (Gastarbeiter) from Southern Europe, Turkey, and former colonies. Germany, France, and Britain relied on migrants to rebuild industry and staff factories during the postwar economic boom, expecting temporary stays that often became permanent settlement.

Decolonization and Migration

As European empires dissolved, migrants from former colonies moved to former metropoles: Algerians and North Africans to France, Indians/Pakistanis/Caribbeans to Britain, and Indonesians to the Netherlands. This created multicultural societies but also tension over assimilation, racism, and national identity.

Post-Cold War & Contemporary Challenges

The fall of communism (1989) and EU expansion enabled movement from Eastern Europe westward. Later, conflicts in the Middle East and Africa drove refugee crises (notably 2015), straining EU asylum policy. Debates over multiculturalism, national identity, and right-wing nationalist backlash intensified across Europe.

Key terms

Guest workers (Gastarbeiter)

Foreign laborers recruited by Western European countries, especially West Germany, to fill postwar labor shortages.

Postcolonial migration

Movement of people from former colonies (e.g., Algeria to France, India/Caribbean to Britain) to former imperial powers after decolonization.

1989 and migration

The fall of communism opened borders, allowing increased migration from Eastern to Western Europe.

2015 refugee crisis

A surge of refugees, largely from Syria and the Middle East/Africa, seeking asylum in Europe, straining EU policies.

Multiculturalism debate

Ongoing tension in Europe over immigrant assimilation, national identity, and rising nationalist/right-wing backlash against diversity.

Try an AP-style question

EU enlargement in 2004 led to…

1. closed borders across the EU
2. migration from Eastern to Western Europe
3. Western Europeans moving east only
4. an end to intra-EU migration