(Spät)Aussiedler: From Germans to Immigrants

Self-attribution and identity of ethnic-GermanSpätAussiedlerrepatriates from the former USSR: an example of fast-track assimilation?

“…On the other hand, a major point during the interview concerned the very "successful" integration of herself and her entire family. This division of SpiitAussiedler into different groups within the category has also been repeatedly pictured by scholarly research and was even anticipated by German politics (Savoskul 2005;Schmidt-Bernhardt 2008;Takle 2011). In the mid-1990s, when the numbers of SpiitAussiedler to Germany rocketed (Figure 1), critical questions on the "true" ethnic belonging of these immigrants were raised, and as a consequence, the needs to be officially recognized as SpiitAussiedler have been gradually increased by German authorities:…”

“…People of ethnic-German ancestry are considered to be German and have an inalienable right to German citizenship according to article 116 of the German Federal Constitution (Grundgesetz) and the "Act on Affairs of Displaced Persons and Refugees, Expatriates and Re-Patriates." Furthermore, non-German spouses or descendants of SpiitAussiedler are generally awarded German citizenship or at least the right of permanent residence (shifts in legal and political practice and discourse in this context, are discussed by Zeveleva 2014 andTakle 2011).…”

Do They Feel the Same Way About Math?

“…Students with a former USSR or a Turkish background are the two largest immigrant groups in Germany with about 4.8% and 4.1% of the total student population, respectively (Segeritz, Walter, & Stanat, 2010). Since the vast majority of immigrants from the former USSR are of German heritage, it seems appropriate to cluster them into one group (Takle, 2011).…”