Germany's Anti-Foreigner Crisis: State Disunity and Collective 'Forgetting'

Abstract: Employment of foreign labor in Germany is generally perceived as a recent phenomenon; Germany's pre-war experiences with foreign labor do not figure prominently in public discussion. This article analyzes the active omission of this aspect of the past as an important feature of German social memory. Drawing largely on Ulrich Herbert's research, the forgotten' history of pre- and post-war experiences with foreign labor is summarized. This provides a perspective on the significant parallels between conflicts today and those of prior periods and exposes a fundamental conflict within the state regarding the use of foreign labor. Anti-foreigner violence is reinterpreted as representing a failure of the state to maintain ideological unity without periodically responding to powerful and enduring anti-foreigner pressure.