Kurds in Germany

In Germany, Kurdish immigrant workers from Turkey first arrived in the second half of the 1960s.[4] They immigrated to Germany as "Gastarbeiter" (guest workers). Since the 1970s and especially since the 1980s, the number of Kurds in Germany has increased rapidly. Reasons for migration include the better living standards and jobs in Germany, and the political unrest, discrimination, persecution, and war in Kurdistan.[5][6]

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, many of the Syrian refugees who have come to Germany are Kurds.

German Kurds live spread throughout Germany, especially in cities with a large proportion of Turkish people. Examples are Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Essen.[7]

Kurdish immigrants usually come from the different parts of Kurdistan. Examples are Iraqi Kurdistan, Rojava in Syria, Iranian Kurdistan, and Turkish Kurdistan. Others come from Kurdish enclaves outside Kurdistan, e.g. Istanbul.

Protest against Turkey's military offensive into north-eastern Syria on 10 October 2019

In 2014, Kurds in Germany marched in protest over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's siege of Kobani.[8][9]

In 2015, thousands of Kurds in Germany marched against Turkish Air Force air strikes on Kurdish civilians.[10]

In October 2019, thousands of German Kurds protested against the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.[11]

According to the German authorities tin 2013. The Blick and Nzz claimed that the Kurdish gang/motorcycle club "Sondame", allegedly "fighting" for a free Kurdistan, was formed in Stuttgart, and in 2015, it had about 1,000 members in Germany and Switzerland.[12][13] The group is not well known and its existence is controversial. Other Kurdish motorcycle club and gangs include Median Empire[14] and Red Legion.[15][16][13][17]

Memorial plaque for Hatun Sürücü in Berlin, Germany. The Kurdish woman from Turkey was murdered at age of 23 by her brothers in an honor killing.

Some cases of honour killing have been reported among the Kurdish diaspora in Germany.[18] In March 2009, a Kurdish immigrant from Turkey, Gülsüm S., was killed for a relationship not in keeping with her family's plan for an arranged marriage.[19] In 2016 a Kurdish woman was shot dead at her wedding in Hannover after refusing to marry her cousin.[20]

See List of German people of Kurdish descent

German Kurds have a strong presence in German hip-hop. Since the beginning of the 2000s, many German rap artists of Kurdish origin have influenced the rap scene (for example, Azad, Eko Fresh, Xatar, Kurdo, Haftbefehl, KC Rebell, Capo, etc.) and these days, many of the most successful artists are of Kurdish origin, too. Other popular German-Kurdish rappers include Eno, Veysel and Azzi Memo.

Kurds also play a role in other sectors, for example in German politics (especially in The Left party).

• Yazidis in Germany
• Honor killing of Hatun Sürücü