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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Germany's Identity Crisis

    Memories of the Holocaust made Germany sensitive to ethnic discrimination after the Second World War. The country's demand for cheap labor has produced a Turkish minority two million strong in a nation of 80 million.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    Memories of the Holocaust made Germany sensitive to ethnic discrimination after the Second World War. The country's demand for cheap labor has produced a Turkish minority two million strong in a nation of 80 million. New immigration laws allow Germany citizenship, but the Turks are living in ethnic ghettos, featuring women in veils and street signs in Turkish. Chancellor Angela Merkel says "multiculturalism" is a failure and that it's time for a change. Have the Turks refused to assimilate, or are they unwelcome? A best-selling anti-Islamic book has raised fears of a right-wing nationalism that's all too familiar given Germany's Nazi past.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Germany Reignites Debate on Multiculturalism, Integration
    1. 0:00One-Quarter of Ballots Nullified for Fraud in Afghan Elections
    2. 7:30Germany's Identity CrisisYou’re reading this
    3. 42:22Pentagon Suspends 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' but Appeals Order
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      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

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      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

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      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

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      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

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      David Crawford

      Berlin Correspondent, Wall Street Journal

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      Christian Hoffman

      Director of an international scholarship program for Muslim students

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      Josef Joffe

      Die Zeit / Hoover Institution / Freeman Spogli Institute

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Germany Reignites Debate on Multiculturalism, Integration
    1. 0:00One-Quarter of Ballots Nullified for Fraud in Afghan Elections
    2. 7:30Germany's Identity CrisisYou’re reading this
    3. 42:22Pentagon Suspends 'Don't Ask Don't Tell,' but Appeals Order
    Back to To the Point