British Politics and Society

<p>Both timely and topical, with 2005 marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, this unique book examines the little-known and under-researched area of German migration to Britain in the immediate post-war era. Authors Weber-Newth and Steinert analyze the political framework of post-war immigration and immigrant policy, and the complex decision-making processes that led to large-scale labour migration from the continent. They consider:</p><p>* identity, perception of self and others, stereotypes and prejudice<br>* how migrants dealt with language and intercultural issues<br>* migrants'' attitudes towards national socialist and contemporary Germany<br>* migrants'' motivation for leaving Germany<br>* migrants'' initial experiences and their reception in Britain after the war, as recalled after 50 years in the host country, compared to their original expectations.</p><p>Based on rich British and German governmental and non-governmental archive sources, contemporary newspaper articles and nearly eighty biographically–oriented interviews with German migrants, this outstanding volume, a must-read for students and scholars in the fields of social history, sociology and migration studies, expertly encompasses political as well as social-historical questions and engages with the social, economic and cultural situation of German immigrants to Britain from a life-historical perspective.</p>