Do foreigners feel welcomed in Germany?

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We decided to ask the most talked topic around. Do foreigners feel welcome in Germany?.

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[federspiel-michael]

Language is always the key to get closer to people. If you know how to communicate, you are a part of the community. You found a new home.

[juwen]

Little hint for you guys from me as a librarian. Go to (smaller) public libraries to make contact. Libraries are open spaces for every one, it's mostly a relaxed situation, even with other customers, and the staff is used to people who has any kind of questions and is willing to help, if they're able to (language barrier).
Many of them offer nowadays a little reading cafe section.
So, give it a try 😉
Greetings from a small town near Berlin 😎

[juwen]

About getting closer to the germans and maybe making friends.
Dear foreigners, please make the first step. Just ask for help for example. Most germans don't like to talk to strangers in a deeper way without a good reason. But we're very open about helping someone, so this could be a good first step. And maybe choose a relaxed situation, like in a cafe instead of a busy street. Because maybe the people are just in a rush. And if you really met someone, who isn't willing to talk to you, don't think immediately that it is your fault. Maybe they just don't feel comfortable to talk in a foreign language. Cause we don't like to do stuff, when we're not good at it 😉
Greetings from a small town near Berlin 😎

[michaelyuan]

It is a complex situation and can't be adequately discussed in a few words of a short interview. A couple of factors not mentioned in this video are the economic and social order situations of the country. I went to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria for work in law and medicine during a time of economic anxiety after the reunification. I spoke German adequately (C1 level) and was culturally savvy for the most part. I knew the poetry of Goethe and Schiller and the music of Schubert better than some Germans. I had an American passport, but I am Taiwanese, i.e., genetically Asian and Austronesian, and looked Asian, foreign, and to the minds of many Germans, definitely like a criminal asylum seeker trying to take advantage of their welfare system. In more than one instance, I heard their economic anxiety transformed into xenophobic paranoia. The hostility I encountered was shocking at times. I was physically attacked and slightly injured a couple of times: completely unjustified random attacks with no provocation on my part. I have revisited Germany again more recently right before Trump's presidency and found the atmosphere completely changed. It was almost as if America and Germany had switched with each other, that the Germans had become tolerant, liberal Americans, and that the Americans had become xenophobic Germans. The state of the economy and social order and stability cannot be the only factors, but they should not be discounted. The current debate on immigration needs to take into account both the moral need for tolerance and the realistic need for social order and economic well-being. In general, all human beings could be less racist in speech, manners, and actions, but at the same time, national policies need to be practical and take into consideration crime, unemployment, and poverty figures. Ideally, we should all try to be tolerant. But you cannot ask a society anxious over economy and stability to pay attention only to morality. Immigration needs to be carefully controlled, orderly, and practical. At the same time, people need to learn to treat each individual as an individual and not treat all foreigners as criminals.

[marvin]

thank you for doing this!! very insightful

[anthonyfelix]

I am from the UK (also half italian) and I have been living in germany for 4 years now in Bodensee. I would say people are generally welcoming but at a distance. They will not make an effort to be your friend or help you integrate. Having said that, I have never felt unwelcome. The biggest difficulty is the cultural change. There are many but I would say germans are very quiet people. An example for me was when I came back to germany after 2 weeks of seeing family in london. I was in a restaurant in germany and suddenly became very conscious about how quiet it was. There were groups of friends together but no one really made a sound ! I have even been told to be quiet many times in public places in germany which I still find strange (I am a bit loud but it has never happened to me before in any other country).

[lancegoodthrust]

Hey, guys. Just say no, you don't feel welcomed. It's ok, not every culture is friendly. And one will feel shocked they don't like outsiders.

[anayatiwari]

I can't believe I stumbled upon this after 5 months! Kudos to you guys, great work :)

[geordiegeorge]

Learn the language learn the customs, if you accept Germany Germany will accept you. Personally after living here for almost 50 years, my friends say that I am more German than most Germans. I could never return to live in the UK.

[mr.jodocus]

As a German I can confirm that I don't feel welcomed in Germany.

[peterz]

Appreciate these videos and nice to see so many young people from various parts of the world and get their perspective. Weirdly, I was born near Munich (1 hour SW) many decades ago and immigrated to US with my mother when very young. Looking for another home now that I'm retired (and a bit sick of things here) and considering repatriating to German/Europe even though I can't speak German (mother's decision to speak only English here). Have contacted the German embassy, so will see where it leads....

[shahin]

it would be a good social experiment if you also talked to a middle eastern guy with beard!
Or Indian Guy about making friends in Germany!
(and I am not talking about dating life, but pure friendship and being in a same group like other humans with different looks.)
they are part of society!

[fasthand]

Alle, die du heute interviewt hast, sind eine Bereicherung für unser Land und werden (wenn sie bleiben) ihren Weg hier machen. Vielleicht können nicht alle Wünsche der Integration erfüllt werden (da sind wir Deutschen ein wenig steif) aber diese coolen und intelligenten Menschen werden sich trotzdem viele sehr positive Chancen erarbeiten und nutzen. Tolles Video, you true Brit, du bist immer welcome!

[MaxMustermann-vuir]

I welcome those friendly and well educated people in Germany. Sure, it takes time to get used to the culture and language is key so I would recommend everyone to learn German as fast as possible.
Otherwise you end up like some people from Turkey who have been living in Germany for 2 or 3 generations but are still not well integrated. The other day I went to the opera and there were Turkish subtitles. Shocking.

[jansindlar]

Average euro person whining, meanwhile the china girl completely crushing it with skills and attitude

[linajurgensen]

I get that it can be difficult to integrate into a new country but as German I‘m asking myself if the “feeling unwelcome“ part is really our fault or just an assumption from foreigners who come from different cultures who either are not able to integrate or refuse to integrate bc it’s more comfortable to live among their own peers in Germany (which I understand). I don’t really care what every individual is doing as long as they’re working and following our laws. But people who choose to live in a parallel society (like they already exist in Germany) should not complain about it.

[mansurdorado]

4:23 she lives there for 12 years and still very difficult to make German friends!? OMG i'm shocked

[vladtheinhaler]

Deutschland hat ein ausgeprägtes Vereinswesen. Es gibt Vereine für alles. Dort kann man schnell Kontakte knüpfen, weil man mit Menschen, die ähnliche Interessen haben, zusammenkommt. Und, vor allem bei Sportvereinen, hydriert man häufig nach dem Training in der Kneipe um die Ecke mit einem Bier. Dort lernt man wiederum die lokale Kultur kennen.

[Boro]

If you are cheap labour, they are going to treat you accordingly. Its always like that, anywhere you go. These people are not cheap labour, but they seem to have similar experiences. You can imagine then how is it at the bottom of the food chain.

[tobias.f]

I like you, you're so friendly.
It is more interesting for me to hear the opinion of Germany from people who have immigrated than from Germans.
Germans often forget what they really have and what “luxuries” they enjoy compared to other countries.

Diversity is beautiful 🙏🏼