Ethnic Relations in Berlin

There is probably not a place on Earth today that does not have some historic or present day issues with the ethnic relationships within its population. Some cities however have had a more well known and problematic ethnic history; Berlin is one such place and has had some of its major defining moments rooted in ethnic conflict. World War Two is still fairly fresh in the collective memory of the world, but what I think is more interesting is the way that ethnic relations in Berlin have developed since then. The fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of the city in 1989 have changed the place forever, but it is a reunification that has not been without its own troubles and conflicts.

In the years after the Berlin Wall fell in the early 1990's, post communist Germany did experience a lot of racist xenophobic violence. This was not at an equal rate throughout Germany however, and when put into context the level in Berlin itself was no worse than that in the United States at the same time. The homicide rate in Berlin was in fact quite low when considered in terms of ethnic violence, and the Xenophobic violence there at this time was about a quarter of what it was in the U.S.A.

The current ethnic relations in Berlin should not only be looked at through the lens of Jewish relations and the Second World War, as the modern day capital is now home to a diverse and multicultural international population. There are also millions of foreign tourists who visit and stay in a Berlin holiday apartment (Ferienwohnung Berlin) each year, and each person adds to the vast numbers of diverse cultures interacting in the city. Like most cities there are areas that have become almost like ghettos because of the combination of certain ethnic communities with the lower economic conditions of a few neighborhoods.

Berlin is the melting pot of Germany in many ways with the highest level of naturalization amongst German cities, and with almost half a million non German citizens living there as well there is sure to be some tension. These immigrants come from 185 different countries from all over the world and give Berlin a truly international feel, especially in certain areas of the city. The cosmopolitan character of Berlin is most obvious during the annual Carnival of Cultures, when people from all over flock to stay in hotels or a Berlin apartment (Apartment Berlin). The largest ethnic group living in Berlin is the Turkish who number at about 125,000.

This ethnic diversity also brings with it a diversity in religion as well. The Jewish community has almost doubled in size over the last ten years due to immigration from the former Soviet Union, and the Muslim population now lies at about 6%. When you include the numbers of Christians with nearly a quarter of the general population being protestants and 10% of them Catholic you certainly do have both rich religious and ethnic relations that exist among the Berlin population.