Home and away: immigration and political violence in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1945-90

This article compares and contrasts the impact of the Cold War upon three immigrant groups in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Spanish, Iranian and Croatian communities. In particular, it focuses on the manner in which relations between political movements within these communities and West German political milieux evolved during this period. Since ideological tension between the American and Soviet blocs had an impact on the homeland states of each of these immigrant communities, the global nature of Cold War conflict helped foster a set of, at times paradoxical, strategic alliances between immigrant political movements and West German state and party-political institutions. The attitude of an immigrant political movement towards Soviet Communism in general, and East Germany in particular, could therefore have a considerable impact on relations between its own ethnic community and the rest of West German society.