ZwIKSprache 4 (2021) - Abstract in English

The topic of migration and integration has not only become one of the most important but also one of the most divisive issues in Germany during recent years.

However, migration and integration as such have always been important for Germany. Whether Turkish or Italian guest workers in the 1950s, Asian boat people in the 1970s or Vietnamese contract workers in the 1980s, West and East Germany have taken in numerous migrants over the years. As a matter of fact, no migrant group has been mentioned more positively in the media than the Vietnamese. The object of this paper is to show how the integration of the Vietnamese people differs or is similar from a German and Vietnamese perspective. The following research questions will be discussed:

1. Do German people really see the Vietnamese as fully integrated?
2. How do the Vietnamese themselves assess their integration?

In order to answer these questions, four qualitative interviews were conducted with two German participants, one Vietnamese woman who had come to the former GDR as a contract worker, and a second-generation Vietnamese woman born and raised in Germany. All participants were asked to express their individual opinions regarding Vietnamese integration.

In general, it can be said that despite some differences in opinion, the interviewees were almost unanimously of the opinion that Vietnamese people are well integrated into German society, although this opinion cannot always be supported by scientific definitions.