Hamburg and Migration

Hamburg has grown great and rich by trading around the globe. The mercantile and industrial development of the city would not have been thinkable without the creativity of many immigrants. Hamburg likes to present itself as a cosmopolitan and tolerant place: the ‘Gateway to the World’, but even now immigrants are first and foremost considered to be a ‘burden’. The aim of the project is to look at the existence of parallel cultures and cultural co-operation, thus contributing to anti-racist education not only for young people but for all age and social groups.

1954: Hamburg at the beginning of the “Wirtschaftswunder” (economic miracle). Photo by Erich Andres.

The life story approach will be used in the ‘Workshop for Migration Stories’ which will employ voices and pictures to present many different people’s memories of the city. The presentation in the museum will not remain on an abstract level nor will it solely use artefacts to display the cultures. The complexities of migration, work and identity will be experienced through all of the senses.

Museum der Arbeit (Museum of Work)
Poppenhusenstraße 12, D-22305 Hamburg, Germany
Contact: Jürgen Ellermeyer
Telephone (+49) 40 428 32-3533
FAX (+49) 40 427 929 027
ellermeyer@museum-der-arbeit.de
www.museum-der-arbeit.de