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Policies of the German government have been pro European Union and pro cooperation and friendship with neighbors in the East. Such policies have generally been supported by the political opposition parties and public opinion. The German public has expressed great caution and even hostility toward the use of German troops for U.N. or NATO actions outside of German borders. Nonetheless, it cannot be said that there is no patriotic sentiment in Germany at all. If it were so, there would not have been so much support for reunification. Chancellor Kohl likes to talk about “the German people” and the fatherland, but he does so in a very non-threatening way. Many Germans talk about “constitutional patriotism,” a “civil patriotism” based on support for democratic and humanitarian values rather than ethnicity or “blood.” However, unlike Americans, whose identity is supposedly based largely on “civil patriotism,” it is difficult for Germans to accept the outward signs of patriotic feelings so common in the United States, such as singing the national anthem at athletic events, pledging allegiance to the flag in school, and so forth. This reminds them too much of the practices of the Nazis. It is true that there are some Germans such as the skinheads and their allies who still support the worst kind of nationalistic feelings. There have been a number of incidents since reunification involving skinheads in which foreigners have been injured, and even killed. The skinheads and other right-wing extremists are a tiny minority of the population, but they have done great damage to Germany’s self-image and image abroad. Almost all of them are under 25 years of age, unemployed, poorly educated, pessimistic about their future, and deeply resentful of the millions of foreigners who have come to Germany as foreign workers, asylum seekers, other refugees.

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As it was discussed above, Germany after 1948 became known throughout the world for its “economic miracle.” The economy was so strong that there were severe labor shortages by the 1960s, in spite of millions of German refugees from the lost territories in the East and from East Germany. In the early 1960s, “guest workers” from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and, especially, Turkey, were invited to come to Germany to fill the many vacant job positions. It is not true, as is sometimes alleged, that the foreigners received lower pay than Germans; indeed, German trade unions insisted that no cheap labor be admitted. On the other hand, the foreigners did take jobs in factories, hotels, restaurants, and city services (for example, as garbage collectors) that were at the low end of the pay scale and not desired by most Germans. Later these foreigners began to bring family members into the country so that by the time of reunification, there were five to six million foreigners living in Germany. While they have become integrated to a considerable extent, with many foreigners now owning their own businesses, they are not universally welcomed. Some of the guest workers have now been in the country for two generations, yet relatively few have become citizens. There are many reasons for this. First, German law makes it difficult for foreigners to become citizens, although it has been made somewhat easier in recent years. A second reason is that, like many other countries, Germany does not generally accept dual citizenship, and many of the foreigners who would be interested in German citizenship do not want to give up their existing citizenship. Some countries such as Turkey do not allow foreigners to own property; therefore, if Turkish workers in Germany become German citizens, they cannot then retain or acquire property back home in Turkey.