Isolation in the "Campo
The accommodation of the Italian guest workers in the Allerwiesen meadows in Wolfsburg
"There are now about 500 Italian workers working at the Volkswagen plant. They live in the accommodations at the Berliner Brücke. Five two-story wooden houses have already been completed there, and five more are almost finished under construction"-__-0000-__-, was how the Wolfsburger Nachrichten reported in the spring of 1962 on the first phase of the construction of the so-called Italian village in Wolfsburg's Allertal. While it was still not certain in September 1961 how many Italians would arrive in eastern Lower Saxony at the beginning of the next year -__-0001-__-, things finally moved relatively quickly: the first 200 "guest workers" arrived at Wolfsburg's main train station as early as mid-January -__-0002-__-, according to minutes of the Volkswagen board of management. Almost 5,000 were to follow within the first year alone. The decisive factor for the move to the working-class city was usually the prospect of 'big money': "You can put half a million aside every year," -__-0003-__-, the Italian consumer magazine Quattrosoldi advertised on behalf of the Volkswagen Group in May 1962. All the Italians had to bring with them was a suitcase and the desire to work -__-0004-__-. The recruitment of mainly young Italians was initiated by the then Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagenwerk AG, Heinrich Nordhoff.
The history of Italian "guest workers" in the Federal Republic dates back to 1955, when representatives of both countries concluded the "Agreement on the Recruitment and Placement of Italian Workers to the Federal Republic of Germany." The Treaties of Rome, signed on March 25, 1957, in turn allowed the populations of the signatory countries greater mobility within the European Economic Community. The agreement on the recruitment of "guest workers" was intended, on the one hand, to alleviate the severe unemployment in the southern regions of Italy and, on the other, to counter the labor shortage in prospering West Germany. The agreement signed by German Labor Minister Anton Storch and Italian Foreign Minister Gaetano Martino, the origin of the "guest worker system," ultimately ensured that Germany would become a country of immigration -__-0000-__- by the 1970s at the latest.
The German-Italian agreement did not provide for 'staying here'. The system was based on a rotation procedure, according to which workers were usually to be exchanged after one or two years. Apart from agriculture, it was predominantly industry in which the single young Italians, the majority of whom were male, were in demand. One of the centers of Italian labor migration was the city of Wolfsburg, home to the leading automobile manufacturer in Europe at the time, Volkswagenwerk AG -__-0001-__-. Until the oil crisis led to a hiring freeze for foreign workers in 1973, numerous Italians emigrated to the city on the Mittelland Canal in Lower Saxony.
Before the city and factory could even discuss possible issues of integrating foreign-language workers in the early 1960s -__-0002-__-, accommodations had to be created for the Italian "guest workers." In keeping with the supposedly temporary nature of the workers' stay, the newly created accommodations were also somewhat provisional. Three, and in the beginning even four, people were housed together in the smallest of spaces. The "largest Italian village north of the Brenner" -__-0003-__- was emblematic of the guest worker policy practiced by Volkswagenwerk AG, since there seemed to have been an agreement with the city administration early on that the wooden houses located there would be replaced by a new housing development in the future, when they were no longer needed as "accommodations for foreigners" -__-0004-__-.
-
read more
After the automobile concern had submitted an application for building permission of work accommodation buildings to the city administration in October of the year 1961 -__-0000-__-, their construction was already far advanced in the summer 1962, first houses were already inhabited -__-0001-__-. Existing reservations of the Vice President of the Lower Saxony government, Kästner, as well as of the police director, Sehrt, regarding a "massing" -__-0002-__- of single workers, after all, the "Italian Village" had been deliberately built on the outskirts of the city, were not listened to very much by the city and the factory. Local press coverage of the shelter construction, meanwhile, was positive:
"In the meantime, work has progressed on the Italian Village at Berliner Brücke. More two-story wooden houses have been erected, for soon more than 4,000 foreign workers are to be housed here. The greening of the site in particular has made progress. Bulldozers have been busy during the plant vacations leveling the area in front of the houses so that grass seed can be sown. Many trees have also been planted to break up the 'village picture'. The first of the community houses is already finished. Two more are to follow. The large hall can seat over 1000 people at tables. The halls are absolutely necessary for joint events, whether they are lectures, film evenings or colorful events. The sales outlets have also been enlarged. Here, residents can stock up on everyday shopping goods. In another community center, a sick bay will be set up, which will be supervised by the camp doctor, Dr. Cervelti. Finally, a bocce court will not be missing. A small sports field is already ready. At the entrance to the Berliner Brücke, the final touches are being made to the small gatehouse, from which all the houses can be reached by telephone. -__-0003-__-"
As idyllic as the picture painted here by the local press may seem, terms such as "camp doctor" or the "barracks camp" that frequently appear in administrative files are irritating. On top of that, the Volkswagen company appointed the former "camp leader" of the so-called communal camp in the "city of the KdF car," Ludwig Vollmann -__-0004-__-, as head of the "Italian village" because of his expertise -__-0005-__-. Although the management was concerned to "avoid the term 'camp,'" as Vollmann explained to the Welt, he spoke at the same time of the "capos" who would have to bear responsibility in the corridors of the houses -__-0006-__-. A conceptual proximity to the concentration camp prisoners cannot be denied.
At the same time, the wooden house camp for Italian workers -__-0007-__-, which was guarded and fenced in by the plant security, was not so different from other "guest worker" accommodations in the Federal Republic of Germany -__-0008-__-. Nor is the fact that the nearly 4,000 Italian workers were quartered in the Allerwiesen in this way, isolated from the city, a specific feature of Wolfsburg's history. However, it was the deliberate isolation and "massing" of the Italian "guest workers" that in part evoked unrest in the "Italian village" that triggered a "wildcat strike" -__-0009-__- that was received nationwide.
During the first chilly days of November 1962, a feeling of discontent had spread among the residents of the wooden house settlement in the Allerwiesen -__-0010-__-. The trigger for this was, as it was later said, inadequate medical care. After a guest worker died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the city hospital and another Italian felt ill, but 40 minutes passed -__-0011-__- before the ambulance arrived at the accommodations near the Berliner Brücke, the situation escalated on the spot: "Within a very short time, large groups of workers gathered in front of their accommodations and ran onto the Berliner Ring, causing considerable traffic obstructions," -__-0012-__-, reported the Wolfsburger Nachrichten on November 6, 1962. The Italian "guest workers" had given vent to their anger and stopped work for a day, before hermetically sealing off the exits of the site. It was probably only the arrival of the Italian Consul General Gastone Guidotti that led to a defusing of the turmoil -__-0013-__-. The management of the Volkswagen plant rejected any apportionment of blame; one "should not -__-0014-__- overestimate the events" was the sober comment in the local media -__-0015-__-. However, the reaction of the management was not sober, since 70 dismissals were the result of the "events" of November 5, 1962 -__-0016-__-. In the following, too, those responsible in the corporate management were hardly to make any concessions. In a statement, Dr. Fahrner, the group's chief company physician, assured Hugo Dreyer -__-0017-__-, the head of Volkswagen's social department, that there was no reason to improve the plant's medical service, since this was in any case only an additional service provided by the plant management -__-0018-__-.
Until the dismantling of the village in 1977 -__-0019-__- no further outrages of this kind should follow, a single act of violence on the site should remain the exception -__-0020-__-. The dismantling of the wooden house settlement then took place under the sign of an incipient rethinking in the foreigner policy of the factory and the city -__-0021-__-. Even before that, educational projects had initiated a process of integration -__-0022-__-; the Italian "guest workers," who had once lived in isolation, became an integral part of Wolfsburg's urban community.
Photographic impressions of the gabion wall
Timetable
-
Timetable
Pending Translation:
1962 Am 17. Januar treffen die ersten 84 italienischen Arbeitsmigranten in Wolfsburg ein. Sie werden in den Gemeinschaftsunterkünften an der Berliner Brücke, dem „Italiener-Dorf“ untergebracht. Trotz hoher Fluktuation leben auch in den Folgejahren durchschnittlich 3500 italienische Beschäftigte in Wolfsburg. Fußballbegeistere Arbeitnehmer aus Italien gründen den Sportclub ISC Lupo. Als erster ausländischer Fußballverein Deutschlands nimmt er ab 1963 an den regulären Punktspielen der Kreisliga teil. 1964 Die Missione Cattolica Italiana zieht in die ehemalige Gaststätte Hanseat in der Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße und bietet dort regelmäßig seelsorgerische und soziale Betreuung in italienischer Sprache an. Das Centro Italiano nimmt am 13. September seinen Betrieb auf. So entsteht der erste offizielle Treffpunkt mit viel Abwechslung für die Freizeitgestaltung.
1965 Mit Lorenzo Annese wird bundesweit der erste ausländische Mitarbeiter auf die Liste der IG Metall gesetzt und in den Betriebsratswahlen vom 22.-25. März als Arbeitervertreter gewählt. An 26. April kommt der italienische Botschafter Mario Luciolli nach Wolfsburg. Er besichtigt Werk, Stadt und die italienischen Einrichtungen.
In der Volkswagenstadt leben mittlerweile rund 5400 italienische Arbeitnehmer, teilweise mit ihren Familien. Damit steht auch die Bildungspolitik vor neuen Aufgaben: Das Schulkonzept wird angepasst, Übergangsklassen für die Kinder der italienischen Beschäftigten werden geschaffen.
1962 Il 17 gennaio giungono a Wolfsburg i primi 84 immigrati italiani, che vengono sistemati nell’alloggio collettivo della Berliner Brücke, il cosiddetto “Villaggio Italiano”. Malgrado l’elevata fluttuazione, negli anni successivi vivono e lavorano a Wolfsburg in media 3.500 italiani. Dipendenti appassionati di calcio fondano il club sportivo ISC Lupo, prima società di calcio straniera in Germania che, a partire dal 1963, partecipa alle partite del “Kreisliga” (livello basso del campionato tedesco).
1964 La Missione Cattolica Italiana si trasferisce nell’ex trattoria Hanseat nella Heinrich-Nordhoff-Straße ed offre sostegno psicologico e assistenza sociale in lingua italiana. Il 13 settembre apre i battenti il Centro Italiano. Nasce così il primo luogo d’incontro ufficiale con svariate proposte per il tempo libero.
1965 Sulle liste nazionali del sindacato IG Metall si iscrive il primo dipendente straniero, Lorenzo Annese, il quale, nel corso delle elezioni per il consiglio di fabbrica dal 22 al 25 marzo, viene eletto rappresentante degli operai. Il 26 aprile giunge a Wolfsburg I’ Ambasciatore italiano Mario Luciolli che visita lo stabilimento, la città e le rispettive istituzioni italiane.
Nella città della Volkswagen risiedono nel frattempo circa 5.400 operai italiani, alcuni con le loro famiglie. Ciò mette la Politica d’Istruzione Scolastica di fronte a nuove esigenze: nascono classi di passaggio che preparano i bambini dei lavoratori italiani all’istruzione scolastica tedesca.
1970 Der deutsch-italienische Kontaktausschuss tritt zum ersten Mal zusammen. Er setzt bis 1972 deutliche Akzente.
1971 Die ersten fünf von insgesamt zwölf Punkthochhäusern in Kästorf sind bezugsfertig. 650 Italiener finden hier ein neues Zuhause.
1974 Wegweisende Veränderungen in der Stadtverwaltung sorgen für wachsende politische Partizipation der ausländischen Mitbürger: Das Ausländerreferat und der Ratsausschuss für Ausländerangelegenheiten werden gegründet.
1975 Die Partnerschaft zwischen der Stadt Wolfsburg und der Region Pesaro-Urbino wird am 4. Oktober im Rahmen eines Festaktes feierlich besiegelt. Die freundschaftlichen Bande sind bis heute fest geknüpft. Die Italienische Konsularagentur wird gegründet.
1977 Das zu einem Freizeitheim für italienische Mitbürger umgebaute Centro
Italiano wird am 13. September wiedereröffnet.
1979 Die Bildungspolitik setzt weiter Akzente mit der koordinierten Hausaufgabenhilfe, die für 80 italienische Kinder startet.
1982 Am 29. Juni wird Siegfried Ehlers, Betriebsratsvorsitzender des Volkswagenwerkes, der Verdienstorden der Republik Italien verliehen.
1970 Viene fondato il primo comitato italo-tedesco “Kontaktausschuss” (Comitato di Contatto) che svolge un importante lavoro fino al 1972.
1971 Viene portata a termine a Kästorf la costruzione delle prime 5 palazzine di 12 previste. Qui trovano casa 650 italiani.
1974 I cambiamenti politici del Comune fanno da battistrada a un futuro in cui i concittadini stranieri otterranno una maggiore partecipazione alla realtà politica: nascono la Sezione Stranieri e la Commissione per le Questioni degli Stranieri.
1975 Il 4 ottobre viene siglato il patto di gemellaggio tra la Città di Wolfsburg e la Provincia di Pesaro-Urbino, avvenimento che viene accompagnato da una cerimonia ufficiale. Questo legame d’ amicizia è tuttora molto forte. Apre l’Agenzia Consolare d’Italia.
1977 Il 13 settembre riapre, dopo essere stato ristrutturato, il Centro Italiano
d’incontro per il tempo libero dei cittadini italiani.
1979 La Politica dell'Istruzione Scolastica continua a prendere nuove, importanti misure dando il via ad un servizio di doposcuola per 80 alunni italiani.
1982 Il 29 giugno Siegfried Ehlers, presidente del Consiglio della Volkswagen, riceve l’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.
1985 Auf Initiative des italienischen Botschafters Luigi Ferraris wird am 12. November das Italienische Kulturinstituts (Instituto Italiano di Cultura) gegründet, um das gesellschaftliche Leben in Wolfsburg mit italiensicher Kultur zu bereichern.
1987 Am 5. September erhält der italienische Botschafter Luigi Ferraris die Stadtplakette in Silber. Wolfsburg ehrt den Botschafter für seine Verdienste im Aufbau von Schulprojekten und die Sozialbetreuung der italienischen Bürger in der Volkswagenstadt.
1988 Carl H. Hahn, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Volkswagen AG, wird am 18. Mai mit dem Großen Verdienstkreuz mit Stern des Verdienstordens der Republik Italien ausgezeichnet. Damit werden seine Verdienste um die Integration und die soziale Gleichstellung italienischer Arbeitskräfte im Volkswagenkonzern gewürdigt.
1990 Der Verein der „Freunde des italienischen Kulturinstituts Wolfsburg e.V.“ (heute: Verein der „Freunde und Förderer der italienischen Kultur in Wolfsburg e.V.“) wird am 31. Januar ins Leben gerufen, um die Arbeit des Kulturinstituts (heute Kulturbüro der Italienischen Konsularagentur) in Wolfsburg zu unterstützen.
1993 Mit der Deutsch-Italienischen Grundschule bereichert die Stadt Wolfsburg die Schullandschaft.
1996 Mit Einführung des kommunalen Wahlrechts für EU-Bürger zieht Rocco Artale als erster italienischer Bürger in den Rat der Stadt Wolfsburg ein.
1985 Su iniziativa dell’Ambasciatore Luigi Ferraris il 12 novembre viene fondato l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura, con lo scopo di arricchire con la cultura italiana la vita sociale di Wolfsburg.
1987 Il 5 settembre viene conferita all’Ambasciatore Luigi Ferraris il distintivo d’argento della Città di Wolfsburg. Con questo gesto la città della Volkswagen onora l’Ambasciatore per i suoi meriti relativi alla realizzazione di progetti scolastici e per l’assistenza sociale dei cittadini italiani.
1988 Il 18 maggio Carl H. Hahn, presidente del Consiglio della Volkswagen, viene decorato con la Gran Croce al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, riconoscimento per i suoi meriti riguardanti l’integrazione e l’equiparazione sociale dei lavoratori italiani all’interno della Volkswagen.
1990 Il 31 gennaio nasce l’associazione “Amici dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura“ (oggi: “Amici della Cultura italiana a Wolfsburg”), ancora oggi un grande sostegno per il lavoro dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Wolfsburg (oggi: Ufficio Culturale dell’Agenzie Consolare d’Italia).
1993 Il paesaggio scolastico della città di Wolfsburg viene notevolmente arricchito con la nascita della Scuola Primaria Italo-Tedesca.
1996 In seguito all’introduzione del diritto di voto alle elezioni comunali dei cittadini dell’UE, Rocco Artale diviene il primo italiano che entra a far parte del Consiglio Comunale della Città di Wolfsburg.
1997 Die Deutsch-Italienische Grundschule, erweitert um die Sekundarstufe I, wird zur Gesamtschule ausgebaut.
1998 Das Ausländerreferat wird den Oberbürgermeister direkt unterstellt.
2001 Umberto Bernardini und Guido Vardabesro erhalten am 31. Januar in Anerkennung ihrer besonderen Verdienste um die Partnerschaft mit der Provinz Pesaro-Urbino die Stadtplakette in Silber bzw. Bronze.
2002 Das Italienische Kulturinstitut erhält seinen neuen Sitz in der Goethestraße. Eine Gedenktafel würdigt dir Aufbauleistung der Italiener in der Stadt Wolfsburg.
2003 Rocco Artale wird am 10. Juli mit dem Verdienstorden Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica Italiana geehrt. Gewürdigt werden mit dieser Auszeichnung seine Verdienste um die Integration in Wolfsburg. In der Volkswagenstadt wird vom 24. August mit 19. Oktober die Ausstellung „A Casa a Wolfsburg – Zu Hause in Wolfsburg“ gezeigt. Die Veranstaltung steht im Zeichen der Erfahrung italienischer und tunesischer Arbeitsmigranten. Am 8. November wird die „Piazza Italia“ eröffnet. Damit ist im Herzen von Wolfsburg ein unverwechselbarer Ort für italienischer Lebensart entstanden. Das immer noch gut besuchte Centro Italiano zieht nach Alt-Heßlingen um.
1997 Alla già esistente Scuola Primaria Italo-Tedesca si aggiunge la Scuola Secondaria di l° grado, dando così vita alla Scuola Unitaria Italo-Tedesca.
1998 La Sezione Stranieri viene subordinato alle dirette dipendenze del sindaco.
2001 Il 31 gennaio Umberto Bernadini e Guido Vardabesro ottengono dal Comune, come riconoscimento per i loro meriti riguardanti il gemellaggio con la Provincia di Pesaro-Urbino, rispettivamente il distintivo d’argento e il distintivo di bronzo.
2002 L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura riceve una nuova sede nella Goethestraße. Una targa commemorativa onora il contributo degli italiani allo sviluppo della Città di Wolfsburg.
2003 Il 10 luglio Rocco Artale ottiene dalla Repubblica Italiana il titolo di Cavaliere al Merito per le sue benemerenze nell’ambito dell’integrazione a Wolfsburg. Dal 24 agosto al 19 ottobre la Città presenta la mostra dal titolo “A casa a Wolfsburg – Zuhause in Wolfsburg”, esposizione basata sulle esperienze fatte da immigrati italiani e tunisini a Wolfsburg. L’ 8 novembre viene inaugurata la “Piazza Italia”. Con essa nasce nel cuore di Wolfsburg un inconfondibile simbolo dello stile di vita italiano. Il Centro Italiano, sempre frequentato vivamente, si sposta ad Alt-Heßlingen.
2004 Die Skulptur „L’Emigrante“ von Quinto Provenziani wird im April auf dem Gelände der Landesgartenschau enthüllt. Das Werk soll an die italienische Arbeitsmigration in Wolfsburg erinnern.
2005 Neben den Feierlichkeiten zum 30-jährigen Bestehen der Partnerschaft mit Pesaro-Urbino feiert Wolfsburg am 10. Dezember den 50. Jahrestag des deutsch-italienischen Anwerbeabkommens.
2009 Am 25. Februar findet in Wolfsburg ein Empfang für den italienischen Botschafter Puri Purini statt. Die Deutsch-Italienische Gesamtschule erhält im Sommer den Namen „Leonardo da Vinci-Gesamtschule“.
2012 Im Jahr 1962 kamen die ersten Italiener in Wolfsburg. Anlässlich dieses 50. Jubiläums veranstaltete die Stadt Wolfsburg (Integrationsreferat) gemeinsam mit der Italienischen Konsularagentur und mit dem Italienischen Kulturinstitut unter dem Titel „Wolfsburg, amore mio“ ein großes Fest in Erinnerung an die ersten italienischen „Gastarbeiter“ in Wolfsburg. Über den Metropol Verlag gibt das Italienische Kulturinstitut in Kooperation mit dem Institut für Zeitgeschichte und Stadtpräsentation den zweisprachigen Band "La vita è qui. Wolfsburg una storia italiana - Das Leben ist hier. Wolfsburg, eine italienische Geschichte“ heraus.
2004 In aprile la scultura “L’emigrante’ di Quinto Provenziani viene presentata alla “Landesgartenschau” (mostra di Giardini del Land). L’opera è una commemorazione dell’immigrazione italiana a Wolfsburg.
2005 La Città di Wolfsburg festeggia i 30 anni del gemellaggio con Pesaro-Urbino e contemporaneamente, il 10 dicembre, il cinquantenario dell’accordo sul reclutamento della manodopera italiana.
2009 Il 25 febbraio viene accolto a Wolfsburg l’Ambasciatore italiano Puri Purini. La Scuola Unitaria Italo-Tedesca viene ribattezzata in estate “Leonardo da Vinci-Gesamtschule”.
2012 Nel 1962 arrivarono a Wolfsburg i primi italiani. In occasione di questo 50° anniversario, il Comune di Wolfsburg (Dipartimento per l'Integrazione), in collaborazione con l'Agenzia Consolare d’Italia e l'Istituto Italiano di Cultura, ha organizzato una grande festa dal titolo "Wolfsburg, amore mio" in memoria dei primi "lavoratori ospiti" italiani a Wolfsburg. A cura della casa editrice Metropol Verlag, l'Istituto Italiano di Cultura, in collaborazione con l'Istituto di Storia Contemporanea e di Presentazione della Città, pubblica il volume bilingue "La vita è qui. Wolfsburg una storia italiana - Das Leben ist hier. Wolfsburg, eine italienische Geschichte“.
2014 Das Italienische Kulturinstitut schließt und ein Kulturbüro wird in der Italienischen Konsularagentur eingegliedert. Jährlich fördert und organisiert es eine große Bandbreite von Veranstaltungen, um den kulturellen Austausch zwischen Deutschland und Italien in Wolfsburg und der Region zu stärken und auszuweiten.
2015 Zum 60. Male feiert Wolfsburg das im Jahr 1955 zwischen Deutschland und Italien geschlossene Anwerbeabkommen.
2018 Das Centro Italiano zieht in die Innenstadt, auf der Piazza Italia, nahe der Italienischen Konsularagentur, und führt da seine Aktivitäten fort.
2014 L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura viene chiuso e accorpato come Ufficio Culturale presso l’Agenzia Consolare d’Italia che promuove e organizza una vasta gamma di eventi culturali per rafforzare e ampliare gli scambi culturali tra la Germania e l’Italia a Wolfsburg e nella regione.
2015 Wolfsburg festeggia il sessantesimo anniversario del contratto di reclutamento tra Germania e Italia del 1955.
2018 Il Centro Italiano si sposta nel centro città, in Piazza Italia, all’Agenzia Consolare d’Italia, dove continua le sue attività.
Cooperation partner
References
-
References
-__-0000-__- "Italians with Young Socialists", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of January 13, 1964.
-__-0001-__- "Almost 500 Italians at the Volkswagen plant", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten, February 27, 1962.
-__-0002-__- UVW, 174/419/2, Nordhoff to Haaf, Foreign Workers of September 25, 1961.
-__-0003-__- UVW, board minutes, minutes of the meeting of January 15, 1962.
-__-0004-__- UVW, 69/189/2, Italians in Germany, excerpts translated from Quattrosoldi, May 1962, pp. 54-63.
-__-0005-__- Ibid.
-__-0006-__- Roberto Sala, "Vom 'Fremdarbeiter' zum 'Gastarbeiter'. Anwerbung italienischer Arbeitskräfte für die deutsche Wirtschaft (1938-1973)", in: Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Vol. 55 (2007), H. 1, pp. 94-120, here. S. 96.
-__-0007-__- See Grazia Prontera, "'Unsere und deren Komplexe': Italiener in Wolfsburg - Berichte, Darstellungen und Meinugen in der lokalen Presse (1962-1975)", in: Gabriele, Metzler (ed.), Das Andere denken. Representations of migration in Western Europe and the USA in the 20th century. Frankfurt am Main 2013, pp. 261-280.
-__-0008-__- The question of integrating the many displaced persons who had settled in Wolfsburg since 1945 still took priority. See Maren Möhring, "Mobilität und Migration in und zwischen Ost und West", in: Frank Bösch (ed.), Geteilte Geschichte. East and West Germany 1970-2000. Göttingen 2015, pp. 369-410, here p. 374.
-__-0009-__- "56 Italians received the vacation pass", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of August 31, 1962.
-__-0010-__- StadtA WOB, HA 16364, City Director Balk to the construction management of Volkswagen AG dated September 14, 1962.
-__-0011-__- StadtA WOB, HA 16364, Bauaufsichtsamt, processing note dated January 8, 1962.
-__-0012-__- See, among other things, StadtA WOB, HA 16362, excerpt from the minutes of the 20th meeting of the Construction Committee on November 6, 1961: "This development was necessitated by the construction of the new Volkswagen, type 1500, as well as an increased demand for the Volkswagen in general. The existing workforce is not sufficient and the plant is forced to take on several thousand new employees. The only way to create living space in Wolfsburg as quickly as possible is to build wooden houses immediately. The first five wooden houses, supplied by a company from Austria, are already on their way to Wolfsburg."
-__-0013-__- Here and in the following StadtA WOB, HA 16362, note, barrack camp for VW workers dated November 14, 1961.
-__-0014-__- "Italians return almost in full", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of July 30, 1962; on the 'village picture' see: Violetta Rudolf, "'Wir kommen jetzt in die Zeitung!' On photographic traces of the 'guest workers' in the Wolfsburg daily press of 1962", in: Das Archiv. Zeitung für Wolfsburger Stadtgeschichte, vol. 3 (November 2018), no. 11, pp. 1-5.
-__-0015-__- See StadtA WOB, EB 4, undated interview by Bernhard Gericke with Ludwig Vollmann.
-__-0016-__- "91 Italians remained in their homeland", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of January 11/12, 1964.
-__-0017-__- "Around 3000 Italians live in Wolfsburg's 'Little Naples'", in: Die Welt from September 24, 1962.
-__-0018-__- In this context, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on a fence that only served to protect the "guest workers" and was not the hallmark of a "foreign workers' ghetto__-0019-__-". See also: "A town for 4300 guest workers in Wolfsburg. The largest Italian settlement north of the Brenner Pass and the most expensive too", in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 26, 1962. See also Günter Riederer, "'Nix amore in castellupo?' Mediale Bildwelten der italienischen Arbeitsmigration nach Wolfsburg", in: Ralf Beil (ed.), Wolfsburg Unlimited. A city as a world laboratory. Berlin 2016, pp. 123-129, here p. 126.
-__-0020-__- Anne von Oswald/Barabara Schmidt, "'After the end of their shift they always returned to their camp...' Life in 'guest worker' accommodation in the sixties and seventies", in: Jan Motte/Rainer Ohlinger/Anne von Oswald (eds.), 50 Jahre Bundesrepublik - 50 Jahre Einwanderung. Post-war history as a history of migration. Frankfurt am Main/New York 1999, pp. 184-214, here p. 188.
-__-0021-__- See Anne von Oswald: "'Venite a lavovare con la Volkswagen!' Management strategies and reactions of Italian guest workers in the Beetle City, 1962-1975", in: Tra fabbrica e societá. Mondi operai nell 'Italia del Novecento'/Stefano Musso (ed.), "Annali" della Fondazione Feltrinelli 1977. Milan 1999, pp. 695-740. On the reception, among others, "Die großen Kinder aus dem Süden sind vereinsamt", in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 9. November 1962; "Short strike by Italian guest workers at the VW plant", in: Frankfurter Rundschau of November 6, 1962, "Italian guest workers strike in Wolfsburg", in: Deutsche Zeitung of November 6, 1962; "Guest workers from Italy went on strike", in: Hessische Allgemeine of November 8, 1962. The mood was already at a low point. See Rudolf, "Wir kommen jetzt in die Zeitung!" (see note 15).
-__-0022-__- Prontera, "Ours and their complexes" (see note 8), p. 277.
-__-0023-__- Rudolf, "We'll be in the papers now!" (as note 15).
-__-0024-__- "In the Italian village, tempers flared", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of November 6, 1962.
-__-0025-__- "Excitement in the Wolfsburg Italian settlement", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of November 6, 1962.
-__-0026-__- Ibid.
-__-0027-__- StadtA WOB, HA 525, Bd. 1, Volkswagenwerk to the city administration dated January 9, 1963.
-__-0028-__- See workshop report "Well-kept secrets or tacitly accepted certainty? - NSDAP membership and Nazi continuities at the Volkswagen factory and in the city of Wolfsburg after 1945". Workshop at the Alvar-Aalto-Kulturhaus on November 29, 2012, available online at https://www.wolfsburg.de/~/media/ wolfsburg/statistik_daten_fakten/izs/workshopbericht_nsdap.pdf -__-0029-__-.
-__-0030-__- UVW, 69/189/2, statement by Dr. med. Fahrner on medical care for Italian factory employees dated November 9, 1962.
-__-0031-__- Linda Moreschi, "'Come to work with us! How Italian workers became Wolfsburgers", in: Christoph Stölzl (ed.), Die Wolfsburg-Saga. Stuttgart 2008, pp. 222-225, here p. 224.
-__-0032-__- "Schwere Bluttat", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of June 1, 1964.
-__-0033-__- "Foreigners want emancipation", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of 22 June 1974; "Program for children is still a long time coming", in Wolfsburger Nachrichten of 12 September 1974; "9465 want to be fellow citizens", in: Wolfsburger Nachrichten of 10 October 1975.
-__-0034-__- See Alexander Kraus/Michael Siems, "Vom Objekt zum Akteur. Municipal integration policy of the city of Wolfsburg and Italian migrant workers in the years of 'normalization'", in: Das Archiv. Zeitung für Wolfsburger Stadtgeschichte, vol. 5 (November 2020), no. 19.
-
Contact
City of Wolfsburg
Institute for Contemporary History and City Presentation (IZS)
City of Wolfsburg
Goethe School
Goethestrasse 10a Entrance C
38440 WolfsburgTelephone: 05361 27-5730
Fax: 05361 27-5757
E-mail: izs-stadtarchiv@stadt.wolfsburg.de