The story of Turkish immigrants who have been living in Germany for decades, beginning with the Labour Migration Agreement signed between Germany and Turkey on 30 October 1961, is a process that has brought about profound changes in the lives of millions of our people, not only in economic and social terms but also in literature, music, education and many other areas. Over time, the phenomenon of labour migration has become an indispensable part of the curriculum in German language and literature departments at our universities. The curiosity sparked in our students by the knowledge they acquired on this subject during their higher education was the main trigger for them to apply to the Youth Services Directorate General of the Ministry of Youth and Sports' UNIDES Project.

The research process, which began with a local project by students of the German Language and Literature Department, gained an international dimension with the acceptance of the project ‘Empathy and Awareness in the Footsteps of Migration: Germany’ in 2025, offering them an unforgettable experience and the opportunity to gain awareness and empathy. The interviews conducted with Turkish immigrants in the German cities of Cologne, Duisburg and Berlin, the observation of their living conditions, the effects of German culture on their lives, and witnessing first-hand the difficulties and positive experiences encountered during the migration process demonstrated how profoundly this transformed and deepened our students' perspectives on the subject. This insight was the most motivating factor in preparing this book.

As the academic advisor of the TNKÜ Turkish-German Student Association, we believe that the data obtained through video interviews during visits in which I also participated will serve as an important concrete resource for presenting the current perspectives of Turkish immigrants on present-day Germany, based on their past experiences.