page_title: Italians in Germany
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Italians in Germany / History
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Italienische Gastarbeiterinnen in der Schokoladenfabrik Stollwerk, Köln Information added by Wikimedia users.Deutsch: Italienische Gastarbeiterinnen in der Schokoladenfabrik Stollwerck in Köln, 1962. Auf dem handgemalten Schild oben rechts im Bild steht auf Italienisch „Non Si Può Salire Sulla Cintura Movibile.“ (etwa: „Nicht auf das Transportband steigen.“)English: Italian „Gastarbeiter“ at the chocolate manufacturer Stollwerck in Cologne (Germany), 1962. The text on the hand-written sign ("Non Si Può Salire Sulla Cintura Movibile.") is Italian and means "You can't step on the conveyor belt.")
context_page_description: Italians in Germany consist of ethnic Italian migrants to Germany and their descendants, both those originating from Italy as well as from among the communities of Italians in Switzerland. Most Italians moved to Germany for reasons of work, others for personal relations, study, or political reasons. Today, Italians in Germany form one of the largest Italian diasporas in the world and account for one of the largest immigrant groups in Germany.
context_section_description: Large numbers of Italians have resided in Germany since the early Middle Ages, particularly architects, craftsmen and traders. During the late Middle Ages and early modern times many Italians came to Germany for business, and relations between the two countries prospered. The political borders were also somewhat intertwined under the German princes' attempts to extend control over all the Holy Roman Empire, which extended from northern Germany down to Northern Italy. During the Renaissance many Italian bankers, architects and artists moved to Germany and successfully integrated in the German society.
  When the huge Italian emigration of the 19th century began, only a few Italians moved to the German Empire under Prussian rule.
  With Germany's post-World War II economic boom (Wirtschaftswunder), a large wave of immigrants from Italy relocated to Germany. Italy and Germany have been joint members of the European Coal and Steel Community (later the European Economic Community). Since the establishment of freedom of movement for workers between the two countries in 1961, more than 580,000 Italians migrated to Germany for work, mainly from southern and north-eastern Italy. Among the German cities Wolfsburg and Ludwigshafen had the highest share of Italian migrants in 2011 according to German Census data.  
  The workers in the Contemporary Art Museum of Casoria in Naples, Italy, proposed a plea of asylum to Germany.
caption: Italian workers in Cologne in 1962
exif: {}