The Making of Turkish Bogeyman : A Unique Case of Misrepresention in German Journalism

In 1982, political dialogue in Germany was somewhat more frank than today: 'As everyone knows, the Turks in this country have become a problem for us', this was openly acknowledged at that time. Since then, it appears that Turkey has become a problem for the German media as well. Hardly a day goes by without the average German citizen being informed, by various types of media, about something (as a rule, something negative) regarding the country of the Anatolian 'guest workers.'Whereas thirty years ago Germans possessed a certain curiosity about Turkey, with the positive aspects of that country usually being emphasized, the current tendency is strongly politicized, and this has resulted in a predominately negative treatment. For all appearances, the proverbial German pessimism and skepticism seem to thrive on the Turkish theme; when there is talk of Turkey, the observant contemporary will notice that it seems always to center around either 'the Kurdish Problem'or'deficient Turkish democracy.'
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