Name: Germany opened its doors to millions of refugees — here's how it worked out | DW News
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T17:10:03.000Z
Duration: 24 min 56 s
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We've been dealing with the refugee situation for 10 years.

Germany is toughening up on people seeking asylum with border controls and stricter rules.

Today, around 3.5 million refugees live in Germany.

And it all started off with a bold move in 2015.

Then Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to let hundreds of thousands of refugees into Germany, issuing a challenge for the entire nation.

She's in the process of destroying Germany.

But is that true or has Germany made immigration a success?

In this film, you'll get an overview of the facts.

And you'll hear from critics of immigration policy, as well as people with refugee experience and newly naturalized Germans.

Germany's give me so much in places that show the change Germany has gone through.

And how did we get to where we are today?

The village in the north of Germany has nearly 6,000 residents.

At times, up to 2,000 refugees were housed in a shelter nearby.

I don't think politicians understand what must be done locally to make that work.

Since the beginning, the retired police officer has made it his job to serve as a bridge between asylum seekers and locals and to listen to everyone's concerns.

They wanted to support those fleeing war, but they were also afraid of the new arrivals.

Wherever you went, it was like masses moving.

They were walking in groups of 10, 20, even hundreds.

That's too many for a village like Bosted.

And what Pullman hears here in Bostedt is what many across Germany think too.

A recent poll shows that almost 70% of German citizens say the country should let in fewer refugees.

To understand why, let's a look, Take leave Borsteet for now and go back in time.

A decade ago, the general atmosphere in Germany was very different.

Germany had just become men's soccer world champion and weathered the European economic crisis.

This is Hannes Schaman, a migration researcher, looking at the impact of immigration in Germany.

There was a sense that Germany could achieve a lot, that it was a leading force in the world.

Angela Merkel was respected, even the leader on the global stage.

In the late summer, more and more refugees started arriving at European borders, seeking asylum.

Many headed for Germany with the clock ticking.

Angela Merkel took the controversial decision to let them in.

That year, more people applied for asylum in Germany than ever before.

Their top countries of origin were Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Germany welcomed them in with their stories, traumas and dreams.

That was when, after an arduous journey across the Mediterranean, the family of Nibal Altubal arrived in Germany.

Now she and her family are German citizens.

I now have two countries I call home, and that's a wonderful feeling.

They live here in Ulm, in southern Germany.

Ten years ago, it seemed highly unlikely that Nibal and her family would end up here.

Their home was in Syria, but their neighborhood near Damascus was constantly being bombed.

When parents can no longer protect their children, they have no choice but to find a solution.

And for us, the solution was to leave, no matter what.

Today they speak fluent German, rent an apartment in a quiet neighborhood, and have good jobs.

Their kids have grown up and are studying at university.

This has become our home now, but we haven't forgotten our homeland.

We try to contribute to both to our homeland and to Germany by doing everything we can.

Building a life here, Nibal says, has been a huge effort.

We did everything we were supposed to do, and maybe that's why we succeeded.

It's a life like this that many people hoped for when they fled to Germany.

Kamiran Davut also fled the war in Syria and came to Germany in 2015 with his family.

He and his family now live in Cottbus, a city in the east of Germany, close to the Polish border, where many recognized asylum seekers were settled and some chose to stay because housing is relatively affordable.

The share of non German residents in the city has nearly tripled since 20.

He started his life in Germany with big hopes.

Since a car accident back in Syria, Kamiron's hand is paralyzed.

I came here thinking the health care system was amazing, but I'm disappointed.

There seems to be no cure for his hand, but

his family is safe and his daughters are enrolled in school.

Kamiran himself still struggles, mostly for one reason, he says.

When I came to language school, I could only reach a very basic level.

After 10 years, he still needs help finding his way in Germany.

That's why social worker Nadim Manjune visits the family regularly to help with all kinds of paperwork and everyday issues.

Kamiran says it's difficult for him to find a job.

He only attended school up to the eighth grade.

The German labor market remains strongly tied to the German language, and that is a big problem.

Kamiran and his family receive financial support from the German government just like many others.

One in two people from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria or Pakistan receive social benefits.

One reason for that is that many refugees flee their home countries to seek asylum due to wars or conflicts.

Think Syria, Afghanistan, but also Ukraine.

That means they're not always immediately ready to work in Germany.

Azid asylum seekers who come to Germany have lower qualifications on average.

The professor's fields of research are German and international immigration law.

Some are doctors, of course, but the majority haven't completed university or vocational training.

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Germany opened its doors to millions of refugees — here's how it worked out | DW News

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