Ageing over Generations - Labour Migrants from North Africa in the Context of the Recruitment Agreements of the 1960s in the Federal Republic of Germany

Sociodemographic change in Germany poses major challenges, especially for the ageing immigration society of the 1960s. Labour migrants from North Africa occupy a special position but are underrepresented in political and academic discourse. Against this background, my PhD project focuses on how this aspect of social inequality shapes the view of age(s) of subsequent generations of labour migrants and how gender becomes relevant in this context. The focus here is specifically on labour migrants who immigrated to Germany from Morocco as part of the recruitment agreements from 1963 and from Tunisia from 1965. In order to trace the specific challenges faced by this group, it is important to examine the second and third generations and to draw comparisons with their parents and grandparents in order to gain insights into the ageing of the first generation of labour migrants.

The aim is to find out how the subsequent generations perceive their own age(s) and to draw comparisons with their parents and grandparents. In addition to a migration- and gender-specific perspective, a set of qualitative-empirical methods will be used to collect subjective interpretations of how the descendants of North African labour migrants themselves imagine ageing and what perspectives they see in this regard. Specific life situations and life courses become visible in the field of tension between the different categories of migration, age(s) and gender. At the same time, the interdependence of these dimensions is constantly emphasised in order to reflect on them with a view to an ageing society in Germany. Building on this, I would like to present the initial results of my research in Rabat and obtain feedback.