“As Germany redefines its identity, it’s the immigrants who may be leading the way in teaching Germans how to feel good about themselves.”
Youssef Bassal’s heart swelled with pride when he draped an enormous German flag on the building where he runs a cell phone store in support of the World Cup team.
So the Lebanese immigrant was stunned when German leftist groups tore down the 100-square-meter (1000-square-foot) flag – not just once, but twice.
“I don’t understand them at all – every American or Frenchman would be proud to show their flag and root for their football team,” the 39-year-old said at his store in a neighborhood that’s home to many Arab immigrants.
“It’s not like there’s still a swastika on Germany’s flag.”
It’s a paradox rooted in Europe’s multicultural world: Immigrants are rallying around Germany’s diverse football team that includes players with roots in Turkey, Ghana, Poland, Tunisia, and other countries. But 65 years after the end of World War II, some Germans are still adamantly against any expression of national pride and feel uneasy about cheering “Deutschland, Deutschland” during a World Cup match.
Of course there are millions of Germans, especially from the younger generation, who don’t hesitate to paint their faces with the German tricolor on game day. But strikingly, such overt expressions of national pride only appeared widely in the country when it hosted the World Cup four years ago.
At this World Cup, what has caught the eye is that Berlin’s immigrant neighborhoods like Neukoelln, Wedding or Kreuzberg sport many more black-red-golden flags on cars, balconies and store fronts than more traditionally German quarters like Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg.
That’s largely because this year’s team – a bit like the spectacular French squad that won the World Cup in 1998 – seems like a celebration of the nation’s multiethnic modern-day makeup. The team of 23 includes 11 players with a variety of immigrant roots.
It all reflects the country’s transition over the last decades from a largely homogeneous German nation to one where 15 million out of 82 million inhabitants claim immigrant background.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/01/2056205/german-world-cup-patriotism-still.html