Cultural diversity is the variety and differences in cultures that occur within a society.

Since the 1980s, Germany has held a higher immigration rate than the United States, Canada,
and Australia. Many immigrants come to Germany from the former Soviet Union states and
Poland, as well as around four million immigrants have also fled from Turkey and the former
Yugoslavia. Today, Germany stands as the most populous state in the European Union as well as
one of the most culturally diverse. Many areas have their own language, history, and identity
(Immigration and Integration). Although Germany is becoming one of the most culturally
diverse countries in Europe, they have also been through one of the most horrific examples in
history of cultural loss. If you look at Germanys history throughout the past hundred years, the
country has experienced huge changes in cultural diversity.
In 1933, Germany was home to the largest Jewish community in central Europe. There
were about 500,000 Jews living within Germany before the Second World War; they made up
about one percent of the total population ("Jewish Population of Europe in 1933: Population
Data by Country"). Following this time period, Germany expanded its territory under Adolf
Hitlers regime. In total, the government brutally killed about six million Jews, three million
Soviets, one million Polish, one million Yugoslav citizens, seventy thousand people with
disabilities, two hundred thousand gypsies, and an unknown number of homosexuals and
deportees (2005, "The Holocaust death toll"). In total, the nation executed about eleven million
people living in Germany and German territories. The nation was working towards eliminating
cultural diversity as a whole. After the First World War, Germany received a tremendous amount
of blame and debt from France and England; the countys economy was doing so badly that their
currency had become almost worthless. People were using the currency as toys and wallpaper
because it was cheaper than actually buying toys or wallpaper. The country was falling apart and

moral was low. Hitler came and blamed the cultural diversity for the debt placed on Germany.
Specifically, he started by blaming the Jews but eventually stated that anyone who wasnt of the
pure Aryan race was at fault and a lesser species of human. He aimed to create one pure raceAryan. Aryans typically were of Nordic and Germanic descent; they had blonde hair and blue
eyes and were believed to be the superior race. In Germany, anyone who wasnt Aryan wasnt
human and needed to be abolished ("Aryan people"). This created one of the brutalist examples
of eliminating cultural diversity in world history; the holocaust continues to stand as one of the
worst examples of religious, cultural, and ethnic prosecution.
The years following World War Two and the Holocaust, Germany was divided amongst
the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. Many Germans actually fled the
country if they were able to. In 1949 to 1968, over one million Germans immigrated to the
United States ("From Europe to America: Immigration Through Family Tales"). Not only were
many cultures in Germany eradicated, following the Holocaust many people fled Germany.
Throughout the majority of the last century, there has been significant drops in the cultural
diversity in Germany caused by a holocaust that attempted to leave only one culture in Germany.
Additionally, the way Germany was split after the war caused mass immigrations from the
country.
Today, Germany works towards preserving the cultural history and diversity of the area.
This is evident through the amount of immigrants that now come to Germany as well as the
legislation that has been passed. To preserve the nations cultural diversity, the German
government has made it very easy to live there. The country has simplified immigration
procedures, provided free language classes, as well as created welcome centers for new
immigrants to meet. In addition to these resources, there are many open jobs in Germany due to

the declining birth rate. This country is, metaphorically, rolling out the red carpet to immigrants.
According to the Washing Post, Germany is now the most welcoming country in the world for
immigrants. Following the cultural loss of the last century, Germany is attempting to regain
cultural diversity within their country ("The new land of opportunity for immigrants is
Germany"). With the addition of the new immigrants, Germany is now one of the most
culturally diverse countries in the world.
In the last one hundred years, Germany has experienced significant changes in cultural
diversity. The country attempted to eliminate other races and cultures to create a unified Aryan
culture through the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler had attempted to create a single Christian, Aryan
culture in Germany; eliminating any cultural diversity. Today, the holocaust stands as one of the
worst examples of religious, cultural, and ethnic genocide in world history. Although the
country, in total, terminated over eleven million peoples lives living within Germanys
territories, today they are considered to have the worlds largest immigration population.
Germanys legislature makes it extremely easy to live the German Dream by creating job
opportunities, language lesson, and simple migration policies. They also make efforts to protect
landmarks and historical building in an attempt to preserve the history of German cultures.
Germany has experienced one of the largest losses of culture in history but is attempting to
regain cultural diversity through immigration.

Works Cited
Aryan people. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37468/Aryan
From Europe to America: Immigration Through Family Tales. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015,
from https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/germanhistory.html
Immigration and Integration. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.tatsachen-ueberdeutschland.de/en/society/main-content-08/immigration-and-integration.html
Jewish Population of Europe in 1933: Population Data by Country. (2014, June 20). Retrieved
April 7, 2015, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005161
The new land of opportunity for immigrants is Germany. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-new-land-of-opportunity-forimmigrants-is-germany/2014/07/27/93464262-7eff-4931-817c-786db6d21ec8_story.html
2005, 2. (n.d.). The Holocaust death toll. Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1481975/The-Holocaust-death-toll.html