“Bathroom and toilet are in the factory,” Metin Türköz sings in his song “Alamanya Destanı” about his first experiences in Germany. Türköz, now in his 80s, belongs to the first generation of migrant workers. He arrived by train from Istanbul to Cologne in 1962 and became one of the numerous Turkish musicians who processed their experiences through art and founded their own (tape) labels not only in Cologne, but also in Frankfurt (Uzelli Kaset) or Berlin.

Their songs were often created as a response to their disappointment and expressed what the workers could not tell their German employers themselves. At the same time, however, they also contributed to the establishment of their own scene, where people not only worked, but also celebrated, laughed, and lived. The music created during this time did not only become popular in Germany, but also in Turkey, since the tapes travelled with the workers when visiting their home country.

In Cem Kaya’s documentary essay, migrant workers don’t remain the mere footnote in the supposed success story of the German economic miracle which they are so often reduced to. Instead, the film makes their experiences, desires, and their anger at their circumstances - lower wages than those of German workers, poor working conditions, racism – vividly audible and visible against the backdrop of German contemporary history.