Racism in the 1980s
In the 1980s, immigration became a central election issue for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic. Socio-political debates initially focused primarily on the integration and right of residence for people who had come to Germany as Gastarbeiter – foreign workers who were considered temporary migrants. Under Helmut Schmidt's SPD/FDP-coalition government from 1974 to 1982, various measures pertaining to immigration law were implemented with the aim of persuading migrants to leave Germany. In 1982, 77 per cent of Germans surveyed said that migrant workers should return to their country of origin.
After the election in 1982, the new conservative CDU/CSU government advocated a tough repatriation policy. The right to asylum was increasingly called into question. Refugees were accused of cheating and exploiting the asylum system. Immigrants and refugees were seen as competitors for increasingly scarce jobs, although many were employed in particularly hard and low-paid work. Their school qualifications and training were often not recognised in Germany. Increasing racism was directed particularly strongly against immigrants from Turkey, but also against minorities such as Sinti and Roma. Migrant workers and members of minorities were not only discriminated against on the housing and labour market, but also in many other areas of society. In some cases, they were even denied access to public places such as discos, restaurants, or campsites.

Prohibitions like these were directed against travelling Sinti and Roma. Members of these particular minorities were also unwelcome in many Hamburg discos and pubs. The Rom und Cinti Union e.V. Hamburg drew attention to this situation in 1982 in a report, in which it also described cases of egregious police brutality.
The far right took advantage of the racist current and founded citizens' initiatives and small parties, such as the Hamburger Liste für Ausländerstopp (HLA), in several federal states. In August 1980, a dramatic example of propaganda leading to acts of violence was seen in Hamburg: Nguyễn Ngọc Châu and Đỗ Anh Lân from South Vietnam died after a the far-right terrorist group Deutsche Aktionsgruppen fire-bombed the refugee shelter where they were living. The perpetrators had previously read an article about the shelter in the Hamburger Abendblatt, which described Hamburg as being "overloaded with asylum seekers". The poet Semra Ertan described the racist mood in Germany in her poem My Name is Foreigner. She immolated herself on the streets of Hamburg-St. Pauli on 26 May 1982 in protest against the increasing racism.
