Document Type

Restricted

Advisor

Karolin Machtans

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This Honors Thesis investigates the representation of Ukrainian refugees in German political discourse and party programs using a close discourse analysis of topical debates in the Bundestag1 from early 2022 to mid-2025. In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Germany became one of the primary host countries for individuals displaced by the ongoing war, registering over one million refugees carrying a unique legal status under the European Union’s Temporary Protection Directive. Popular discourse and research examining migration in the German context tends to focus on the country’s supposed Willkommenskultur or “welcome culture” and the development of anti-Muslim racism after 2015, following Germany’s acceptance of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among other countries. This study extends this discussion by considering the ambiguous racialization of Eastern Europeans in Germany, rooted in the nation’s history of anti-Slavic racism, from the extremist ideology of the Third Reich to the acceptance of individuals displaced by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the violent breakup of former Yugoslavia. While Germany’s political response to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees was broadly characterized as a revival of Willkommenskultur, an analysis of plenary sessions in the Bundestag reveals that this “welcome” was neither universal nor unconditional. Across the ideological spectrum, German political parties constructed Ukrainian refugees through rhetorical frameworks rooted in collective historical memory, shared “Europeanness,” the humanitarian imperative to act, as well as security and economic concerns. These frameworks elevated Ukrainian refugees above other displaced groups, while simultaneously rendering their acceptance contingent on cultural proximity, the length of their stay, and their ability to integrate into the labor market. This thesis ultimately argues that, rather than representing a genuine revival of Willkommenskultur and reorientation of German refugee policy, the political discourse surrounding Ukrainian refugees exposed and reinforced an enduring hierarchy of belonging in which race, nationality, and perceived cultural proximity continue to determine who is deserving of protection in Germany.

Download

Share

COinS
 

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.