“Untamend” Youth-Cultural Diaspora in Germany in the 1980s
Kornelia Golombek.
“My present article is intended to serve as a prelude to my upcoming book, whose preparation has already begun. Indeed, it is unusual for a scholarly
essay to begin in the manner that mine does. However, the distinctiveness of this work arises from its synthesis of two elements: its theoretical
foundation, which draws on sociological and philosophical theories, and its empirical basis, which includes interviews with former scholarship
recipients of the Otto Benecke Foundation (Otto-Benecke-Stiftung e.V.). These eyewitness accounts will refer to shared experiences and collective
memories that the author – herself a companion of the interviewees - has reconstructed after more than four decades. The text partly offers insights
into the author’s autobiographical experiences and her, together with the group, initial educational and social integration in Germany between 1983
and 1986.
The curtain rises, and the first act begins. The stage is set for a play in which young migrants, coming from situations of cultural incompatibility,
create a performance for their own piece. Here, the theatre metaphor serves to demonstrate a phenomenon that applies to all everyday events (cf.
Goffman, Giddens). The protagonists are as different as they come. Some come from the former Soviet Union and are of German descent, deeply
religious and Calvinist; others come from Poland under martial law and are “children of Solidarność.” The last group consists of young Afghans
who had to leave their homes in the Hindu Kush mountains due to the Soviet occupation. What is fascinating is that, despite their diversity, they
Among the central elements of their “performance” are:
show a clear convergence: through ruptures in their socialization, they all enter unfamiliar territory in a new country, seeking to find a home where
they can lead as fulfilling a life as possible.
Periods of political upheaval serve as a kind of living library for them; the migration processes create a conjunctive experiential space (Mannheim)
for these young adults, from which they develop habitual practices through shared experiences (Bourdieu).
Tacit Knowledge: This silent, implicit knowledge – intuitively practical and anchored at the emergent level – becomes the key to collective action.
Its “secrets” are revealed in group-specific rituals and nonverbal codifications that only they understand. The dynamics of their “scene knowledge”
conceal the difference between explicit and implicit knowledge (Polanyi, Rammert). It generates expertise, which manifests itself in indexicality
(context-dependent language comprehension) and intersubjectivity (shared milieu experiences).
