Kristy Dermody
German Migrant Identity Development and Community Building in Post-Second World War Australia
My thesis is an historical analysis of post Second World War German migration to Australia. In 1952 the Australian Government embarked on an assisted passage scheme with the West German Government which saw over 100,000 Germans migrate to Australia in the next 10 years. This scheme, which supplied the bulk of the post war German community in Australia, provides the impetus for my research. I intend to place this research within wider debates on multiple identity in post war Australia.
Utilising archival material collected on a recent trip to Canberra, this paper will highlight the experiences of German migrants in rural areas. I will place this research in the context of a current chapter on Social Work amongst migrants.