Der Traum von der Melange

Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Rückkehr der jugoslawischen ArbeitsmigrantInnen

Abstract

This article illuminates the migration policy of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in relation to the return of Yugoslav guest workers from abroad. The article is based on unpublished Yugoslav archival documents, newspaper articles, secondary sources and oral history interviews. Considering the lack of literature, this work is intended to give the historical overview of the return waves to Yugoslavia, and also to shed light on the strategies
of the Yugoslav state for the integration of returnees. The author tries to find answers to the following questions: What kind of integration arrangements were proposed to the returnees? What opportunities opened up for the migrants, and what motives did they have for their return? The final part of the article is based on a field study of the village Donja Livadica in Serbia and examines the present situation of the returnees.