The 2015 Migrant Crisis: An Impact to Germany?

The 2015 European Migrant Crisis emerged when an influx of refugees settled in Europe from 2015-2019. The asylum seekers fled their homelands to evade a myriad of crises such as violence and war, corruption and abuse, and poor socioeconomic conditions. Of the European states, Germany welcomed the largest number of migrants. This was in part due to Germany’s existing immigration policies in a post-Second World War environment, but also due to Germany’s resounding economic strength. Germany has significantly low unemployment rates and the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe. As such, Germany’s position is one of uncontested significance within the European Union (EU); however, there is controversy on whether the European Union’s polices, and distribution of immigrants, is fair and reasonable and if the influx of migrants are beneficial or detrimental to German society as a result. This study seeks to use quantifiable economic data to outline the causal effects of the Migrant Crisis on Germany. This study concludes that the 2015 Migrant Crisis had a low but positive impact to the German economy and a mid to high-level impact on German political society in the short-term duration of the Crisis (2015-2019). A full and comprehensive determination of the long-term impacts requires a future study, but the results of this research indicate the effects of the Migrant Crisis have normalized resulting in no long-term impacts. Using statistical analysis of data and an ethnological and phenomenological research design to understand the impacts to Germany will aid policymakers navigating the complexities of, and policy recommendations for, the Crisis from both a data driven and local perspective. This will further aid in forecasting the economic strength, immigration policies, and public opinion of Germany and the European Union.