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300Beginning of West German recruitment agreements

West Germany concluded its first recruitment agreement with Italy in 1955.

“The first” refers to organised post-war recruitment. Italy begins this sequence of agreements.

About 4 min readReviewed: 20 October 2026
AI-generated closed navy and cream notebooks beside a plain brown travel bag.
Federal Agency for Civic EducationRecruitment agreements from 1955
Symbolic study illustration; not historical luggage or evidence of a country of origin.
The short answer

From Italy.

The correct exam answer is Italy. In 1955, West Germany concluded its first recruitment agreement with Italy. Other countries followed later. This context is more precise than claiming that nobody had previously come from abroad to work.

Try it for yourselfExam question · No. 300
From which country did the first guest workers come to the Federal Republic of Germany?

Choose one answer. Your result stays on this page only.

Remember the start of a particular sequence of agreements.

West Germany sought additional workers in the post-war period. The 1955 agreement with Italy began the well-known sequence of state recruitment agreements. The question uses the historical term guest workers for this context.

Spain and Greece followed in 1960, Turkey in 1961 and Portugal in 1964. For this question, recognising Italy as the first partner is enough. The later dates help explain the three incorrect options.

Two fictional adults with long dark hair and short light curls discuss an open blank notebook.
AI-generated present-day learning scene, not a depiction of the 1955 recruitment or of real participants.

The other three answers

All three other countries belong to the recruitment history, but became agreement partners later.

Spain

A recruitment agreement with Spain was concluded in 1960, five years after the agreement with Italy. Spain belongs to the history but was not the first partner.

Portugal

The agreement with Portugal dates from 1964. It followed those with Italy, Spain and Turkey, so Portugal is not correct here.

Turkey

The recruitment agreement with Turkey was concluded in 1961. Its major historical importance does not make it the first agreement; Italy had already become a partner in 1955.

“First guest workers” does not mean “first immigration ever”.

People crossed borders before this sequence of agreements, including for work. The exam answer concerns organised recruitment by post-war West Germany. It is not a statement about the beginning of every form of migration to Germany.

An agreement year is also not a shared arrival date for everyone from a country. Return, permanent residence and later family histories differ. A country of origin alone does not establish a uniform life story.

Recruitment agreements from 1955 · Federal Agency for Civic Education ↗
Your memory cue

First recruitment agreement: Italy, 1955.

This connection answers the last national catalogue question. Later agreements do not change where the sequence begins.

Three words for this question

das Anwerbeabkommenrecruitment agreement
An agreement between states concerning organised labour recruitment.
die Reihenfolgesequence
An order, here by earlier and later years.
der Vertragspartneragreement partner
One of the parties to an agreement.
bpb · Gastarbeiter/-innen ↗

Connect the historical sequence with terminology and careful use of statistics.

299Foreign workers who were recruited by the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s and 1960s were called …
Catalogue answer

guest workers

Guest worker was the common historical term.

297From which country have most migrants come to Germany?
Catalogue answer

Turkey

The start of recruitment does not answer a current question about population size.

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Sources & context

An independently written study guide, not an official BAMF publication or advice for an individual case. The sources below were reviewed on 20 October 2026 for the claims explained here; the test question comes from the existing question bank.

The two editorial pictures are AI-generated illustrations. They do not document real events or official proceedings.