Livia wants to improve her German - that's why she signed up for a language course in Rome. The 26-year-old Italian recently graduated and is looking for a job as an engineer in Germany - preferably in Berlin, but also in Hamburg or Munich.
Livia likes the prospect of working abroad. As a student, she was in Oslo on the "Erasmus" program, and after graduating, she spent a few months in Germany, she tells ARD. German engineering has a good reputation, but for her the most important things are money and development opportunities, assures the Roman.
Number one destination for emigration
"Here, in Italy, you graduate from university and start some internship for which you don't even get 1,000 euros a month. When I looked for a job abroad, I realized that they really do charge good money there from the start - like for a normal job," says Livia.
That's why she applied to Germany, but quickly realized that without knowledge of German it would be difficult for her. And she started a course.
Last year, Germany was the leading destination for emigration among Italians, according to the report "Italians around the world" by Fondazione Migrantes. It also says that in 2024, as many Italians emigrated as at any time in the last 20 years.
The first candidates are carefully selected
The phenomenon of emigration from Italy to Germany is not new. In the 1950s/60s, the economy of the "country of the economic miracle" was booming, but there was a shortage of workers. At the same time, Italy was suffering from high unemployment. Therefore, on December 20, 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany concluded the first agreement for the recruitment of workers with Italy.
A few months later, in April 1956, the first so-called guest workers arrived in Germany, ARD recalls. Initially, candidates are selected by German commissions in emigration centers in Verona and Naples, and later those who wish can now apply directly in Germany.
Those approved for work have the right to stay in the Federal Republic for a limited period of time, after which they must return. However, many come with their families and settle permanently in Germany, the publication also recalls.
Current data from the Federal Statistical Office show that in 2024, 67,000 former guest workers from Italy, who immigrated between 1955 and 1973 - when the recruitment phase ended - were still living in Germany. Others have returned to their homeland.
"I only had money for food and the occasional cinema"
Agostino de Stefano, now 88, worked near Stuttgart in the 1960s - first in construction and later as a car mechanic. He came to Germany because he couldn't find work to support his family in Campania, southern Italy.
It was very difficult at first - for the first 18 months, the money wasn't enough to go on holiday in his homeland. "The little I earned from my main job I sent to my wife. And I lived on what I earned extra from side jobs. It was enough for food and the occasional cinema," he says. The Italian also remembers something else - that he was often insulted until he learned the language.
In general, however, he got along well with the Germans. And they valued him as a hard worker, even becoming a foreman. And although he never got used to German cuisine and always cooked Italian dishes, at one point he still decided that he could stay in Germany. He returned to his homeland again because of his wife's serious illness.
Today it's easier
With no prospects in Italy, but with attractive job opportunities in Germany - in a sense, the stories of 88-year-old Agostino and 26-year-old Livia sound quite similar, even though they are decades apart. But does Livia see herself as a future guest worker?
"In a sense, yes," she says. But at the same time, she feels much more privileged because her family supports her. "If things don't go well in Germany, I can go back to Italy and look for another job abroad. That wasn't the case with guest workers at the time," adds Livia.
Author: Lisa Weiss (ARD)