"Refugees Welcome" in 90s

Germany already in the 70s had problems with the low rate of fertility. What if during the wars in the Balkans in the 90s one of the chancellors opened because of this border for refugees of war, as it did a year ago Chancellor Merkel for refugees from the Middle East? Is the population of Bosnia or Kosovo have begun to massively move to Germany?
 
I am not an expert on German politics in this era but wouldn't something like this hugely complicate the process of German reunification?

At this time, Germany was already dealing with the expensive and laborious process of integrating East Germany and its people into the economy of a new and united German state and this occupied the majority of Germany's focus.
 
Maybe in this scenario (if things go as OTL) then the Republicans could have more staying power and consolidate their 1989 Euro gains, and potentially get into the Bundestag by passing the 5% hurdle?
 
Germany already in the 70s had problems with the low rate of fertility. What if during the wars in the Balkans in the 90s one of the chancellors opened because of this border for refugees of war, as it did a year ago Chancellor Merkel for refugees from the Middle East? Is the population of Bosnia or Kosovo have begun to massively move to Germany?

Uhm, that's what happened OTL.

Half a million refugees from Bosnia and Kosovo came to Germany. After the war was over we kicked them out.
 
Uhm, that's what happened OTL.

Half a million refugees from Bosnia and Kosovo came to Germany. After the war was over we kicked them out.

If I may ask, which constituencies/regions/parties in Germany at the time tended to support the expulsion of refugees from the war? And did the recent reunification play any big role in the decision?
 
If I may ask, which constituencies/regions/parties in Germany at the time tended to support the expulsion of refugees from the war? And did the recent reunification play any big role in the decision?

You mean after the war? Everyone except maybe the greens. But it's the same with the now arriving Syrians and Irakis. Asylum is temporary.

Suggesting that refugees will be here forever is kind off controversial.

Some Bosnians got German citizenship back then, those were allowed to stay.

And German reunification didn't have a lot of influence on the decisionmaking back then. That was mostly financial concerns.

The Reps and the NPD was stronger back then in the east but still a bunch of unimportant parties. Kohl and Stoiber made sure of that.
 
Probably many migrants would also come from Serbia and Croatia, as there already were family ties due to former Yugoslavian guest-workers being in West Germany, so there were connections already before the war broke out. But I think the biggest influx would be people from the former Soviet Union. Some of them came anyway under special 'contingents' (i.e. Russians with German roots, and Russian Jews). Without any restrictions, I'd say they'd make up the largest group - especially if you consider the economic/political chaos Russia was in during the early Nineties, and de facto civil wars in some CIS countries. And that might have led to bizarre political conflicts between the governing CDU and the oppositional SPD. IOTL, they were basically at odds with each other about who could come in. The SPD and the Greens were criticising Kohl for singling out the Russian-Germans, who were granted German citizenship easily and therefore - so the polemic went - brought back "heim ins Reich". Meanwhile, the SPD was originally against tougher restrictions regarding the asylum laws (which the CDU favoured), and it was the only party that favoured a proper immigration law (which the CDU and FDP rejected - they didn't want Germany to be seen as a proper immigration country with ius soli citizenship). So with, say, about 800.000 people from the former Soviet Union in the country - some with German roots, but the majority of them without -, both parties would probably be singling out 'their' favourite refugee groups, while proposing strict measurements against other groups later. Then there was also the problem with growing violent right-wing extremism, which would probably have intensified.
 
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