BETWEEN EXCLUSION AND BELONGING: Reimagining national identity through German migrants in Sweden

Sammanfattning

This bachelor’s thesis is an anthropological study on 21st century German migrants in Sweden.The study aims to answer how German migrants experience national identity and belonging inrelation to Germany and Sweden. It explores the migrants’ experiences of in-betweenness,highlighting a sense of community through connecting with other German migrants expressingsimilar feelings. National identity is explored through language, religion, gender andcommunity and is therefore relational and multitude. Both gender roles and language highlightfeelings of exclusion and belonging, which leads to German migrants often feeling moreGerman in Sweden and Swedish in Germany. Many Germans feel discouraged from exhibitingGerman national pride, something they are more open to doing towards language, gender roles,religion or another nation, such as Sweden. Through navigating these attributes interlocutorshighlight an alternative sense of belonging to German identity. It is thus relevant to analyze theconnection German migrants have to national identity and belonging to further understand howhistorical events impact their life in Sweden. Theories and concepts most focused on in thisthesis are identity, identification, belonging, national identity and gender. Based onethnographic fieldwork, the material for this study stems from participatory observations,informal conversations and semi-structured interviews at the German church in Stockholm. Allin all, 26 interviews were done throughout 6 weeks at the beginning of 2026.This thesis is written in English.