Becoming the Other – stereotyping of Greeks by the German press

Abstract

Based on interviews with members of the Greek communities in Germany, this article examines how the stereotyping of the Greek people by the German press, between October 2009 and October 2012, gave rise to resentment towards the members of the minority. During those three years of press defamation, Greeks in Germany experienced frequent incidents of social hostility, the severity of which ranged from minor incidents, demonstrating mistrust, to more severe incidents of harassment and bullying, or even property vandalism. The regularity and persistence of such incidents during the above period was such that it resulted in the temporary social disintegration of the Greek minority in Germany.