Stele with "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" on it in the Stele field of the Holocaust Memorial.
Bundesregierung / Photographer: Sebastian Bolesch
Back to the graphical presentation
26 October 2004
Establishment of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (Frontex)This agency aims to improve the coordination and logistics of EU external- border protection. Human rights organisations level criticism at the agency, accusing Frontex of using military defence measures to stop refugees entering the European Union.1 January 2005
The new "Immigration Law" comes into effect. It ushers in changes to much of the existing regulations affecting foreigners while at the same time formulating the rights and obligations of migrants.1 January 2005
The Federal Authority for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees changes its name to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.27 January 2005
The United Nations declares 27 January to be the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.10 May 2005
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is opened in Berlin's historic centre.The construction of the memorial causes controversy, sparking a debate as to the necessity for more memorials for other victimised groups. As a result, memorials are built for European Sinti and Roma casualties and homosexual victims of the Nazi regime, in addition to a commemoration and information point for the victims of Nazi "euthanasia".3 December 2005
The exhibition Flight, Expulsion, Integration opens in the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.The exhibition not only deals with the immediate implications of abscondence and forced migration, but also the manifold social integration processes in both the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR.14 July 2006
The first integration summit takes place in the Berlin Chancellery.At the meeting, attendees from the fields of politics, media and immigration, in addition to representatives of employers' associations, trade unions and sporting associations, agree to formulate a national integration framework over a period of one year.18 August 2006
The "General Equal Treatment Act", known colloquially as the "Anti-Discrimination Act", comes into effect.17 November 2006
The Interior Ministers' Conference in Nuremberg offers right of abode to foreigners living Germany over a number of years able to provide evidence that they can support themselves.29 November 2006
The Literaturhaus in Munich presents the exhibition Pacific Palisades. Paths of German-Speaking Writers in Californian Exile 1932-1941The exhibition details the events and places that played a part in the lives of Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Mann, Alfred Döblin and Lion Feuchtwanger.