- University of Hildesheim ›
- Center for World Music ›
- Research ›
- Completed research projects ›
- Kurdish Music in Germany
Kurdish Music in Germany: The Role of Music in the Formation of Ethnic Identity in a Multicultural Society
The research project "Kurdish Music in Germany: The Role of Music in the Formation of Ethnic Identity in a Multicultural Society" was funded for three years (2018-21) by the special programme "Wissenschaft.Niedersachsen.Weltoffen" of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture. The project focuses on the history of Kurdish music and diaspora in Germany.
According to Kurdish organisations, 1.5 million Kurds live in Germany, the majority of them immigrants from Turkey. With them came the music: since the mid-1970s, Kurdish music has been anchored in the culture and society of the Federal Republic.This is shown by ethnological field research conducted in 2019, in which interviews were conducted with Kurdish musicians and music producers in Hamburg, Hanover, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Berlin, Bremen, Bielefeld, Bochum and Hildesheim, as well as in various regions of Turkey.