Immigration in the rural town of Luedenscheid has a long history. In general there have been three immigration waves after the Second World War, and every time Luedenscheid has managed to integrate all of the immigrants into their town. How have the local people responded to the recent new wave of refugees coming from Africa and the Middle East and how does their behavior differ from the rest of Germany? Furthermore how did the flow of refugees change the daily lives of the “Luedenscheider” and did political attitudes change since the beginning of the “refugee crisis”? Using results compiled from both, surveys and interviews, I will argue in this dissertation that the flow of refugees has of course an impact on the society of Luedenscheid, but that it is less negatively perceived then in the rest of Germany.

Building on the 1951 Refugee Convention, I will state what I meant by the term “refugee” and what rights refugees enjoy in their host country. In addition I will explain the concept of citizenship and how states interpret citizenship today. I will also talk about Hannah Arendt’s book The Origins of Totalitarianism to give the reader an understanding of how political parties are able to gain power. This will be relevant to see how political parties in Germany and Luedenscheid are becoming more important.