These terms are also used to refer to German-born individuals who are of full or partial Turkish ancestry. However, not all people in Germany who trace their heritage back to Turkey are ethnic Turks. A significant proportion of the population is also of Kurdish , Circassian , Azerbaijani descent and to a lesser extent, of Christian descent, such as Assyrian , and Armenian.
Also some ethnic Turkish communities in Germany trace their ancestry to other parts of southeastern Europe or the Levant such as Balkan Turks and Turkish Cypriots. At present, ethnic Turkish people form the largest ethnic minority in Germany.
Most people of Turkish descent in Germany trace their ancestry to the Gastarbeiter guest worker programs in the s and s. In , in the midst of an economic boom that resulted in a significant labor shortage, Germany signed a bilateral agreement with Turkey to allow German companies to recruit Turkish workers.
The agreement was in place for 12 years, during which around , workers came from Turkey to Germany. Many also brought their spouses and children with them. Turks who immigrated to Germany brought cultural elements with them, including the Turkish language.
During a series of invading Crusades by European-Christian armies into lands ruled by Turkic rulers in the Middle East , namely under the Seljuk Turks in the Seljuk Empire and the Rum Seljuk Sultanate but also the Bahri Mamluk Sultanate , many crusaders brought back Turkish male and female prisoners of war to Europe; women were generally baptised and then married whilst "every returning baron and count had [male] prisoners of war in his entourage. By Soltan married Rebekka Dohlerin; he was baptised the following year as "Johann Soldan", but "out of special love to him", the Count "gave him a Turkish nobility coat of arms".
