Gastarbeiter

Gastarbeiter (plural, "Gastarbeiter") ( ) is German for "guest worker" (literal translation). It refers to foreign or migrant workers who had moved to West Germany (BRD) mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme (Gastarbeiterprogramm). On a smaller scale, the Netherlands and Belgium had a parallel scheme, called the gastarbeider programme.