Nylig avgraderte britiske dokumenter viser at Tysklands tidligere rikskansler Helmut Kohl i 1982 betrodde Storbritannias daværende statsminister Margaret Thatcher at han ønsket å halvere antall tyrkere i landet over en fireårsperiode, noe Kohl selv også har bekreftet etter offentliggjøringen. Begrunnelsen lød at det var umulig for Tyskland å assimilere det store antallet tyrkere.

According to the document, Kohl wanted the Turks out. «Germany had no problems with the Portuguese, the Italians, even the Southeast Asians, because these communities integrated well,» wrote minute-keeper Coles of the chancellor, who had only been in office for four weeks. «But the Turks came from a very distinctive culture and did not integrate well. […] Germany had integrated some 11 million Germans from East European countries. But they were European and therefore presented no problem.»

Kohl listed forced marriages and illegal employment by Turks as examples of «a clash of two different cultures.» One out of every two should leave, said the chancellor, and those who remain should be provided special schooling. «Those who were to be integrated must learn German.»

Der Spiegel: Secret Thatcher Notes: Kohl Wanted Half of Turks Out of Germany