“Or I try my luck abroad”
Maria Papadopoulou
“Either I stay in Greece … or I try my luck abroad.”
With these words, Maria Papadopoulou describes the decision she faced after completing her studies in 2013. Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, she had to choose between remaining in her home country and seeking new opportunities abroad.
The interview recounts the challenges of her early period in Germany: arriving in a new country, learning the language, navigation her studies and work. At the same time, she reflects on the support she received from family and social networks, as well as her engagement in the Greek community.
Testimony
Decision and Departure: Migration in Times of Crisis
Against the backdrop of the economic crisis in Greece, Maria Papadopoulou faces a fundamental decision after completing her studies: to stay or to leave. Migration appears as a way to escape uncertainty and to seek new opportunities.
When the time comes to get on the plane, with all these feelings in your luggage, to leave your old life behind, the language you grew up with, in which you communicated, to leave your place of refuge, your safe place. It was not easy. We cried. A lot. But we told ourselves that it was for our own good. And for our parents, because the house was suddenly empty. It is an icon that we all in the family know, this is my icon. It was given to me when I was very little. And wherever I go, I take it with me. On the back, there is also a beautiful dedication that has accompanied me throughout my life.
Translation of the text on the back:
“Maria, may our Holy Mother Mary, the Mother of all people, make you a good and beautiful woman—in body and in soul. Archontoula, July 4, 1994.”
Arrival and Adjustment: Language, Studies, Everyday Life
The first years in Germany are marked by a new beginning: learning the language, finding orientation within the academic system, and navigating everyday life in a new environment. Challenges and uncertainties accompany this process.
Perspectives and Belonging: Work, Networks, Future
Over time, new opportunities emerge through studies, work, and social networks. At the same time, her connection to Greece remains strong and continues to shape her sense of belonging.
Historical-Political Background
Maria Papadopoulou was born in Stavrós/Amigdaleóna near Kavála in the Greek region of Macedonia, and came to Germany on 14 February 2014 for professional and educational reasons. She initially moved to Dortmund, where an uncle wo had lived there since the age of eighteen supported her during her initial period in the city.
She decided to pursue further studies in social work, building on her degree in primary education in Greece. In this context, she later moved to Essen, where she continues to live today.
The financial and economic crisis that affected many countries in the Eurozone from 2009 onwards had a particularly severe impact on Greece. High unemployment, declining incomes, and limited future prospects led many people, especially young adults, to seek new opportunities abroad. After completing her studies, Maria Papadopoulou also faced the decision of whether to remain in Greece or to pursue new prospects in another country.
During this time, Germany became a central destination due to its comparatively stable economic conditions and diverse educational opportunities. Additionally, an established Greek community, dating back to the 1960s, provided important points of reference. Existing family networks, as in her case, often made it easier to relocate to Germany.
In addition to improving career prospects, access to universities and further study programs played an important role for many. At the same time, individual experiences such as those of Maria Papadopoulou show that migration is also associated with challenges, particularly in learning the language and entering higher education and the labour market.
Making of
How and why did you decide to deal with and present this specific story?
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the recruitment agreement between Bonn and Ankara, the Ruhr Museum presented the exhibition “We Are from Here. Turkish-German Life 1990. Photographs by Ergun Çağatay” (2021), as well as “Mustafa’s Dream. Photographs by Henning Christoph on Turkish Life in Germany 1977–1989” (2021-2022).
Both exhibitions combined historical insights with personal stories and aimed to bring greater attention to the long-overlooked experiences of labour migration in Germany, while also encouraging dialogue between generations and communities.
The accompanying programs were also deliberately designed to be participatory. The decision to tell migration history not only from an institutional perspective, but also to actively involve the communities concerned, was based on the idea of making diverse experiences visible and sharing interpretive authority.
In this context, the Ruhr Museum is involved in the European project FeMig.Lab. Through its own interview project, it specifically focuses on the life stories of migrant women in order to raise the profile of female migration experiences, which have historically been less well documented. The focus is on intergenerational experiences of women from Spain, Greece, and Turkey. Its goal is to connect individual perspectives with broader historical and political contexts, offering a more nuanced view of female labour migration.
How did you negotiate and decide about the methodologies and processes in acquiring/giving the testimony?
The project is designed and carried out by the Ruhr Museum (Meltem Küçükyılmaz) in cooperation with the Spanischen Elternverein Essen e. V. (Cristina Fernández-Moser), HistAgoge | Geschichtsforschung (Spiridon Papaioannou), and the mitMach Agentur (Mustafa Mert). The questionnaire and thematic focus areas were developed jointly, and the selection of interview partners was also evaluated together. This participatory approach builds on the Ruhr Museum’s previous work.
In terms of content, the project focuses on two distinct generations of migration: women from the so-called recruitment agreement generation and a more recent wave of migrant women and expatriates who have arrived in Germany since around 2011. The selected interviewees are Anastasia Walden, Ceferina García García, and Neriman Yılmaz, representing the recruitment agreement generation, and Estre, Çağla Diner, and Maria Papadopoulou, representing the more recent wave. With two women from Spain, two from Greece, and two from Turkey, the project combines an intergenerational perspective with a comparative, transnational approach. Since all participants responded to the same set of interview questions, their experiences can be compared systematically. By examining their opportunities, challenges, legal status, employment experiences, and social acceptance in Germany, the project aims to highlight both continuities and changes in women’s migration experiences over time and across national contexts.
Prior to the interviews, preliminary personal conversations took place, during which the goals, process, and expectations were discussed transparently. The interviewees were actively involved and had a say in deciding which topics and aspects of their stories they wanted to share. The interviews were conducted in a safe environment within the museum and, where desired, in the participants’ native language in order to build trust and reduce barriers.
Sensitive topics were handled in close coordination with the participants; content could be omitted, anonymized, or adapted at any time.
How and why did you decide to publicly present the story this way?
For the presentation, a format was deliberately chosen that preserves the personal character of the stories and allows the women’s voices to be experienced directly. The combination of interviews, images, and personal materials creates a multi-layered approach that makes individual experiences visible and relatable.
The interviewees were involved in decisions regarding publication and were able to have a say in what content would be included and how their stories would be presented. This ensured that the representation reflected their perspectives and respected their autonomy.
At the same time, the project sees itself as a curatorial process that is always shaped by selection and classification. This responsibility is consciously reflected upon in order to present the stories in a respectful and context-sensitive way. In doing so, the project acknowledges existing power dynamics and seeks to reduce barriers through participation and transparency.
Particular emphasis is placed on protecting the participants: issues relating to data protection and publication are communicated clearly and agreed upon jointly. The aim is also to make the content as accessible as possible, especially for the communities involved, and to ensure open access to these stories.
What is the motivation and benefit for the person/community sharing the story? How did you negotiate this and take it into consideration?
Throughout the project, care was taken to ensure that both the cooperating partners and the interviewees benefited from their involvement. The cooperation partners received a fee for their conceptual and organizational contributions, recognizing their expertise and commitment. The interviewees were offered an expense allowance to acknowledge their time, their willingness to participate, and their openness in sharing personal stories.
In addition, the participating associations and institutions benefit from long-term networking with the museum, as well as from the opportunity to make their own perspectives and topics visible and to contribute them to cultural processes. For the interviewees, alongside the financial recognition, the main benefit lies in the visibility of their life stories.
Overall, the project aims to foster a partnership of equals that encompasses both intangible and tangible forms of recognition and strengthens sustainable relationships between institutions and communities.
What questions and challenges arose during the processes?
A key challenge in the project was multilingualism, which is also a major strength. The linguistic diversity of the interviewees reflects their different migration experiences and helped create a trusting and comfortable atmosphere during the conversations. At the same time, it presented practical challenges, particularly in terms of translation and subtitling. This process required a sensitive approach in order to convey meanings as accurately as possible. Thanks to close collaboration with the project partners, this process was successfully carried out as they contributed both their linguistic and cultural expertise.
Credits
Interview
Conducted on 11 February 2026 at Ruhr Museum, Essen. © Ruhr Museum
Texts
The texts were created with the involvement of Spiridon Papaioannou.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Maria Papadopoulou for sharing her story and memories with us. Together with five other interviewees from Spain, Greece, and Turkey, she contributes to an intergenerational and transnational interview project exploring women’s migration experiences in Germany.
The conception and implementation of the interview project were carried out by Ruhr Museum (Meltem Küçükyılmaz) in collaboration with Spanischer Elternverein Essen e. V. (Cristina Fernández-Moser), HistAgoge | Geschichtsforschung (Spiridon Papaioannou), and mitMach Agentur (Mustafa Mert).
Photos
© Maria Papadopoulou
Transcript PDF here.
Partner involved
Ruhr Museum
An orange-glowing staircase and 6,000 exhibits in a spectacular industrial setting: The Ruhr Museum’s permanent exhibition at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site shows the fascinating natural and cultural history of one of the world’s largest industrial regions.
The Regional Museum of the Ruhr Area shows in its permanent exhibition the entire natural and cultural history of the region from the formation of coal over 300 million years ago to today’s structural change to the Ruhr metropolis. Visitors follow the former path of the coal and descend deeper and deeper from the present into the history of the Ruhr region. Over three levels, they pass through windowless bunkers, huge industrial machines, raw concrete walls and conveyor belts. In between, 6,000 exhibits show in often fascinating detail how a formerly agricultural region developed into Europe’s largest coal and steel production area and then became the Metropole Ruhr.