Who shaped Berlin · Part 6
Vietnamese Berlin: boat people in the West, contract workers in the East
Few stories show the divided city as clearly: in the West refugees from South Vietnam arrived, in the East contract workers from Vietnam. Today both stories meet in Berlin, and the Dong Xuan Center is a place where you can experience Vietnamese Berlin in everyday life.
Late 1970s boat refugees from South Vietnam come to West Germany and West Berlin
11 April 1980 contract worker agreement between the GDR and Vietnam
36,473 people with a Vietnamese migration background in Berlin (2022)
Closed Tuesdays the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg, otherwise 10 am to 8 pm
One story, two beginnings
Vietnamese Berlin has two beginnings, one in the West and one in the East. In the late 1970s West Germany took in people from South Vietnam who had fled across the sea, the so-called boat people. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, around 40,000 came as quota refugees, and many of them found a new home in West Berlin around 1980.
On the other side of the Wall, the GDR and Vietnam signed a contract worker agreement on 11 April 1980. According to the bpb, around 70,000 people came from Vietnam to the GDR by 1990; they worked in factories and lived in hostels, often in Lichtenberg and Marzahn. After reunification many lost their jobs and their residence status remained unclear for a long time, and about half returned. Those who stayed often became self-employed, with shops, snack bars and trade. Only changes to residence law in the 1990s gave them lasting security.
Since the 2010s significantly more people have again been coming from Vietnam to Berlin, to study, train or work. According to a study commissioned by the district of Lichtenberg, 36,473 people with a Vietnamese migration background lived in Berlin in 2022, most of them in Lichtenberg. Because of their separate histories, the families of former refugees still tend to live in the west of the city and those of former contract workers in the east.
Where to experience it today
01 Dong Xuan Center · Lichtenberg
about 10 minutes on foot from the Herzbergstraße/Siegfriedstraße tram stop
On former industrial grounds on Herzbergstraße, a wholesale market grew from the mid-2000s, named after the Đồng Xuân market in Hanoi. Its several halls have groceries, herbs and spices, clothing, household goods and snack bars, and many traders supply shops all over Germany. For visitors the appeal is the mix of shopping and a bowl of soup in between. According to berlin.de it is open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm, and closed on Tuesdays.
02 Linh Thứu Pagoda in Spandau · Spandau
about 19 minutes on foot from Rathaus Spandau station
In an inconspicuous commercial street in Spandau lies the Linh Thứu Pagoda, according to reports the oldest Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda in Berlin. Its community dates back to the 1980s, when worshippers still met in an ordinary house. The pagoda is a place of prayer and community, not a sight. If you would like to visit, it is best to get in touch beforehand, especially on festival days such as the Tết new year.
Good to know
- Tết: the Vietnamese new year follows the lunar calendar and usually falls in late January or February. That is when the Dong Xuan Center and the communities are especially busy.
- In the pagoda: take your shoes off before the prayer hall, keep your voice down and ask before taking photos.
- Dong Xuan with a plan: do not go on a Tuesday and allow time for the way back, the site is large.