Timelines

Since these reasons were not specified, employers were free to interpret the law as they chose. What followed was a wave of mass dismissals, plunging migrant laborers into an extremely precarious situation. The government offered a 3000 mark compensation to those willing to immediately repatriate. Some firms allowed their migrant employees to work until the expiration of their contracts. Since many migrant laborers were ignorant of their rights, they left the Federal Republic of Germany. Those who remained were faced with an uncertain future. In order to acquire leave to remain in Germany, they had to be in possession of secure employment, sufficient living space (12 square meters for adults) and a clean record. However, as available jobs were few and tended to be given to members of the German majority population, this situation proved difficult. Many recognized that their best opportunities lay in establishing their own businesses and entered into the retail or wholesale sector, as  the proprietors of flower shops, snack bars, and clothing stores. Others, who saw no chance of acquiring a job and held an illegal migrant status, sold smuggled cigarettes and were as a result frequently subject to police sanction and violence.