For many years now, Germany has been Turkey's most important trading partner and the largest foreign investor. More than three million people with Turkish roots live in Germany.

Today, 100 years after diplomatic relations were established between Germany and Turkey, the relationship between the two countries is complex. Political scientist Jens Bastian from the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) says that the relationship has "many different layers."

"It cannot be described solely in terms of the government elites in Ankara and Berlin. The Turkish community in Germany is also an important factor in the bilateral relationship, be it politically, economically, culturally or in terms of sports," Bastian told DW.

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According to Bastian, "Business associations and private companies work together, and so too do local authorities in the context of city partnerships."

At the national level, however, the situation is very different. In early July 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spontaneously traveled to Berlin to attend his country's match against the Netherlands during the European Football.

His visit took place at the time of a diplomatic scandal. A Turkish national player had made the "wolf salute" on the pitch, a hand gesture used by the far-right Ülkücü movement. The movement's political arm, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is an ally of President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Right-wing extremists have claimed the wolf as their symbol, in reference to a gray wolf........

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