9.11 Migrations within and to Europe Since 1945

As the economy recovered in the 1950s and 1960s and grew, migrants from Africa, Asia, and Southern Europe all headed to Western and Central Europe. They brought with them different religions and cultures that completely changed European society. At the same time, these stirred debates about the role of religion in society and politics. European society then became more and more secular as time passed.

In the 1970s, the economy took a downturn. Xenophobia immediately surged and the blame fell onto the new wave of immigrants. Anti-immigrant and extreme nationalist parties, such as the French National Front and Austrian Freedom Party, seek to limit immigration - a trend that still persists globally even today.