Gastarbeiter
In German-speaking countries, the term Gastarbeiter (pronounced [ˈɡastˌʔaʁbaɪtɐ] ; both singular and plural) refers to foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (German: Gastarbeiterprogramm). Other countries had similar programs: in the Netherlands and Belgium it was called the gastarbeider program; in Sweden, Denmark and Norway it was called arbetskraftsinvandring (workforce-immigration); and in East Germany such workers were called Vertragsarbeiter.