The Vietnamese immigrated into a communist police state, so I guess not too many others really wanted to immigrate into the GDR back then...

I am sure there are many other success stories today as well, the article mentions some Iranian groups, but on the other hand rather worrying developments in the larger cities. The article takes one of the worst examples, Berlin Neukölln: A ghetto of Turkish immigrants where a very high percentage lives by now in the second or third generation exclusively on social insurances. Education is a value carried in families and the lack of education is connected to low jobs or no income and ultimately to higher crime rates. People there fail to see the education issue but rather play the racism card (or claim to be discriminated based on being Muslims). I am not saying that there is no discrimination, but the reality is that you simply need to finish at least an apprenticeship in order to have a job in a city with as many unemployed as Berlin.

I grew up in a small town and the Turkish kids in my class did just as well as the Germans, so it is simply the environment you grew up in: If everybody arounds you lives on other peoples' taxes, you think this is the way it should be. If you on the other hand see that the successful people around you are the ones that went to school longer, you might value education more. the failed policy in my eyes is that the government thought they can simply pay a bit more on extra schooling, immigration courses and language training and then everyone will become a great student. Reality is that the values of your parents, family and neighbours are very very important and will not be changed so easily with a bit of cash. So choosing who you let immigrate is key.