Ethnic Germans 80366 224363377 2008-07-08T14:59:43Z 77.105.50.224 /* Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union */ :''This article is about the German diaspora. See [[Germans]] for the German ethnicity in general.'' '''Ethnic Germans''' ({{lang-de|'''Deutschstämmige'''}}, historically also '''''{{lang|de|[[Volksdeutsche]]}}'''''), also collectively referred to as the '''German diaspora''', are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be of [[Germans|German]] origin [[ethnicity|ethnically]], not born nor live within the present-day [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]], nor necessarily hold its citizenship nor speak the [[German language]]. Ethnic Germans have a reputation for being tall and light-haired people[3] and they have a rich history and folklore. In English usage, but less often in German, the term may be used for assimilated descendants of German emigrants.{{cn|date=September 2007}} The traditional American English language practice has been to refer to the ethnic Germans of a given country by combining the country or region name (or its adjective) with "Germans"; for example, "[[German-Brazilian|Brazilian Germans]]" was at least traditionally used (see below) to refer to ethnic Germans living in Brazil. Already in the past, this practice broke down when referring to countries that no longer existed ([[Danube Swabians|"Kingdom of Hungary" Germans]]) or regions that transcended national boundaries (thus "[[Black Sea Germans]]"), "[[Alsatian Germans]]" and "[[Baltic Germans]]". However, the modern trend is to emphasize the status as citizens of the new country and to invert the order of the compound expression.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} According to this system, one uses the word "German" as an adjective, not a noun. For example, German Americans are called [[German American]]s but never "U.S. Germans" or "American Germans". Since several decades, many ethnic German groups preferred to call themselves in this way that emphasized that they were assimilated members of the society of their new country, for example the German Princess Tanja Niebergall prefers to be referred to as German American. German ethnicity is historically equivalent to the [[German language]] ''[[Sprachraum]]''. Thus, [[Swiss German]] still hold strong ties with and sympathies towards Germany during [[World War I]], although separating from the [[Kingdom of Germany]] between the 13th and 17th century. The first attempts to create a consciousness of the "[[Austria]]n nation" took place during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (at which time "Austrian" identity included non-German-speaking subjects of the [[Austrian Empire]]) and in the 1930s during [[Dollfuss]]' [[Austro-Fascist]] period, but without much success. Many German-speaking [[Austria]]ns used to consider themselves as ethnic Germans until after the [[Second World War]] (see [[German Austria]]). Since the end of [[World War II]], Austrians have increasingly come (or are taught) to see themselves as a nation distinct from the German nation.<ref>[http://www.photoglobe.info/ebooks/austria/cstudies_austria_0070.html Austria. Library of Congress Country Studies, 2004.]. Accessed 1 Oct 2006.</ref> ==Terminology== {{main|Volksdeutsche}} {{see|Reichsdeutsche|Bundesdeutsche}} ''Volksdeutsche'' "ethnic Germans" is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to describe ethnic Germans living outside of the [[German Empire]]. This is in contrast to [[Imperial Germans]] (''[[Reichsdeutsche]]''), German citizens living within Germany. This is the loosest meaning of the term, which was used mainly during the [[Weimar Republic]]. In a stricter sense, ''Volksdeutsch'' came to mean ethnic Germans living abroad but without German citizenship, i.e., the juxtaposition with '''Reichsdeutsch''' was sharpened to denote difference in citizenship as well as residence. ''Auslandsdeutsche'' (adj. ''auslandsdeutsch'') is a concept that denotes German citizens living abroad, or alternatively ethnic Germans entering Germany from abroad. Today, this means ''[[citizen]]'' of [[Germany]] living more or less permanently in another country (including long-term academic exchange lecturers and the like), who are [[suffrage|allowed to vote]] in the Republic's elections, but who usually do not pay [[tax]]es to Germany. In a more loose but still valid sense, and in general discourse, the word is frequently used in lieu of the ideologically tainted term ''[[Volksdeutsche]]'', denoting persons living abroad ''without German citizenship'' but defining themselves as [[German people|Germans]] (culturally or [[ethnicity|ethnically]] speaking). == Distribution == Ethnic Germans are an important minority group in many countries. (See [[Germans]], [[German language]], and [[German as a minority language]] for more extensive numbers and a better sense of where Germans maintain German culture and have official recognition.) The following sections briefly detail the historical and present distribution of ethnic Germans by region, but generally exclude modern [[expatriate]]s, who have a presence in the [[United States]], [[Scandinavia]] and major urban areas worldwide. ''See ''Groups'' at bottom for a list of all ethnic German groups, or continue for a summary by region.'' [[Image:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ancestry according to the [[United States Census, 2000|U.S. 2000 census]]: Counties with [[plurality]] of German ancestry in light blue]] === North America === * There are over 60 million [[German American|Americans of at least partial German ancestry]] in the [[United States]] including various groups as the [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] and the [[German Texan]]s. Of these, 23 million are of German ancestry alone ("single ancestry"), and another 40 million are of partial German ancestry. Of those who claim partial ancestry, 22 million identify their primary ancestry ("first ancestry") as German. German (Americans) has been the largest ethnic-origin group in the United States for almost its entire history including before independence,{{Fact|date=September 2007}} but will soon be outnumbered by people of Mexican descent (legally) living in the United States within 10 to 20 years if current immigration levels and birth rates among the groups continue unchanged (people of "single ethnicity" Mexican descent living legally in the United States already outnumber "single ethnicity" ethnic-origin German-Americans since after the 2000 census{{Fact|date=September 2007}}). Germans form just under half the population in the [[Upper Midwest]].<ref>[http://home.earthlink.net/~tricentennialfoundation/census.html Who's Counting? The l990 Census of German-Americans]. On the site of The Tricentennial Foundation German American Community Service. Accessed 12 Feb 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.census.gov/statab/USA98/dd-an.txt Contents of ANCESTRY Table] on the site of the [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed 12 Feb 2006.</ref> * [[Canada]] (2.7 million, 9% of the population) === South and Central America === They are a considerable part of the population in: * [[Brazil]]: Mainly in Southern Brazil; over 10% of the population has at least one German ancestor - about 18 million people.<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,1274817,00.html "Brasil alemão" comemora 180 anos | Brasil | Deutsche Welle | 25.07.2004<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Hunsrückisch]] and [[Pomeranian]] are some of the more prominent such groups. :Notable examples of [[German-Brazilians]] are former president [[Ernesto Geisel]], politician [[Jorge Bornhausen]], actress [[Vera Fischer]], [[Cacilda Becker]], top models as [[Gisele Bündchen]], [[Ana Hickmann]], [[Letícia Birkheuer]] and [[Rodrigo Hilbert]], musicians like [[Andreas Kisser]] and [[Astrud Gilberto]], architect [[Oscar Niemeyer]], landscape architect [[Roberto Burle Marx]], physicist and astronomer [[Marcelo Gleiser]], physician [[Adolfo Lutz]], basketball player [[Oscar Schmidt]], tennis player [[Gustavo Kuerten]], swimmer [[Fernando Scherer]], tv host [[Xuxa Meneghel]], the Catholic prelates [[Cláudio Cardinal Hummes]] and [[Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns]] and the renowned sailor [[Robert Scheidt]] among many others. * [[Argentina]]: About 6% of the Argentine population. 1,200,000 [[Volga Germans]].<ref>[http://www.alemanesvolga.com.ar/libros/folleto.html Asociación Argentina de Descendientes de Alemanes del Volga ]</ref> More than 400,000 with other German ancestries including [[Mennonites]] and [[German Swiss]] (these two groups more common in Southern Argentina, and also in Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces). A notable representation of this is the town of Villa General Belgrano, founded in the 1930s by Germans, it's numbers were swelled by survivors of the Graff Spee sinking. In the 1960s it became the site of the Fiesta Nacional de la Cerveza, or Oktoberfest - which has become a major attraction in Argentina <ref>[http://www.elsitiodelavilla.com/oktoberfest/historia.htm Fiesta de La Cerveza - Oktoberfest Argentina - Villa General Belgrano<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> :An example of [[German Argentines]] is president [[Néstor Kirchner]]. Other notable examples of Argentine ethnic Germans are top model [[Nicole Neumann]], basketball player [[Wálter Herrmann]], football player [[Gabriel Heinze]] among many others. * [[Chile]]: During the middle 19th century 70,000 Germans emigrated to the south of Chile; almost 250,000-300,000 descendants of that people now live in the country: 45,000 counting standard German-speakers only, formed in several German schools among the country. Some notable German descendants in Chile are: TV presenter [[Mario Kreutzberger]], Air Force General Commander [[Fernando Matthei|Fernando Matthei Aubel]], architect [[Mathias Klotz]], tennis player [[Hans Gildemeister]], female athlete [[Marlene Ahrens]], Police General Commander [[Rodolfo Stange|Rodolfo Stange Ölckers]], Musician [[Patricio Manns]], Army Commanders in Chief Lieutenant General [[René Schneider]] and Division Generals [[Emil Körner]], Economist [[Rolf Lüders]], politicians [[Carlos Kuschel]], [[Rolf Lüders|Rolf Lüders Schwarzenberg]], [[Miguel Kast]] and [[Evelyn Matthei]], businessmen [[Horst Paulmann]], [[Jürgen Paulmann]], [[Werner Grob]], [[Carlos Heller]]; TV presenters [[Karen Doggenweiler]], [[Margot Kahl]], [[Pamela Hodar]], [[Michael Müller]], writer César Müller (aka [[Oreste Plath]]), actresses [[Gloria Münchmeyer]], [[Aline Küppenheim]], actor [[Bastián Bodenhöfer]], painter [[Rossy Ölckers]]. There are also many German speaking Swiss, generally assumed as Germans, of whom some notable descendants are: Presidents [[Eduardo Frei]] (father and son) and Economist [[Hernán Büchi]].{{Fact|date=August 2007}} Notable communities of ethnic Germans exist in: * [[Ecuador]]: 32,000, counting standard German-speakers only{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. * [[Mexico]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Belize]]: 40,000, 28,567, and 5,763 Mennonite German speakers respectively, as well as notable (but more assimilated) public figures from various German groups{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. * [[Paraguay]] : 100.000 speakers * [[Puerto Rico]]: 1,453 speakers{{Fact|date=September 2007}} * [[Peru]]: The communities of [[Oxapampa]] and [[Pozuzo]] in the high jungles of the Peruvian Amazon basin were settled in the middle of the XIX century by Austrian and Prussian immigrants. Many of its present day inhabitants speak German{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. The government of [[Germany]] currently provides different forms of economic and educational aid to these communities.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} *{{es}} [http://www.pozuzoperu.info Pozuzo Information] * [[Colombia]]: 20,000 Germans{{Fact|date=September 2007}} * [[Uruguay]]: 28,000 standard German, 1,200 Plattdietsch.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} * [[Dominican Republic]] : There is a colony of around 25,000 Germans who have settled in the country, mostly on the northern coast's [[Puerto Plata (province)|Puerto Plata]], as well as a colony of the descendants of [[Germany|German]] and [[Austria]]n [[Jewish]] refugees in [[Sosua]].{{Fact|date=September 2007}} * [[Venezuela]] : Around 1,300 [[Alemán Coloniero]] speakers in [[Colonia Tovar]], [[Aragua]]. === Western Europe and the Alpine nations === {{main|German-speaking Europe}} ====Italy==== [[Image:Austria hungary 1911.jpg|thumb|287px|right|Map of [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1911, showing areas inhabited by ethnic Germans in pink]] In [[Italy]] there are two main groups, the main one being at least 290,774 <ref>http://www.provincia.bz.it/downloads/Siz_2006-eng.pdf</ref> ethnic{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Germans in [[Province of Bolzano-Bozen|Bolzano-Bozen]], formerly part of the [[Tyrol|County of Tyrol]] (before the 1919 dissolution of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]). Their dialects are [[Austro-Bavarian]] German. There also exist smaller, unique populations of Germans which arrived so long ago that their dialect retains many archaic features heard nowhere else: * the ''[[Cimbrian language|Cimbrians]] (Zimbern)'', though celebrated since their ''discovery'', are relatively few in number and concentrated in various communities in the [[Carnic Alps]], north of [[Verona]], and especially in the [[Sugana]] valley (''[[:it:Valsugana]]'' or ''Suganertal'') on the high plateau northwest of [[Vicenza]] in the [[Veneto]] Region * the ''[[Walser]]'', who originated in the Swiss [[Wallis]], live in the provinces of [[Aostatal]], [[Vercelli]], and [[Verbano-Cusio-Ossola]] * the ''[[Mócheno language|Mócheno]]'' live in the [[Fersina]] Valley ([[:it:Valle dei Mocheni]]) Smaller German-speaking communities exist also in the [[Friuli Venezia Giulia]] region: the ''[[Carinthian]]s'' in the [[Canale Valley]] (municipalities of [[Tarvisio]], [[Malborghetto Valbruna]] and [[Pontebba]]) and the [[Sauris|Zahren]] and [[Timau]] Germans in [[Carnia]]. ====Alpine Nations==== {{see|Austrians|Swiss (people)}} [[Austria]], [[Switzerland]] and [[Liechtenstein]] have a German minority. An estimated 112,000 German nationals live in Switzlerland, another 74,000 in Austria. ====France==== [[Image:180px-Franska-Elsassiska.jpeg|thumb|right|100px|A billingual streetsign in Strasbourg.]] In [[France]], [[Alsace]] and the [[Moselle|Moselle departement]] were originally German-speaking, but because of territorial transfers resulting from various wars, and given the French stance on language and ethnicity within the [[French Republic|Republic]], assimilation has decimated the [[Alsatian language|Alsatian]] dialect. The German-speaking population is estimated at 1,500,000, plus another 40,000 for ethnic [[Luxemburger|Luxembourger]]s.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} [[Image:Duitstalige GemeenschapLocatie.png|thumb|100px|right|German-speaking areas of Belgium.]] ====Benelux==== =====Belgium===== In [[Belgium]], there is also a German minority, which forms the majority in its region of 71,000 inhabitants (though [[Ethnologue]] puts the national total at 150,000, not including [[Limburgish language|Limburgisch]] and [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]). =====Luxembourg===== Though their language ([[Luxemburgish language|Luxemburgish]]) is very closely related to the [[German language]], Luxembourgers do not consider themselves ethnic Germans. In a 1941 referendum held in Luxemburg by the German occupants, more than 90% proclaimed themselves Luxemburgish by nationality, mother tongue and ethnicity.<ref>[[:de:Luxemburgische Sprache#Das Trauma des Zweiten Weltkrieges|cf. the article on the Luxemburgish language on the German Wikipedia]]</ref> =====The Netherlands===== In the [[Netherlands]], there are 380,000 Germans<ref>See [[Demographics of the Netherlands]]</ref> and a similar number of Dutch people is estimated to live in Germany.<ref>See [[Demographics of Germany]].</ref> ====Denmark==== In [[Denmark]], the part of [[Schleswig]] that is now [[South Jutland County]] (or [[Northern Schleswig]]) has about 12,000–20,000 Germans.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} These Germans mostly speak [[German language|Standard German]] and [[South Jutlandic]]. A few speak the [[Schleswigsch]] variety of [[Low Saxon]]. ====United Kingdom==== In the United Kingdom, there exists a [[German-Briton]]/[[British Germans]] ethnic group of around 300,000, mainly descended from nineteenth century immigrants, [[World War Two]] [[prisoners of war]] & other refugees. The vast majority have settled in the [[London]] & South East part of the [[United Kingdom]], in particular, Richmond (South West London). Famously, the [[British Royal Family]] are partially descended from German Monarchs. === Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union=== {{main|History of German settlement in Eastern Europe}} [[Image:Historisches deutsches Sprachgebiet.PNG|300px|thumb|German language area in 1910–11]] Historically, large populations of [[ethnic Germans]] have been concentrated in [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]. In German, these populations are commonly referred to as ''[[Volksdeutsche]]''. The number of ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe dropped dramatically as the result of the [[German exodus from Eastern Europe]], a reaction to the German invasion of Central Europe during the second world war. However, there are still a substantial number of ethnic Germans in the countries that are now Germany and Austria's neighbors to the east&mdash;[[Poland]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Slovakia]], [[Hungary]], and [[Slovenia]]. In addition, there are or have been significant populations in such areas as [[Romania]], [[Yugoslavia]], [[Moldova]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Russia]]. ==== History ==== The German presence in Central and Eastern Europe is rooted in centuries of history, that of [[Prussia]], [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Bukovina]], Königsberg (now [[Kaliningrad]]), [[Bessarabia]] and of a fractious Germany and eastward parts of Europe made up of many city states, whose royal families ruled over multi-ethnic populations. Every city of even modest size as far east as Russia had a [[German quarter]] and a [[Jewish Quarter (diaspora)|Jewish quarter]] (though, of course, there were relatively few [[Jew]]s east of the [[Pale of Settlement]]). Travellers along any road would pass through, for example, a German village, then a [[Czech people|Czech]] village, then a [[Poles|Polish]] village, etc., depending on the region. =====Eastward expansion===== ''See main articles ''[[East Colonisation]]'' and ''[[Ostflucht]] Near the end of the [[Migration Period]] (300–900 AD) that brought the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] tribes as well as the [[Huns]], etc., to what is now Central Europe, Slavs expanded westwards at the same time as Germans expanded eastwards. The result was German [[colonization]] as far east as [[Romania]] and [[Volga]], and Slavic colonization as far west as present-day [[Lübeck]] (on the [[Baltic Sea]]), [[Hamburg]] (connected to the [[North Sea]]), and along the river [[Elbe]] and its tributary [[Saale]], further south. After [[Christianization]], the superior organization and level of civilsation of the Germans led to further German expansion, known as the [[medieval]] [[Ostsiedlung]]''. By 900 or so, various rulers were often inviting ethnic Germans to their territories as city builders, craftsmen, miners, or farmers. The crusades of the [[Teutonic Knights]] at times led to further German settlements in the Baltics. German domination of trade in the Baltic Sea and Eastern Central Europe was established through the [[Hanseatic League]]. Such areas had become important within trade routes and flourished. German urban law within these regions, ''([[Stadtrecht]])'', was promoted by the presence of large, relatively wealthy "German" populations. At the time, their culture and [[worldview]] was very different from that of the surrounding [[rural]] peoples. These other "Germans", commoners that were often influenced by these powerful city-states, stretched as far away from present-day Germany as [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]] (in [[Norway]]), [[Stockholm]] (in [[Sweden]]), and [[Vyborg]] (in [[Finland]]). Some groups, such as the [[Baltic Germans]], the [[Volga Germans]], and the [[Transylvanian Saxons]], had established residence in the eastern Baltic, southern Russia, and what is now Romania, respectively. Over time, other groups like this would be joined by later waves of Germans. By the 1500s, [[Pomerania]], [[Prussia]], [[Bohemia]], much of [[Bessarabia]], [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]], [[Tyrol]], [[Carniola]], and [[Lower Styria]] had German cities and villages. Numerous transfers and migrations occurred later: for example, within the [[Habsburg Monarchy]] at the end of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] incursion into Europe (which penetrated as far as [[Vienna]]). Thus, the [[Danube Swabians]] settled in [[Pannonia]] and the [[Bukovina Germans]] in [[Bukovina]]. ===== The World Wars ===== By [[World War I]], there were isolated groups of Germans or so-called [[Schwaben]] as far southeast as the [[Bosporus]] ([[Turkey]]), [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and [[Azerbaijan]]. After the war, Germany's and Austria-Hungary's loss of territory and the rise of [[communism]] in the [[Soviet Union]] meant that more Germans than ever were minorities in various countries, though on the whole they still enjoyed fairly good treatment. The status of ethnic Germans, and the lack of contiguity resulted in numerous repatriation pacts whereby the German authorities would organize population transfers (especially the [[NS-Soviet population transfers]], and others with [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Italy) so that both Germany and the other country would increase their [[wiktionary:Homogeneity|homogeneity]]. However, this was but a drop in the pond, and the ''[[Back to the Reich]]'' call over the continued disjoint status of [[Danzig]] and [[East Prussia]] was a factor in the politics leading up to [[World War II]], and is considered by many to be among the major causes of the war. The actions of [[Pan-Slavism|Pan-Slavist]] ideology ultimately had extremely negative consequences for most ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe, who often fought on the side of the Polish regime - some were drafted, others volunteered. In places such as [[Yugoslavia]], Germans were drafted by their country of residence, served loyally, and even held as [[POW]]s by the , and yet later found themselves drafted again, this time by the Nazis after their takeover.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Because it was technically not permissible to draft non-citizens, many ethnic Germans ended up being (oxymoronically) forcibly volunteered for the [[Waffen-SS]]. Naturally, those closest to [[Germany]] were the most involved in fighting for her, but the Germans in remote places like the Caucasus were likewise accused of collaboration. The territorial changes following [[World War II]] can be very roughly understood as the following: Russia(Soviet Union) became bigger, Poland was shifted westwards resulting in a small decrease of territory, Germany became much smaller. This anecdotal summary can be somewhat extended to Germany's borders with France and [[Czechoslovakia]] as well. ==== Post-War situation ==== If the ethnic Germans of Eastern Europe survived the fighting, the ethno-politics of the victorious [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] aimed at removal of German population from new borders of countries neighboring Germany. In Poland and Czechoslovakia, millions fled the ethnic cleansing of the [[Red Army]] and local governments, mostly on foot and in wagons, but also by ship. The remaining population (also in Russia and [[Yugoslavia]]) was treated even more brutally, and frequently put into [[GuLag]]s - the [[Concentration camp]]s of Soviet Union. These camps usually where in [[Siberia]] and other remote parts of Russia. It must be said though that sending people of ethnicity other than Russian to such camps was a common trade in the [[Soviet Union]] Only recently this is being acknowledged by European historians. The remaining German inhabitants were expelled or fled from present-day [[Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Hungary]], today's [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], and other [[East European]] countries. In Romania, Germans were forcibly transferred within the country, to destroy their cohesion as an ethnic group. ''See also: *[[German exodus from Eastern Europe]] *[[Organised persecution of ethnic Germans]] *[[Expulsion of Germans after World War II]]'' It was due to such [[population transfer in the Soviet Union]] that Germans (along with many other peoples) ended up as far east as [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]. As recently as 1990, there were 1 million standard German speakers and 100,000 Plautdietsch speakers in Kazakhstan alone{{Fact|date=September 2007}}, and 38,000, 40,000 and 101,057 standard German speakers in [[Ukraine]], Uzbekistan, and [[Kyrgyzstan]], respectively.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} There were reportedly 500,000 ethnic Germans in Poland in 1998.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} Recent official figures show 147,000 (as of 2002)[http://www.mswia.gov.pl/index.php?dzial=61&id=37#niemcy]. But, because the census only registers declared nationalities, the actual figure is probably higher{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. Of the 700,000 Germans in Romania in 1988, only about 100,000 remained. In Hungary the situation is quite similar, with only about 150,000{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. There are 1 million in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|former Soviet Union]], mostly in a band from southwestern Russia and the [[Volga]] valley, through [[Omsk]] and [[Altai Krai]] to Kazakhstan{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. These ''[[Auslandsdeutsche]]'', as they are now generally known, have been streaming out of the former [[Eastern Bloc]] since the early 1990s. For example, many ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union have taken advantage of the German ''[[Right of return#Germany|Law of return]]'', a policy which grants citizenship to all those who can prove to be a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or the spouse or descendant of such a person. This exodus has occurred despite the fact that many of the ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union speak little or no German. ====Expelled Germans in postwar Germany==== After World War II many expellees (German: ''[[Heimatvertriebene]]'') from the land east of the Oder-Neisse found refuge in both West Germany and East Germany. Refugees who had fled voluntarily but were later refused to return are often not distinguished from those who were forcibly deported, just as people born to German parents that moved into areas under German occupation either on their own or as Nazi colonists. In a document signed 50 years ago the ''Heimatvertriebene'' organisations have also recognized the plight of the different groups of people living in today's Poland who were resettled there by force. The Heimatvertriebene are just one of the groups of millions of other people, from many different countries, who all found refuge in today's Germany. Some of the expellees are active in politics and belong to the political right-wing. Many others do not belong to any organizations, but they continue to maintain what they call a lawful right to their homeland.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} The vast majority pledged to work peacefully towards that goal while rebuilding post-war Germany and Europe. The expellees are still highly active in German politics, and are one of the major political factions of the nation, with still around 2 million members.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} The president of their organization is [[as of 2004]] still a member of the national parliament. Although expellees and their descendants were active in West German politics, the prevailing political climate within West Germany was that of atonement for [[Nazism|Nazi]] actions. However the [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]] governments have shown considerable support for the expellees and German civilian victims.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} ====Polish-German relations==== Although relations between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany have generally been cordial since 1991, there remain disputes about the War, the post-War expulsion, the treatment of the current German minority in Poland and the treatment of German heritage in modern day Western Poland and the Polish half of the former [[East Prussia]]. Since 1990, historical events have been examined by the Polish [[Instytut Pamieci Narodowej|Institute of National Remembrance]]. Its role is to investigate the crimes of the past without regard to the nationality of victims and perpetrators. In Poland, crimes motivated by the nationality of victims are not covered by a statute of limitations, therefore the criminals can be charged in perpetuity. In a few cases, the crimes against Germans were examined. One suspected perpetrator of retaliatory crimes against expelled innocent German civilians, [[Salomon Morel]], fled the country to [[Israel]], which has denied Polish requests for his extradition. =====Finalization of the Polish-German border===== The Oder-Neisse line was officially considered completely unacceptable by the [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]] controlled German government for decades. Even certain factions within the Social Democrats, the [[SPD]] refused to accept the [[Oder-Neisse line]]. The ''[[Ostpolitik]]'' of Social Democratic [[Chancellor]] [[Willy Brandt]] confirmed the Oder-Neisse line as unalterable through the [[Treaty of Warsaw (1970)|Treaty of Warsaw]] on the 7th of December 1970. The 1991 Polish-German border agreement finalized the Oder-Neisse line as the Polish-German border. The agreement gave to minority groups in both countries several rights, such as the right to use national surnames, speak their native languages, and attend schools and churches of their choice. These rights had been denied previously on the basis that the individual had already chosen the country in which they wanted to live. ====Polish criticism of German "revisionism"==== Some Poles criticise the current German historical view as tending to move toward the portrayal of Germans as both victims and perpetrators of the War, rather than being purely perpetrators. Some German expellees, on the other hand, criticise the official Polish outlook on the War and post War events as mostly based on a collectivist view (of mixed communist and nationalist ideas) that does not look at the individual suffering on both sides, but emphazises the ethnic background of each individual. Such positions are viewed critically in Poland as it allegedly ignores widespread collaboration and support for Nazi occupation by the German minority in the pre-1939 Polish Republic, and the fact that German people enjoyed privileged status during the war while Poles were classified as subhumans by German authorities. <!--This does not make sense, revise the last sentence. As evidence for the view that German "arrogance and haughtiness" will return, some point to the high support for National Socialism in German society after the German Reich lost the war. For example, according to sixty year old polls conducted in the American Zone of Occupation among Germans from November 1945 till December 1947, the percentage of the German population that supported the view that "National Socialism was a good idea, but badly implemented" was on average 47%, while in August 1947 the percentage increased to 55% <ref name="Rocznik">Rocznik Polsko-Niemiecki Tom I "Polska a Niemcy; ludność, odbudowa, przemiany polityczne w pierwszych latach powojennych" Edmund Dmitrów Warszawa 1992</ref> --> ===== Restrictions on the sale of property to foreigners ===== In November 2005 ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' published a poll from the [[Allensbach Institute]] which estimated that 61% of Poles believed Germans would try to get back territories that were formerly under German control or demand compensation[http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/vorab/0,1518,383359,00.html],[http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/swiat/1,34180,3002683.html]. There are also some worries among Poles that rich descendants of the expelled Germans would buy the land the Polish state had confiscated in 1945. It is believed that this may result in large price increases, since current Polish land prices are low compared to Western Europe. This led to Polish restrictions on the sale of property to foreigners, including Germans; special permission is needed. This policy is comparable to similar restrictions on the Baltic [[Åland Islands]]. These restrictions will be lifted 12 years after the 2004 accession of Poland to the [[European Union]], i.e. on [[May 1]] [[2016]]. The restrictions are viewed by some as weak - they aren't valid for companies and certain types of properties. The attempts by German organisations to build a [[Centre Against Expulsions]] dedicated to the suffering of expellees during World War II (as well as other conflicts) has led Polish politicians and activists to propose a Center for Martyrology of the Polish Nation (called also Center for the Memory of Suffering of the Polish Nation). This would document the systematical oppression of Polish people by the Nazi state during World War II, serving to educate German people about atrocities perpetrated against their neighbours. However, this proposal was criticized by German politicians on the grounds that similar institutions already exist, whereas the expulsion of Germans has been relatively ignored [http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/swiat/1,34239,3124740.html]. ===== Status of the German minority in Poland ===== {{main|German minority in Poland}} The remaining German minority in Poland (152,897 people according to the 2002 census, some{{Who|date=July 2007}} say much higher) enjoys minority rights according to Polish minority law. There are German speakers throughout Poland, and most of the Germans live in the [[Opole Voivodship]]. Bilingual signs are posted in some towns of the region. In addition, there are bilingual schools and German can be used instead of Polish in dealings with officials in several towns. According to [[Henryk Kroll]], the leader of the minority, Germans in Poland are not loyal citizens and they are only concerned with Opole region.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}<ref name="Kroll">{{pl icon}} ''"Nas naprawdę nie obchodzi Rzeczpospolita, nas obchodzi Opolszczyzna."'' said [[Henryk Kroll]] in an [http://opole.naszemiasto.pl/wydarzenia/447695.html?ses_nm=88f458c1b36c02359023fc8944568a71 interview] for Gazeta Opolska weekly</ref> See also: [[Bilingual communes in Poland]] ====Czech-German relations==== On [[28 December]] [[1989]], [[Václav Havel]], at that time a candidate for president of Czechoslovakia (he was elected one day later), suggested that Czechoslovakia should apologise for the [[expulsion of ethnic Germans]] after [[World War II]]. Most of other politicians of the country didn't agree. Later, the German President [[Richard von Weizsäcker]] answered this by apologizing to Czechoslovakia during his visit to [[Prague]] on March 1990 after Václav Havel repeated his apology saying that the expulsion was "the mistakes and sins of our fathers". The [[Beneš decrees]] however continued to remain in force in Czechoslovakia. In Czech-German relations, the topic has been effectively closed by the [http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/eurodocs/germ/czecheng.html Czech-German declaration] of 1997. One principle of the declaration was that parties will not burden their relations with political and legal issues which stem from the past. However, some expelled Sudeten Germans or their descendants are demanding return of their former property, which was confiscated without compensation after the war. Several such cases have been taken to Czech courts. As confiscated estates usually have new inhabitants, some of whom have lived there for more than 50 years, attempts to return to a pre-war state may cause fear. The topic comes to life occasionally in Czech politics. Like in Poland, worries and restrictions concerning land purchases exist in the [[Czech Republic]]. According to a survey by the [[Allensbach Institute]] in November 2005, 38% of Czechs believe Germans want to regain territory they lost or will demand compensation. =====Recognition of Sudeten German anti-Nazis===== In 2005 Czech Prime Minister [[Jiří Paroubek]] announced an initiative to publicise and formally recognise the deeds of Sudeten German Anti-Nazis. Although the move was received positively by most Sudeten Germans and the German minority, there has been criticism that the initiative is limited to Anti-Nazis who actively fought for the Czechoslovak state, but not Anti-Nazis in general. Despite their recognition as being Sudeten-German Anti-Nazi, they were not granted their lost properties or any apology for their [[expulsion]] after the war. The German minority in particular also expected some financial compensation for their mistreatment after the War. ====Status of the German minority in the Czech Republic and Slovakia==== There are about 40,000 Germans remaining in the Czech Republic (number of [[Czechs]] who have at least partly German ancestry probably runs into hundreds of thousands[http://www.radio.cz/en/article/27184]). Their number has been consistently decreasing since World War II. According to the 2001 census there remain 13 municipalities and settlements in the Czech Republic with more than 10% Germans. The situation in [[Slovakia]] was different from that in the Czech lands, in that the number of Germans was considerably lower and that the [[Carpathian Germans|Germans from Slovakia]] were almost completely evacuated to German states as the Soviet army was moving west through Slovakia, and only the fraction of them that returned to Slovakia after the end of the war was deported together with the Germans from the Czech lands. The German minority in the Czech Republic has been granted some rights on paper, however the actual use of the language in dealings with officials is usually not possible. There is no bilingual education system in Western and Northern Bohemia, where the German minority is most concentrated. The Czech authorities have enacted a unique hurdle in their minority act. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} [[The Czech Republic]] has introduced a law in 2002 that guarantees the use of native minority languages (incl. German)as official languages in municipalities where autochthonous linguistic groups make up at least 10% of the population. Besides the use in dealings with officials and in courts the law also allows for bilingual signage and guarantees education in the native language. The law so far only exists on paper and has not been implemented anywhere, neither in the Polish speaking Tesin/Cieszyn area nor in Western and Northern Bohemia where a hand full of towns still have in excess of 10% German speakers. Many representatives of expelees organizations support the erection of bilingual signs in all formerly German speaking territory as a visible sign of the bilingual linguistic and cultural heritage of the region. While the erection of bilingual signs is technically permitted if a minority constitutes 10% of the population, the minority is also forced to sign a petition in favour of the signs in which 40% of the adult minority population must participate. ==== German minority in Hungary ==== Today the German minority in Hungary have minority rights, organisations, schools and local councils but spontaneous assimilation is well under way. Many of the deportees visited their old homes after the fall of the [[Iron Curtain]] in 1990. ==== Russia ==== Many descendants of Germans who were expelled from the former city of Königsberg can be found today in Germany. Although the deportation of Germans from this northern part of former [[East Prussia]] often was conducted in a violent and aggressive way by Soviet officials who sought to revenge the Nazi terror in Soviet areas during the war, the present Russian inhabitants of the Kaliningrad sector (northern East Prussia) have much less animus against Germans. German names have even been revived in commercial Russian trade. Many old German Prussian villages are still intact, though they have become dilapidated over the course of time. The city centre of Kaliningrad however was entirely rebuilt, as the [[United Kingdom|British]] bombing campaign of 1944 and the [[Battle of Königsberg|siege of Königsberg]] in 1945 had left it in ruins. [[Image:NamibiaDeutscheSprache.jpg|thumb|Examples of German language in Namibia's everday life.]] === Africa, Oceania, and East Asia === Unlike other major European powers of the 20th century, Germany was not very involved in colonizing Africa (though mainly because it came too late and from a difficult geopolitical location), and lost [[German East Africa]] and [[German South-West Africa]] after World War I. Similarly to those in Latin America, the Germans in Africa tended to isolate themselves and be more self-sufficient than other Europeans. In [[Namibia]] there are 30,000 ethnic Germans, 6% of the population, though it is estimated that only a third of those retain the language. Most German-speakers live in the capital, [[Windhoek]], and in smaller towns such as [[Swakopmund]] and [[Lüderitz]], where German architecture is highly visible. In [[South Africa]], a number of [[Afrikaners]] and [[Boers]] are of partial German ancestry, being the descendants of German immigrants who intermarried with [[Dutch people|Dutch]] settlers and adopted [[Afrikaans]] as their mother tongue. Like North America, [[Australia]] has received many ethnic German immigrants from Germany and elsewhere. Numbers vary depending on who is counted, but moderate criteria give an estimate of 750,000 (4% of the population). The first wave of German immigration to Australia began in 1838, with the arrival of Prussian [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] settlers in [[South Australia]] (see ''[[German settlement in Australia]]''). After the Second World War, Australia received a large influx of displaced ethnic Germans. In the 1950s and 1960s, German immigration continued as part of Australia's ambitious population program. New Zealand has received modest, but steady, ethnic German immigration from the mid-19th century. Today the number of New Zealanders with German ancestry is estimated to be as high as 200,000 (5% of the population). Many German New Zealanders anglicized their names during the 20th century due to the negative perception of Germans fostered by World War I and World War II. During the [[German-Japanese relations#Meiji Era|Meiji era]] (1868–1912), many Germans came to work in [[Japan]] as advisors to the new government. Despite Japan's isolationism and geographic distance, there have been a few [[:Category:German people in Japan|Germans in Japan]], since Germany's and Japan's fairly parallel modernization made Germans ideal ''[[O-yatoi gaikokujin]]''. In [[China]], the German trading colony of [[Jiaozhou Bay]] in what is now [[Qingdao]] existed until 1914, and did not leave much more than breweries, including [[Tsingtao Brewery]]. Communist [[East Germany]] had relations with [[Uganda]] and [[Vietnam]], but in these cases population movement went mostly to, not from, Germany. See also: [[German colonial empire]] and [[List of former German colonies]] == Groupings == Note that many of these groups have since migrated elsewhere. This list simply gives the region with which they are associated, and does not include the Germans from countries with German as an official national language, which are: *[[Austria]] *[[Belgium]] *[[Germany]] *[[Liechtenstein]] *[[Luxembourg]] *[[Switzerland]] In general, it also omits some collective terms in common use defined by political border changes where this is antithetical to the current structure. Such terms include: *''[[Ungarndeutsche]]'' / [[Germans of Hungary]] *''[[Jugoslawiendeutsche]]'' / [[Germans of Yugoslavia]] *''[[Rumäniendeutsche]]'' / [[Germans of Romania]] Roughly grouped: *[[Germans in the Czech Republic]], notably: **[[Sudeten Germans]] in the [[Sudetenland]] *Germans of [[East Prussia]] (the largest group), including **[[Germans of Poland]]; see also: ***the [[Polonization|Polonized]] [[Bambrzy]] (notice, that Bambrzy are not part of German minority) **those from [[Lithuania]], [[Prussian-Lithuanians]] *[[Baltic Germans]] of [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]], [[Prussian-Latvians]], [[Prussian Latvians]] *The [[German-Briton]] group of the [[United Kingdom]] (sometimes called [[British Germans]]) *[[Schleswigsch]] Germans in [[South Jutland County]], [[Denmark]] *German-speaking citizens of the Netherlands (386,200 - 2.37% of the population) *German-speaking [[Demographics of Belgium|Belgians]], mostly in the [[German-speaking Community of Belgium]] (''DGB'' - ''Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens'') *[[Lorrainians]] and [[Alsatians]] in [[Alsace-Lorraine]], [[France]] *[[Province of Bolzano-Bozen|Bolzano-Bozen]], a majority in this province of [[Italy]] *[[Walser]] originally from [[Wallis]] in Switzerland, now in Italy *[[Cimbrians]] in Italy *[[Mócheno]]s in Italy *Austrian Germans in [[Slovenia]]: in the [[Gottschee County]], in the [[Lower Styria]]n towns of [[Maribor]], [[Celje]] and [[Ptuj]], and in the [[Apače]] area *the [[Bruderhof Communities]] *the original [[Hutterite]]s * [[Russian Mennonite]] in the [[Ukraine]], including the [[Mennonite Brethren]] *[[Transylvanian Saxons]] in Romania *[[Transylvanian Landler]] Protestants in Romania *[[Carpathian Germans]] *[[Zipser]], from [[Spiš]] (Carpathian German heartland) to northern Romania *[[Regat Germans]] in southern and eastern Romania *[[Danube Swabians]], including: ** those in the [[Bačka]] ** [[Banat Swabians]] in the Serbian and Romanian [[Banat]], as well as [[Germans in Bulgaria|a handful in Bulgaria]] ** [[Satu Mare Swabians]] in Romania ** most [[Germans of Hungary]] (especially [[Swabian Turkey]]) ** and a handful in [[Croatia]] (where it is a recognized minority language) and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]] *[[Black Sea Germans]] in southern Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and [[Germans in Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] including: **[[Germans of the Crimea]] **[[Dobrujan Germans]] **[[Bukovina Germans]] from [[Bukovina]] **[[Bessarabia Germans]] roughly from what is now [[Moldova]] *Germans of [[Volhynia]] ([[German Volhynian]]s) *[[Galiziendeutsche]] in [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]] *[[Caucasus Germans]] (also Swabians) in the northern [[Caucasus]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and [[Azerbaijan]] *the rest of the [[German minority in Russia and Soviet Union|Germans in the former USSR]], including: **[[German-Russian]]s **[[Volga Germans]] **[[Russian Mennonite]]s **[[Germans of Kazakhstan]] *[[Bosporus Germans]], originally craftsmen in and around [[Istanbul]], Turkey In the Americas, one can divide the groups by current nation of residence: *[[German Canadian]]s and [[German-American]]s **[[Texas German]]s (see also the [[List of German Texans]]) **[[Hutterite]]s who speak [[Hutterite German]] *[[German Mexican]]s, including Mennonites as well as many notable figures, see German-, Austrian-, Hungarian-, and Polish- subcategories of European Mexicans *[[Deutschbrasilianer]] in Brazil, whose various languages comprise [[Brazilian German]] *[[German Argentines]] with prominent personalities and a notable German impact on Argentine culture *[[German-Chilean]] with prominent personalities and a notable impact in Southern Chile *Germans, mostly from outside the borders of Germany, in the rest of Latin America, especially: **[[German immigration to Puerto Rico|German-Puerto Ricans]] **Paraguay **Peru, not German speakers **Uruguay **Venezuela, for example [[Colonia Tovar]], where [[Alemán Coloniero]] is spoken …or by ethnic or religious criteria: * [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] * [[Amish]] *[[Volga Germans]] and [[Plautdietsch]]-speaking [[Russian Mennonite]]s **in [[Canada]], (e.g. [[Chortitzer Mennonite Conference]]) **in the [[United States]], for instance in [[Kansas]] **throughout [[Latin America]] *[[Hutterite]]s who speak [[Hutterite German]] *the [[Bruderhof Communities]], the USA and Paraguay In Africa, Oceania, and East Asia *[[Germans of Namibia]], Togo, Cameroon, and South Africa *[[German Australian]]s *Germans in the colony of [[Jiaozhou Bay]], China, who founded among others the [[Tsingtao Brewery]] in today's [[Qingdao]] ==Notes== Most numbers are from the www.ethnologue.com (see ''See also''), apart from a few from [[German language]] and [[Germans]], as well as the following in-line citations: {{reflist}} == See also == Three similar terms: *[[Imperial Germans]] *[[Volksdeutsch]] *[[Auslandsdeutsch]] Other articles detailing the distribution of German language or people: *[[German as a minority language]] *[[German dialects]] *[[German language]] *[[Germans]] *[[German exodus from Eastern Europe]] *[[Expulsion of Germans after World War II]] *[[Goralenvolk]] *[[D-A-CH]] *[[German dialects]] *[[Swiss diaspora]] <!-- German-language Wikipedia entries: *[[:de:Deutschsprachiger Raum|Deutschsprachiger Raum]] ("German-speaking area") *[[:de:Deutschsprachige Minderheiten|Deutschsprachige Minderheiten]] ("German-speaking minorities") *[[:de:Deutsche Siedlungsräume|Deutsche Siedlungsräume]] ("German areas of settlement") *[[:de:Geschichte der Russlanddeutschen|Geschichte der Russlanddeutschen]] ("History of the Germans of Russia") *[[:de:Fünfte Schweiz|Fünfte Schweiz]] ("Fifth Switzerland") *[[:de:Deutschstämmige|Deutschstämmige]] ("German origins" or "tribally German") *[[:de:Deutsche#Länder und Regionen mit deutschsprachiger Bevölkerung|Deutsche &ndash; Länder und Regionen mit deutschsprachiger Bevölkerung]] ("Germans &ndash; countries and regions with German-speaking populations") --> ==External links== Ethnologue entries: *[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=deu Standard German] *[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=pdt Plautdietsch] *[http://www.gahfusa.org/ German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, DC] *http://germanfast.blogspot.com {{GermanDiaspora}} [[Category:Ethnic groups in Europe]] [[Category:West Germanic peoples]] [[Category:Germans]] [[Category:German diaspora| ]] [[de:Deutschstämmige]] [[es:Alemanes étnicos]] [[ko:독일인]] [[ka:გერმანელები]] [[ja:ドイツ人]] [[no:Etniske tyskere]] [[ru:Немцы]] [[sl:Nemci]] [[sv:Tyskar]] [[zh:德國人]]