Ethnic Germans (German: Volksdeutsche), also collectively referred to as the German diaspora, are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be of German origin ethnically, do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ...

In English usage, but less often in German, the term may be used for assimilated descendants of German emigrants^{[citation needed]}. 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, "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 ("Kingdom of Hungary" Germans) or regions that transcended national boundaries (thus "Black Sea Germans"). First group of German immigrants arrived in Brazil, by Ernst Zeuner, 1824 A German-Brazilian (German Deutschbrasilianer or Deutschbrasilianisch, Portuguese teuto-brasileiro or germano-brasileiro) is a Brazilian person of German ancestry/origin (i. ... The Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben, Hungarian: Dunai-Svábok or Dunamenti németek, Romanian: Şvabi or Şvabi Dunăreni, Serbian: Dunavske Švabe or Дунавске Швабе, Croatian: Podunavski Švabe) is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) River valley. ... The Black Sea Germans (German: Schwarzmeerdeutsche) are ethnic Germans who left their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and settled in territories of the northern bank of the Black Sea, mostly in southern Russia. ...

However, the modern trend is to emphasize the status as citizens of the new country and to invert the order of the compound expression.^{[citation needed]} According to this system, one uses the word "German" as an adjective, not a noun. For example, German Americans are called German Americans but never "U.S. Germans" or "American Germans". Already in the past, 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 Alsatians and the German Balts (who also called themselves that way) were called "Alsatian Germans" and "Baltic Germans" against their will^{[citation needed]} in Germany's nationalistic phases. German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... A bilingual (French and Alsatian) sign in Alsace. ... The Baltic Germans (German: , Deutschbalten; literally German Balts) were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ...

German ethnicity is not equivalent to the German language Sprachraum. Thus, the speakers of Swiss German had already shaped a national identity centuries before even the idea of "Germany" had arisen. The first attempts to create a consciousness of the "Austrian nation" took place during the Napoleonic Wars (at which time "Austrian" identity included non-German-speaking subjects of the Austrian Empire) and in the early 1930s, but without much success. Many German-speaking Austrians used to consider themselves as ethnic Germans until after the First World War^{[citation needed]} (see German Austria). Since the end of World War II, Austrians have increasingly come to see themselves as a nation distinct from the German nation.^[1] German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland. ... Combatants Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Sicily  Spain[3]  Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Italy Naples [5] Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[6] Saxony[7] Denmark-Norway [8] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack von Leiberich João Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun Gebhard von... Anthem Volkshymne (Peoples Anthem) The Austrian Empire Capital Vienna Language(s) German Hungarian Romanian Czech Slovakian Slovenian Croatian Serbian Italian Polish Ruthenian Religion Roman Catholic Government Monarchy History  - Established 1804  - Ausgleich 1867 The Crown of the Austrian Emperor The Austrian Empire (German: ) was a modern era successor empire founded... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The Republic of German Austria (German: ) was the initial rump state successor to Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I for areas with a predominantly ethnic German population. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Terminology

Main article: Volksdeutsche

Further information: Reichsdeutsche and 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. In that sense, it is the equivalent of today's legal definition of the current term Auslandsdeutsche ("Germans abroad"). Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... Imperial Germans is the common translation of the German word Reichsdeutsche (adj. ... Federal Germans (German: Bundesdeutsche) as a noun or Federal German (Bundesdeutsch) as an adjective are terms to describe the citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany (also Federal citizens - Bundesbürger), until the reunification in 1990 in contrast to the citizens of the German Democratic Republic. ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... Imperial Germans is the common translation of the German word Reichsdeutsche (adj. ... Imperial Germans is the common translation of the German word Reichsdeutsche (adj. ...

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. Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first)  - 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (last) Legislature...

Auslandsdeutsche (adj. auslandsdeutsch) is a concept that denotes German citizens living abroad, or alternatively ethnic Germans entering Germany from abroad. Today, in legal context of post-Nazi Germany, this means citizen of Germany living more or less permanently in another country (including long-term academic exchange lecturers and the like), who are allowed to vote in the Republic's elections, but who usually do not pay taxes 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 Germans (culturally or ethnically speaking). Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning vote) is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ... “Taxes” redirects here. ... Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ...

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 expatriates, 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. German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... German-speaking minorities live in many countries and on all six inhabited continents: the countries of the former Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Belgium, Italy, the United States, Latin America, Namibia, Israel, and Australia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...

Ancestry according to the U.S. 2000 census: Counties with plurality of German ancestry in light blue

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3766x2820, 1311 KB) A chart of the top ancestries in the US, as provided by the 2000 census. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3766x2820, 1311 KB) A chart of the top ancestries in the US, as provided by the 2000 census. ... 2000 US Census logo The Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13. ... A plurality, relative majority or simple majority is the largest share of something, which may or may not be considered a majority, i. ...

North America

• There are over 60 million Americans of at least partial German ancestry in the United States including various groups as the Pennsylvania Dutch and the German Texans. 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,^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]}). Germans form just under half the population in the Upper Midwest.^[2][3]

• Canada (2.7 million, 9% of the population)

German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... The Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly Pennsylvania Deitsch or Pennsylvanian German) are the descendants of German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania prior to 1800. ... German Texans are an ethnic category belonging to residents of the state of Texas who acknowledge German ancestry and self-identify with the term. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ...

Latin America

They are a considerable part of the population in:

• Brazil: Mainly in Southern Brazil and São Paulo, there are 6 million single-ancestry ethnic Germans, 3% of the national population; 12 million Brazilians are part German, 6% of the national population^{[citation needed]}. Hunsrückisch and Pomeranians 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.^[4] 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).

An example of German Argentines is president Néstor Kirchner. Other notable examples of Argentine ethnic Germans are top model Nicole Neumann, basketball player Walter Herrmann, football player Gabriel Heinze among many others.

• Chile: During the middle 19th century 70,000 Germans emigrated to the south of Chile; almost 450,000 direct descendants of that people now live in the country (2% of the total population): 245,000 counting standard German-speakers only, formed in several German schools among the country^{[citation needed]}. Some notable German descendants in Chile are: Presidents Eduardo Frei Montalva and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Air Force General Commander Fernando Matthei Aubel, architect Mathias Klotz, tennis player Hans Gildemeister, female athlete Marlene Ahrens, Police General Commander Rodolfo Stange Ölckers, Musician Patricio Manns, Army Commanders in Chief Lieutenant General René Schneider and Division Generals Emil Körner and Adolfo Holley, economists Hernan Büchi and Rolf Lüders, Senators Carlos Kuschel and Evelyn Matthei, bussinesmen Horst Paulmann, Jürgen Paulmann, Werner Grob, Carlos Heller; TV presenters Karen Doggenweiler, Margot Kahl, Pamela Hodar, Michael Müller, writer César Müller (aka Oreste Plath), painters Hardy Wistuba and Rossy Ölckers.^{[citation needed]}

Notable communities of ethnic Germans exist in: Hunsrückisch is a German dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region of Germany (Rheinland-Pfalz). ... Pomeranians (Pomorzanie) are a group of Slavic tribes living in historical region of Pomerania along the shore of Baltic Sea between Oder and Vistula rivers. ... ... Ernesto Beckmann Geisel, pron. ... Jorge Bornhausen (Rio de Janeiro, October 1, 1937) is a Brazilian politician. ... Vera Lúcia Fischer (b. ... Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen (born July 20, 1980), is a Brazilian-German supermodel who has been acclaimed as the highest-paid model in the world. ... Ana Hickmann (born March 1, 1981 in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) is a professional supermodel. ... Letícia Birkheuer (born April 25, in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) is a Brazilian model. ... Rodrigo Hilbert (born Orleans, Santa Catarina, Brazil, 1981), is a Brazilian actor and model. ... Andreas Kisser during meet with fans during Metalmania 2007 in Katowice, Poland. ... Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (born March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian singer best known for her samba and bossa nova music, most famously as the vocalist on the Grammy Award winning song The Girl from Ipanema. // Astrud Gilberto was born Astrud Weinert the daughter of a Brazilian mother and a... Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho (born December 15, 1907) is a Brazilian architect who is considered one of the most important names in international modern architecture. ... Roberto Burle Marx (August 4th, 1909, São Paulo - June 4th, 1994, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazillian landscape designer (besides being a painter, ecologist and naturalist) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world famous. ... Dr. Marcelo Gleiser is a brazilian physicist and astronomer. ... Adolfo Lutz Adolfo Lutz was a Brazilian physician, 1855-1940, father of tropical medicine and medical zoology in Brazil, and a pioneer epidemiologist and researcher in infectious diseases. ... Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt (born February 16, 1958 in Natal, Brazil), known as Oscar Schmidt, Oscar Schmidt Becerra in Spain, where he played for Fórum Valladolid for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, and simply Oscar or Mão Santa(Holy Hand) in Brazil, is considered by many... Gustavo Kuerten (born September 10, 1976 in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina) is a former World No. ... Fernando de Queiroz Scherer (born October 6, 1974 in Florianópolis) is an international top swimmer from Brazil, who won the bronze medal in the 50 metres freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Xuxa in an event in Brazil. ... His Eminence Cláudio Cardinal Hummes, OFM (born August 8, 1934) is a German-Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns (born September 14, 1921 in Forquilhinha) is the emerited archbishop of São Paulo. ... Robert Scheidt (born April 15, 1973) is a renowned Brazilian sailor. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations based on the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... The German Swiss International School (Deutsch-Schweizerische Internationale Schule) was established in 1969 as the first international school for German-speaking expatriates in Hong Kong. ... German-Argentines are ethnic Germans born in Argentina. ...  , full name Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (born 25 February 1950), is the President of Argentina, sworn in on May 25, 2003. ... Nicole Neumann (born October 31, 1980, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentinian supermodel and actress. ... Wálter Herrmann (born June 26, 1979 in Venado Tuerto, Argentina) is an Argentine basketball player. ... Gabriel Ivan Heinze (born 19 March 1978 in Crespo, Entre Ríos Province) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid as a left-back. ... Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (1911–1982) was a Chilean political figure and president of Chile from 1964 to 1970. ... Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (born June 24, 1942) was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. ... General Fernando Matthei Aubel represented the Air Force in the junta that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990 after Gustavo Leigh was destituted on 1978. ... Mathias Klotz Germain Chilean architect, born in Viña del Mar on 13 April 1965. ... The Three Major Professional Tournaments Professional tennis players in the years before the Open era began in 1968 played mostly on tours in head-to-head competition. ... Marlene Ahrens (born in 1933) is a Chilean athlete. ... General Rodolfo Stange Oelckers (b. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Generals C. Prats and R. Schneider (right) General René Schneider Chereau (1913-1970) was the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army at the time of the 1970 Chilean presidential election, when he was assassinated during a kidnapping attempt. ...

• Ecuador: 32,000, counting standard German-speakers only^{[citation needed]}.
• 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^{[citation needed]}.
• Puerto Rico: 1,453 speakers^{[citation needed]}
• 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^{[citation needed]}. The government of Germany currently provides different forms of economic and educational aid to these communities.^{[citation needed]}
• (Spanish) Pozuzo Information
• Colombia: 20,000 Germans^{[citation needed]}
• Uruguay: 28,000 standard German, 1,200 Plattdietsch.^{[citation needed]}
• 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, as well as a colony of the descendants of German and Austrian Jewish refugees in Sosua.^{[citation needed]}

It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Oxapampa and Pozuzo, accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Puerto Plata Puerto Plata is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Sosua Beach Los Charamicos Sosua is a small town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic. ...

Western Europe and the Alpine nations

Italy

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 [1] or 69% ethnic Germans^{[citation needed]} in South Tyrol, formerly (before the 1919 annexation) part of Austrian Tyrol. Naturally, their dialects are Austro-Bavarian German. Download high resolution version (1521x1155, 1345 KB)Distribution of Races in Austria-Hungary from the Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1911 [1] This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (1521x1155, 1345 KB)Distribution of Races in Austria-Hungary from the Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1911 [1] This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... The Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen[1][2] (Italian: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano; German: Autonome Provinz Bozen; Ladin: Provinzia autonòma de Balsan), also called Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italian: Alto Adige; German: Südtirol; Ladin: Adesc Aut[3][4] or Sudtirol; English: Alto Adige or South Tyrol), is an... Coat of arms of the Counts of Tyrol Austria-Hungary in 1914, showing Tirol–Vorarlberg as the left-most province, coloured cream Capital Meran (Merano), until 1848 Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages  - Created County 1140  - Bequeathed to Habsburgs 1363 or 1369  - Joined Council of Princes 1582  - Trent, Tyrol and... Austro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German varieties. ...

There also exist smaller, unique populations of Germans which arrived so long ago that their dialect retains many archaic features heard nowhere else:

• the 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 live in the Fersina Valley (it:Valle dei Mocheni)

Historical (yellow) and current (orange) distribution of the Cimbrian and Mócheno dialects. ... The Carnic Alps are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps at the borders of East Tyrol, Carinthia and Friuli. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... Vicenza is a city in northern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione. ... Veneto or Venetia, is one of the 20 regions of Italy. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walser are German-speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German dialects) that live in the alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. ... Wallis can stand for: German name for canton of Switzerland Valais short name for French territory Wallis and Futuna John Wallis (1616 - 1703), an English mathematician Alfred Wallis (1855 - 1942), an English artist Barnes Wallis (1887 - 1979), an British scientist Hal B. Wallis (1898 - 1986), an American motion picture producer... The Aosta Valley (in Italian: Valle dAosta, French: Vallée dAoste, Arpitan: Val dOuta) is a mountainous region in north-western Italy. ... Vercelli (Varséj in Piedmontese; Vercellae in Latin) is a commune and city of about 46,000 inhabitants in the Province of Vercelli, Italy. ... Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (It. ... Mócheno is an Upper German dialect spoken in three towns of the Fersina Valley (Italian: Valle del Fersina, German: Fersental), in Trentino, northeastern Italy. ...

Alpine Nations

Further information: Austrians and Swiss (people)

Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have German majorities. An estimated 112,000 German nationals live in Switzlerland, another 74,000 in Austria. Main languages in Switzerland[1]: German (63. ...

France

A billingual streetsign in Strasbourg.

In France, the Alsace-Lorraine region and cities such as Strasbourg (with bilingual signs) and Thionville ("Diedenhofen" in German and Luxembourgish) were originally German-speaking, but because of territorial transfers resulting from various wars, and given the French stance on language and ethnicity within the Republic, assimilation has decimated the Alsatian dialect. The German-speaking population is estimated at 1,500,000, plus another 40,000 for ethnic Luxembourgers.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... (New region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Regional President Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² (??? mi) km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... Lorraine coat of arms location of the Lorraine province Lorraine (French: Lorraine; German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ... For other uses, see Strasburg. ... Thionville (German: , Luxembourgish: Diedennuewen), is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in the Lorraine région, France. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... This inscription in Alsatian on a window in Eguisheim, Alsace, reads: Dis Hausz sted in Godes Hand - God bewar es vor Feyru (This house stands in Gods hand - God beware it for fire) Alsatian (French Alsacien, German Elsässisch) is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in Alsace, a...

German-speaking areas of Belgium.

Image File history File links Duitstalige_GemeenschapLocatie. ... Image File history File links Duitstalige_GemeenschapLocatie. ...

The Low Countries

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 Limburgisch and Luxembourgish). Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language. ... Limburgish, or Limburgian or Limburgic (Dutch: Limburgs, German: Limburgisch, French: Limbourgeois) is a group of Franconian varieties, spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, near the common Dutch / Belgian / German border. ... Luxembourgish (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch, French: , German: , Walloon: ), also spelled Luxemburgish, is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ...

Luxembourg

Though their language (Luxemburgish) is very closely related to the German language, 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.^[5] Luxembourgish or Luxembourgian (in French, Luxembourgeois; in German, Luxemburgisch; in Luxembourgish Lëtzebuergesch) is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ...

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there are 380,000 Germans,^[6]; a similar number of Dutch people is estimated to live in Germany.^[7]

Denmark

In Denmark, the part of Schleswig that is now South Jutland County (or Northern Schleswig) has about 12,000–20,000 Germans.^{[citation needed]} These Germans mostly speak Standard German and South Jutlandic. A few speak the Schleswigsch variety of Low Saxon. The region of Schleswig (former English name: Sleswick, Danish: Sønderjylland or Slesvig, Low German: Sleswig, North Frisian: Slaswik or Sleesweg) covers the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark. ... Sønderjyllands Amt (English: South Jutland County) is a county (Danish, amt) on the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. ... Sønderjyllands Amt (English: South Jutland County) is a county in southern Denmark, on the peninsula of Jutland. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... South Jutlandic or South Jutish (South Jutlandic: Synnejysk; Danish: ; German: ) is a dialect of the Danish language. ... Schleswigsch (pronounced /Sles vIgS/, or SHLAY-svigsh) is a Northern Low Saxon dialect spoken in Schleswig, in Germany and Denmark. ... Low Saxon (in Low Saxon, Nedersaksisch, Neddersassisch, Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there exists a German-Briton/British Germans ethnic group of around 100,000, mainly descended from nineteenth century immigrants, World War Two prisoners of war & other refugees, and German workers who have emigrated from Germany during the European Union era^{[citation needed]}. The vast majority have settled in the London & South East part of the United Kingdom, in particular, Richmond (South West London) and Oxfordshire^{[citation needed]} Famously, the British Royal Family are partially descended from German Monarchs. German-Briton A German-Briton is someone with both German and British (English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish)ethnicity who lives in the United Kingdom or who is a British citizen. ... British Germans are people of German origin who live in the United Kingdom // Germans have resided in Britain throughout its history. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony The British Royal Family is shared between the Commonwealth Realms; this article focuses on the perspective of United Kingdom. ...

Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

Historically, large populations of ethnic Germans have been concentrated in 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—Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia. In addition, there are or have been significant populations in such areas as Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia. Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... The German exodus from Eastern Europe refers to the exodus of ethnic German populations from lands to the east of present-day Germany and Austria. ...

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. For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Bukovina (Ukrainian: , Bukovyna; Romanian: Bucovina; German and Polish: Bukowina; see also other languages) is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains. ... Kaliningrad (Russian: ; Lithuanian: Karaliaučius; German  , Polish: Królewiec; briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg), is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. ... 1927 map of Bessarabia from Charles Upson Clarks book Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian, Бесарабія in Ukrainian, Бессарабия in Russian, Бесарабия in Bulgarian, Besarabya in Turkish) is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the East and the Prut River on the West. ...

Every city of even modest size as far east as Russia had a German quarter^{[citation needed]} and a Jewish quarter (though, of course, there were relatively few Jews east of the Pale of Settlement). Travellers along any road would pass through, for example, a German village, then a Czech village, then a Polish village, etc., depending on the region. An 1880 watercolor of the Roman Ghetto by Ettore Roesler Franz. ... The Pale of Settlement (Russian: , chertA osEdlosti) was a western border region of Imperial Russia in which permanent residence of Jews was allowed, extending from the pale or demarcation line, to live near the border with central Europe. ...

Eastward expansion

See main articles East Colonisation and Ostflucht To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Ostflucht (flight from the East) was a movement by residents of the historically eastern German regions, such as East Prussia, West Prussia, Silesia and Province of Posen beginning around 1850, to the more industrialized western German Rhine and Ruhr provinces. ...

Near the end of the Migration Period (300–900 AD) that brought the Germanic and 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 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 of the Roman Catholic Church led to further German expansion, known as the medieval Drang nach Osten. By 1100 or so, various rulers were often inviting ethnic Germans to their territories as craftsmen, miners, or farmers. The crusades of the Teutonic Knights at times led to further German settlements. Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonialism. ... The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Luebeck. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... This article is about a river in Central Europe. ... Length 413 km Elevation of the source 728  m Average discharge  ?  m³/s Area watershed  ?  km² Origin  Germany Mouth  Elbe Basin countries Germany Saale is the name of two rivers in Germany: the Saxonian Saale (German: Sächsische Saale) and the Franconian Saale (German: Fränkische Saale). ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting pagan practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... For the state, see Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. ...

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 (in Norway), Stockholm (in Sweden), and Vyborg (in Russia). 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. Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... Town privileges were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. ... This article is about the radio show. ... Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China An artists rendering of an aerial view of the Maryland countryside: Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank, 1918-1986), Aerial Series: Ploughed Fields, Maryland, 1974, acrylic and mixed materials on apertured double canvas, 52... County Hordaland District Midhordland Municipality NO-1201 Administrative centre Bergen Mayor (2004) Herman Friele (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 215 465 km² 445 km² 0. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... A view of Vyborg from the castle tower Vyborg (Russian: ; Finnish: ; Swedish: ; German: ) is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, 130 km to the northwest of St. ... The Baltic Germans (German: , Deutschbalten; literally German Balts) were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... The Transylvanian Saxons (German: ; Hungarian: ; Romanian: ) are a people of German origin who settled in Transylvania (German: ) from the 12th century onwards. ...

By the 1500s, much of Pomerania, Prussia, the Sudetenland, Bessarabia, Galicia, South Tyrol, Carniola, and Lower Styria had many German cities and villages. Numerous transfers and migrations occurred later: for example, within the Habsburg Monarchy at the end of Ottoman incursion into Europe (which penetrated as far as Vienna). Thus, the Danube Swabians settled in Pannonia and the Bukovina Germans in Bukovina. Pommern redirects here. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... Sudetenland (Czech and Polish: Sudety) was the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the Western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia. ... 1927 map of Bessarabia from Charles Upson Clarks book Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian, Бесарабія in Ukrainian, Бессарабия in Russian, Бесарабия in Bulgarian, Besarabya in Turkish) is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the East and the Prut River on the West. ... Galicia (Ukrainian: Галичина (Halychyna), Polish: Galicja, German: Galizien, Slovak: Halič, Romanian: Galiţia, Hungarian: Gácsország) is the name of a region of Central Europe. ... The Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen[1][2] (Italian: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano; German: Autonome Provinz Bozen; Ladin: Provinzia autonòma de Balsan), also called Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italian: Alto Adige; German: Südtirol; Ladin: Adesc Aut[3][4] or Sudtirol; English: Alto Adige or South Tyrol), is an... Carniola English and Latin; (Slovenian Kranjska, German Krain) is a name for a region in Slovenia. ... Lower Styria (Slovenian Spodnja Å tajerska, German Untersteiermark, Latin Styria) is made up of the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria and is a region in northeastern Slovenia. ... The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ... “Ottoman” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... The Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben, Hungarian: Dunai-Svábok or Dunamenti németek, Romanian: Åžvabi or Åžvabi Dunăreni, Serbian: Dunavske Å vabe or Дунавске Швабе, Croatian: Podunavski Å vabe) is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) River valley. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... The Bukovina Germans formed a German ethnic group that lived from about 1780 to 1940 in Bukovina, part of present-day West Ukraina. ... Bukovina (Ukrainian: , Bukovyna; Romanian: Bucovina; German and Polish: Bukowina; see also other languages) is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains. ...

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, 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 Great War ” redirects here. ... Swabia (German Schwaben) is a historic region in Germany and a language area. ... I LOVE BORAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Two bridges cross the Bosporus. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ...

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 Nazi-Soviet population transfers arranged between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, and others with Benito Mussolini's Italy) so that both Germany and the other country would increase their homogeneity. However, this was but a drop in the pond, and the Heim ins Reich rhetoric over the continued disjoint status of enclaves such as Danzig and Königsberg was an agitating factor in the politics leading up to World War II, and is considered by many to be among the major causes of Nazi aggressiveness and thus the war. The Nazi-Soviet population transfers were a series of population transfers between 1939 and 1941 of Germans from territories occupied by Soviet Union due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, notably Bessarabia and the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia, all of which traditionally had large German minorities. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... “Mussolini” redirects here. ... The Heim ins Reich initiative (German: Home into the Realm) was a policy pursued by Adolf Hitler starting in 1939 and largely responsible for the outbreak of World War II. The initiative attempted to convince people of German descent living outside of Germany that they should strive to unify their... For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Former German name of the city of Kaliningrad. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The actions of Germany ultimately had extremely negative consequences for most ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe, who often fought on the side of the Nazi regime - some were drafted, others volunteered or worked through the paramilitary organisations such as Selbstschutz, which supported the German invasion of Poland and murdered tens of thousands of Poles. In places such as Yugoslavia, Germans were drafted by their country of residence, served loyally, and even held as POWs by the Nazis, and yet later found themselves drafted again, this time by the Nazis after their takeover.^{[citation needed]} Because it was technically not permissible to draft non-citizens, many ethnic Germans ended up being (oxymoronically) forcibly volunteered for the Waffen-SS. In general, those closest to Nazi Germany were the most involved in fighting for her^{[citation needed]}, 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 became bigger, Germany became smaller, and Poland was forced west. This anecdotal summary (minus the plight of the Poles) can be extended to Germany's borders with France and Czechoslovakia as well. Selbstschutz (German: ) stands for two organisations: it was (1) a name used by a number of paramilitary organisations created by ethnic Germans in Central Europe and (2) is a name for self-defence measures and units in ethnic German, Austrian, and Swiss civil defence. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Post-War situation

If the ethnic Germans of Eastern Europe survived the fighting, the ethno-politics of the victorious Allies aimed at removal of German minority from new borders of countries that were freed from Nazi German rule. In Poland and Czechoslovakia, millions fled the Red Army and local governments, mostly on foot and in wagons, but also by ship. Elsewhere, especially in Russia and Yugoslavia, Germans were treated even more brutally, and often interned in harsh labor camps, to "pay the debts" induced by their nation and the cost of communist occupation. 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.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: , Kaliningradskaya Oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast. ... Eastern Europe is, by convention, a region defined geographically as that part of Europe covering the eastern part of the continent. ...

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^{[citation needed]}, and 38,000, 40,000 and 101,057 standard German speakers in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, respectively.^{[citation needed]} The German exodus from Eastern Europe refers to the exodus of ethnic German populations from lands to the east of present-day Germany and Austria. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... Not by Their Own Will. ...

There were reportedly 500,000 ethnic Germans in Poland in 1998.^{[citation needed]} Recent official figures show 147,000 (as of 2002)[2]. But, because the census only registers declared nationalities, the actual figure is probably higher^{[citation needed]}. 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^{[citation needed]}. There are 1 million in the former Soviet Union, mostly in a band from southwestern Russia and the Volga valley, through Omsk and Altai Krai to Kazakhstan^{[citation needed]}. For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... Omsk (Russian: ) is a city in southwest Siberia in Russia, the administrative center of Omsk Oblast. ... Altai Krai (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) in the Siberian Federal District. ...

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 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. Auslandsdeutsche (Germans abroad; adj. ... A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... The term Right of return refers to the principle in international law that members of an ethnic or national group have a right to immigration and naturalization into the country that they, the destination country, or both consider to be that groups homeland, independent of prior personal citizenship in...

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. This article is in need of attention. ...

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} The president of their organization is as of 2004 still a member of the national parliament. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although expellees and their descendants were active in West German politics, the prevailing political climate within West Germany was that of atonement for Nazi actions. However the CDU governments have shown considerable support for the expellees and German civilian victims.^{[citation needed]} Nazism, or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the second largest political party in Germany. ...

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. East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

Since 1990, historical events have been examined by the Polish 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. Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (IPN, Institute of National Remembrance) is a Polish institution created by the IPN Act in 18 December 1998. ... Salomon Morel, passport photo taken in 1993 Salomon (also Solomon or Shlomo) Morel (born November 15, 1919 in Garbów, Poland, died February 2007 in Tel Aviv, Israel) was a Polish Jew, who, between February and November 1945, was a member of Communist State Security, known in Polish as Urz...

Finalization of the Polish-German border

The Oder-Neisse line was officially considered completely unacceptable by the 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 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. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU — Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the second largest political party in Germany. ... Social Democratic Party of Germany Spectral Power Density ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Ostpolitik or Eastern Politics describes the realisation of the Change through Rapprochement principle, verbalised by Egon Bahr in 1963, by the effort of Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany, to normalize relations with Eastern European nations including East Germany. ... For other uses, see Chancellor (disambiguation). ... Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm (December 18, 1913 - October 8, 1992), was a German politician, Chancellor of West Germany 1969 – 1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) 1964 – 1987. ... The Treaty of Warsaw is a treaty between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ...

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.

Restrictions on the sale of property to foreigners

In November 2005 Der Spiegel published a poll from Allensbach Institut which estimated that 61% of Poles believed Germans would try to get back territories that were formerly under German control or demand compensation[3],[4]. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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. National motto: ? Official language Swedish Capital Mariehamn Governor Peter Lindbäck Premier Roger Nordlund Total Area  - Land  - Water 6,784 km² 1,527 km² 5,258 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 26,257 17. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2016 (MMXVI) will be a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 [5]. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Status of the German minority in Poland

Main article: German minority in Poland

The remaining German minority in Poland (152,897 people according to the 2002 census, some^{[attribution needed]} 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.^{[citation needed][8]} Germans are a notable national minority in Poland, consisting of almost 150,000 people. ... Opole Voivodship. ... Henryk Kroll (born January 20, 1949 in Gogolin) is a Polish politician, and the leader of German minority in Poland. ...

See also: Bilingual communes in Poland According to Act of 6 January 2005 on National and Ethnic Minorities and on the Regional Languages there are 16 bilingual communes in Poland: Official/auxiliary German language in commutes in Silesia German in part of Silesia - Opole Voivodeship: Gmina Biała (Gemeinde Zülz; since 06. ...

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. is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Václav Havel, GCB, CC, (IPA: ) (born October 5, 1936 in Prague) is a Czech writer and dramatist. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Dr. Richard Freiherr von Weizsäcker â–¶ (help· info) (born April 15, 1920) is a German politician (CDU). ... Nickname: Motto: Praga Caput Rei publicae Location within the Czech Republic Coordinates: , Country Czech Republic Region Capital City of Prague Founded 9th century Government  - Mayor Pavel Bém Area  - City 496 km²  (191. ... The BeneÅ¡ decrees (Czech: ; German: ; Slovak: ; Hungarian: ) refers to a series of laws enacted by the Czechoslovak government of exile during World War II in absence of Czechoslovak parliament (see details in Czechoslovakia: World War II (1939 - 1945)). Today, the term is most frequently used for the part of them...

In Czech-German relations, the topic has been effectively closed by the 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 Institut 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. Jiří Paroubek Jiří Paroubek (IPA: ) (born 21 August 1952 in Olomouc) is a Czech politician from the Czech Social Democratic Party (ÄŒSSD) and the prime minister since April 25, 2005. ... Expulsion is one of words used to describe expulsions after World War II, indicating condemnation of the events. ...

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[6]). 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 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. Carpathian Germans (German: , Slovak: Karpatskí Nemci), sometimes simply called Slovak Germans (German: Slowakeideutsche), is the name for a group of German language speakers on the territory of present-day Slovakia. ...

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. ^{[citation needed]}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. The Czech Republic (Czech: Česká republika) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. ...

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. Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it — blue. ...

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 British bombing campaign of 1944 and the siege of Königsberg in 1945 had left it in ruins. East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders General Otto von Lasch Marshal Vasilevsky Marshal Rokossovsky Strength 130,000 250,000 Casualties 50,000 60,000 The Battle of Königsberg was the last battle of the East Prussian Operation. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Examples of German language in Namibia's everday life.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (841x557, 179 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): German language Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (841x557, 179 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): German language Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to...

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 settlers and adopted Afrikaans as their mother tongue. German East Africa (German: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was Germanys colony in East Africa, including what is now Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanganyika, the mainland part of present Tanzania. ... Flag German South-West Africa (black), other German colonies in red Capital Windhoek (from 1891) Political structure Colony Governor  - 1898-1905 Theodor von Leutwein  - 1905-1907 Friedrich von Lindequist  - 1907-1910 Bruno von Schuckmann  - 1910-1915 Theodor Seitz Historical era The Scramble for Africa  - Established 7 August, 1884  - Genocide 1904... --193. ... Swakopmund is a city in Namibia, with around 35,000 inhabitants. ... Lüderitz, Namibia Lüderitz, Namibia is a harbour town on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. ... Afrikaners (sometimes known as Boers) are white South Africans, predominantly of Calvinist German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloons descent who speak Afrikaans. ... Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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 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. | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... German settlement in Australia began in large numbers in 1838, with the arrival of immigrants from Prussia to Adelaide, South Australia. ...

During the 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 Germans in Japan, since Germany's and Japan's fairly parallel modernization made Germans ideal O-yatoi gaikokujin. Both the modern German and Japanese states were founded in the same year of 1871 – through the foundation of the German Empire under the leadership of Prussia and the “abolition of domains and foundation of prefectures” ordinance in Japan. ... The o-yatoi gaikokujin (Japanese: お雇い外国人 — hired foreigners, foreign employees) were foreign specialists, engineers, teachers, mercenaries and more, hired to assist in the modernization of Japan. ...

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. The Jiaozhou Bay (, ) was a 552km² German colonial Concession, which existed from 1898 to 1914. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-tao), well-known to the West by its Postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a sub-provincial city in eastern Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Past packaging of Tsingtao Beer in a display at the Qingdao Beer Museum Tsingtao Brewery (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (SEHK: 168) is Chinas largest brewery. ... Anthem Auferstanden aus Ruinen Capital East Berlin Language(s) German Government Socialist republic Head of State  - 1949 – 1960 Wilhelm Pieck  - 1960 – 1973 Walter Ulbricht  - 1973 – 1976 Willi Stoph  - 1976 – 1989 Erich Honecker  - 1989 Egon Krenz  - 1989 - 1990 Manfred Gerlach Head of Government  - 1949 – 1964 Otto Grotewohl  - 1964 – 1973 Willi Stoph...

See also: German colonial empire and List of former German colonies This article is about former colonies of Germany. ... German colonial empire This is a list of former German Empire colonies and protectorates (German: Schutzgebiete), the German colonial empire. ...

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 of Hungary (German: Ungarndeutsche) are any German-speaking minority group in Hungary who would be counted among the Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben). ... Germans of Hungary (German: Ungarndeutsche) are any German-speaking minority group in Hungary who would be counted among the Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben). ... // Due to Hunnish incursions in Europe and the associated migration period in the 4th century, Germanic people migrated to the Danube and the Mediterranean as early as the year 375. ... // Due to Hunnish incursions in Europe and the associated migration period in the 4th century, Germanic people migrated to the Danube and the Mediterranean as early as the year 375. ... The Germans of Romania or Rumäniendeutsche were 700,000 strong in 1988. ... The Transylvanian Saxons (German: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Romanian: Saşi, Hungarian: Szászok) are a people of German origin who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards. ...

• 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 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 Belgians, mostly in the German-speaking Community of Belgium (DGB - Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens)
• Lorrainians and Alsatians in Alsace-Lorraine, France

• South Tirol Germans, a growing majority in this autonomous region of Italy
• Walser originally from Valais in Switzerland, now in Italy
• Cimbrians in Italy
• Móchenos in Italy

• Austrian Germans in and around Kočevje (Gottschee) and Maribor (Marburg an der Drau) in Slovenia

• the Bruderhof Communities
• the original Hutterites
• 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 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

• Black Sea Germans in southern Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria including:
  • Germans of the Crimea
  • Dobrujan Germans
  • Bukovina Germans from Bukovina
  • Bessarabia Germans roughly from what is now Moldova

• Germans of Volhynia (German Volhynians)
• Galiziendeutsche in Galicia

• Caucasus Germans (also Swabians) in the northern Caucasus, Georgia, and Azerbaijan

• the rest of the Germans in the former USSR, including:
  • German-Russians
  • Volga Germans
  • Russian Mennonites
  • 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: Germans in the Czech Republic form a minority of the residents in Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. ... the german inhabitants of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. ... Sudetenland (Czech and Polish: Sudety) was the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the Western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia associated with Bohemia. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Germans are a notable national minority in Poland, consisting of almost 150,000 people. ... Polonization (Polish: ) is the assumption (complete or partial), of the Polish language or another real or supposed Polish attribute. ... Bambrzy (PoznaÅ„skie Bambry, ger. ... Languages German and Lithuanian Religions Lutherans Related ethnic groups Germans and Lithuanians The term Prussian Lithuanians or Lietuwininkai refers to a separate ethnic group[1] native to former East Prussia. ... The Baltic Germans (German: , Deutschbalten; literally German Balts) were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today forms the countries of Estonia and Latvia. ... The Kursenieki (Curonians; German: ; Lithuanian: ; Latvian: ) (sg. ... German-Briton A German-Briton is someone with both German and British (English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish)ethnicity who lives in the United Kingdom or who is a British citizen. ... British Germans are people of German origin who live in the United Kingdom // Germans have resided in Britain throughout its history. ... Schleswigsch (pronounced /Sles vIgS/, or SHLAY-svigsh) is a Northern Low Saxon dialect spoken in Schleswig, in Germany and Denmark. ... Sønderjyllands Amt (English: South Jutland County) is a county (Danish, amt) on the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. ... The Executive (government) of the German-speaking Community meets in Eupen Flag of the German-speaking community in Belgium The German-speaking Community of Belgium (German: , short DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. ... Alsatian can refer to: A person from Alsace, France Alsatian language German Shepherd Dog This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Imperial Province of Elsaß-Lothringen Alsace-Lorraine (German: , generally Elsass-Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 after the annexation of most of Alsace and parts of Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War. ... South Tyrol (German Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol, Italian Provincia autonoma di Bolzano-Alto Adige , Ladin Provinzia autonóma de Bulsan-Südtirol) is an autonomous province of Italy. ... Distribution of Highest Alemannic dialects The Walser are German-speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German dialects) that live in the alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. ... The Valais (German:  ) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the south-western part of the country, in the Pennine Alps around the valley of the Rhone River from its springs to Lake Geneva. ... Cimbrian refers to any of several local Upper German dialects spoken in northeastern Italy, especially in South Tyrol. ... Mócheno is an Upper German dialect spoken in three towns of the Fersina Valley (German: Fersental, Italian: Valle del Fersina), in Trentino-South Tyrol, northeastern Italy. ... Area: 563. ... Area: 147. ... The Bruderhof Communities (German: place of brothers) are Christian faith-based communities with branches in New York and Pennsylvania in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. ... Hutterite women at work Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. ... The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russia (present-day Ukraine) beginning in 1789. ... The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons. ... The Transylvanian Saxons (German: ; Hungarian: ; Romanian: ) are a people of German origin who settled in Transylvania (German: ) from the 12th century onwards. ... Detail of a church window in Hermannstadt dedicated to the memory of the Austrian Protestants. ... Carpathian Germans (German: , Slovak: Karpatskí Nemci), sometimes simply called Slovak Germans (German: Slowakeideutsche), is the name for a group of German language speakers on the territory of present-day Slovakia. ... Carpathian Germans (German: Karpatendeutsche, Slovak: Karpatskí Nemci), sometimes simply called Slovak Germans (German: Slowakeideutsche), is the name for a group of German language speakers on the territory of present-day Slovakia. ... SpiÅ¡ in Slovakia SpiÅ¡ (-Slovak; Latin: Scepusium, Polish: Spisz, German: , Hungarian: Szepesség) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland. ... Regat Germans or Old Kingdom Germans (Germ. ... The Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben, Hungarian: Dunai-Svábok or Dunamenti németek, Romanian: Åžvabi or Åžvabi Dunăreni, Serbian: Dunavske Å vabe or Дунавске Швабе, Croatian: Podunavski Å vabe) is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) River valley. ... Bačka (Serbian: Бачка or Bačka, Hungarian: Bácska, Croatian: Bačka, Slovak: Báčka, German: Batschka) is an area of the Pannonian plain lying between the rivers Danube and Tisa. ... The Banat Swabians are a German-speaking population in Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians, who immigrated over 200 years ago from different parts of Southern Germany into Banat, after it had been almost entirely depopulated during wars with Turkey. ... Location of Banat in Europe Map of the Banat region with largest cities shown The Banat (Romanian: Banat, Serbian: Банат or Banat, Hungarian: Bánát or Bánság, German: Banat, Slovak: Banát, Bulgarian: Банат) is a geographical and historical region of Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the... Germans (Bulgarian: , nemtsi or германци, germantsi) are a minority ethnic group in Bulgaria (German: ). Although according to the 2001 census they only numbered 436,[1] the settlement of Germans in Bulgaria has a long and eventful history and comprises several waves, the earliest one dating back to the Middle Ages. ... Satu Mare Swabians (German: Sathmarer Schwaben) are a German ethnic group, who live near Satu Mare in Romania, and who form part of the broader group known as Danube Swabians. ... Germans of Hungary (German: Ungarndeutsche) are any German-speaking minority group in Hungary who would be counted among the Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben). ... The term Swabian Turkey (German: Schwäbische Türkei) describes a region in southeastern Transdanubia in Hungary delimited by the Danube (Donau), the Drava (Drau), and Lake Balaton (Plattensee) inhabited by an ethnic German minority. ... This article is about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... The Black Sea Germans (German: Schwarzmeerdeutsche) are ethnic Germans who left their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and settled in territories of the northern bank of the Black Sea, mostly in southern Russia. ... The Crimea Germans (De. ... The Dobrujan Germans (Germ. ... The Bukovina Germans formed a German ethnic group that lived from about 1780 to 1940 in Bukovina, part of present-day West Ukraina. ... Bukovina (Ukrainian: , Bukovyna; Romanian: Bucovina; German and Polish: Bukowina; see also other languages) is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains. ... Couple with infant The Bessarabia Germans are an ethnic group and part of the Black Sea Germans, who lived in Bessarabia (today part of Moldova and Ukraine) between 1814 and 1940. ... Volhynia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: ; also called Volynia) comprises the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug -- to the north of Galicia and of Podolia. ... For other uses, see Galicia. ... Church of the Saviour – a German church in Baku, Azerbaijan. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... The term German-Russian is used in three somewhat different senses. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russia (present-day Ukraine) beginning in 1789. ... The Germans of Kazakhstan are a significant minority in Kazakhstan, and make up several percent of population. ... Bosporus Germans are those ethnic Germans living and settled in Istanbul. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ...

• German Canadians and German-Americans
  • Texas Germans (see also the List of German Texans)
  • Hutterites who speak Hutterite German
• German Mexicans, 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
• Germans, mostly from outside the borders of Germany, in the rest of Latin America, especially:
  • German-Puerto Ricans
  • Chile
  • Paraguay
  • Peru, not German speakers
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela, for example Colonia Tovar, where Alemán Coloniero is spoken

…or by ethnic or religious criteria: German-Canadians are those Canadians of German descent. ... German Americans (German Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the America. ... Texas German is a dialect of the German language that is spoken by descendants of German immigrants who founded the town of Fredericksburg, Texas in 1846. ... German Texans have historiclly played a significant role in Texas history. ... Hutterite women at work Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. ... Hutterite German (Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. ... La casa de los enanitos in Puebla A German Mexican (German: Deutsch-Mexikaner or Deutsch-Mexikanisch, Spanish: germano-mexicano or aleman-mexicano) is a Mexican citizen of German descent or origin. ... Name and Location Deutschbrasilianer (in German), teuto_brasileiro (in Portuguese), or German_Brazilian (in English) basically is a person of German origin (i. ... Brazilian German is a generic name for German dialects spoken in Brazil. ... German-Argentines are ethnic Germans born in Argentina. ... During the mid-19th century, hundreds of German families fled Europe and immigrated to the New World in search of a better life. ... Colonia Tovar The Colonia Tovar (Tovar Colony) is a city located in the Tovar Municipality of the Aragua State, Venezuela about 60 km from its nearest city, Caracas. ... Alemán Coloniero, spoken in Colonia Tovar, is a dialect that belongs to the Low Alemannic branch of German. ...

• Pennsylvania Dutch
• Amish
• Volga Germans and Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites
  • in Canada, (e.g. Chortitzer Mennonite Conference)
  • in the United States, for instance in Kansas
  • throughout Latin America
• Hutterites who speak Hutterite German
• the Bruderhof Communities, the USA and Paraguay

In Africa, Oceania, and East Asia The Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly Pennsylvania Deitsch or Pennsylvanian German) are the descendants of German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania prior to 1800. ... This article is about Old Order Amish, but also refers to other Amish sects. ... The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans living near the Volga River and the Black Sea, maintaining German culture, German language, German traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutherans or Roman Catholic. ... Plautdietsch or Mennonite Low German, is a language (or groups of dialects of Low German) spoken in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Belize, and Argentina by over 300,000 Mennonites, members of a religious group that fled from Holland and Belgium in the 1500s to escape... The Russian Mennonites are a group of Mennonites descended from Dutch and mainly Germanic Prussian Anabaptists who established colonies in South Russia (present-day Ukraine) beginning in 1789. ... The Chortitzer Mennonite Conference, or Die Mennonitische Gemeinde zu Chortitz, is a small body of Mennonites in western Canada. ... Official language(s) English[2] Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  Ranked 15th  - Total 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²)  - Width 211 miles (340 km)  - Length 417 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Hutterite women at work Hutterites are a communal branch of Anabaptists who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. ... Hutterite German (Hutterisch) is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. ... The Bruderhof Communities (German: place of brothers) are Christian faith-based communities with branches in New York and Pennsylvania in the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. ...

• Germans of Namibia, Togo, Cameroon, and South Africa
• German Australians
• Germans in the colony of Jiaozhou Bay, China, who founded among others the Tsingtao Brewery in today's Qingdao

Germans of Namibia are a community of people descended from German colonists who settled in Namibia. ... German Australian is the fourth largest ethnic group in Australia, numbering 742,212 or 3. ... The Jiaozhou Bay (, ) was a 552km² German colonial Concession, which existed from 1898 to 1914. ... Past packaging of Tsingtao Beer in a display at the Qingdao Beer Museum Tsingtao Brewery (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (SEHK: 168) is Chinas largest brewery. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-tao), well-known to the West by its Postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a sub-provincial city in eastern Shandong province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

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: German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ...

1. ^ Austria. Library of Congress Country Studies, 2004.. Accessed 1 Oct 2006.
2. ^ Who's Counting? The l990 Census of German-Americans. On the site of The Tricentennial Foundation German American Community Service. Accessed 12 Feb 2006.
3. ^ Contents of ANCESTRY Table on the site of the United States Census Bureau. Accessed 12 Feb 2006.
4. ^ Asociación Argentina de Descendientes de Alemanes del Volga
5. ^ cf. the article on the Luxemburgish language on the German Wikipedia
6. ^ See Demographics of the Netherlands
7. ^ See Demographics of Germany.
8. ^ (Polish) "Nas naprawdę nie obchodzi Rzeczpospolita, nas obchodzi Opolszczyzna." said Henryk Kroll in an interview for Gazeta Opolska weekly

The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title ) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... The population of the Netherlands is concentrated on a limited territory. ... Germanys population pyramid. ... Henryk Kroll (born January 20, 1949 in Gogolin) is a Polish politician, and the leader of German minority in Poland. ...

See also

Three similar terms:

• Imperial Germans
• Volksdeutsch
• Auslandsdeutsch

Other articles detailing the distribution of German language or people: Imperial Germans is the common translation of the German word Reichsdeutsche (adj. ... Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... Auslandsdeutsche (Germans abroad; adj. ...

• 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

German-speaking minorities live in many countries and on all six inhabited continents: the countries of the former Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Belgium, Italy, the United States, Latin America, Namibia, Israel, and Australia. ... By the High German consonant shift, the former Dutch-German dialect continuum. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... The German exodus from Eastern Europe refers to the exodus of ethnic German populations from lands to the east of present-day Germany and Austria. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... During German occupation of Poland in World War II, attempts to divide the Polish nation by the new rulers led to the postulation of a separate ethnicity called Goralenvolk. Derived from the Polish word Górale (Mountain People or Highlanders), it designated the population of the region of Podhale in... D-A-CH flags D-A-CH is an acronym summarizing the dominant states of the German language Sprachraum, consisting of the official abbreviations for Germany (D for Deutschland) Austria Switzerland (CH for Confoederatio Helvetica) The geographical center of gravity of the three countries is near Coburg in Franconia. ... By the High German consonant shift, the former Dutch-German dialect continuum. ...

External links

Ethnologue entries:

• Standard German
• Plautdietsch