In a context of antiquity (pre AD 500), "Germans" is used in the sense of Germanic tribes.

Germans Deutsche
(left to right): Mozart • Goethe • Bismarck • Kepler•
Total population
~80 million[1] Ethnic Germans – often simply called Germans – are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be ethnically German but do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. ... Germanys population pyramid. ... 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 term Germanic tribes (or Teutonic tribes) applies to the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (805x245, 31 KB) Information Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Author: Johann Goethe Leader/Revolutionary: Adolf Hitler Scientist: Johannes Kepler [1], [2], [3], [4] License This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... “Mozart” redirects here. ... “Goethe” redirects here. ... “Bismarck” redirects here. ... Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and a key figure in the 17th century astronomical revolution. ... ~160 million[2] (including those of ancestral descent)
Regions with significant populations
Germany        68 million
United States 50 million [3]  Brazil 12 million [4]  Canada 3 million [5]  Argentina 1,200,000 [6] The  CIS (mainly  Russia and  Kazakhstan) 1 million [7]  Australia 742,212 [8]  Netherlands 320,000 [9]  Spain 208,349 [10]  United Kingdom 180-250,000 [citation needed]  Paraguay 200,000 [11]  Chile 150,000 - 200,000 [12] [13]  Poland 150,000 [14]  Switzerland 112,000 (4.6 million including Alemannic Swiss) [15]  Venezuela 110,000 [citation needed]  Austria 74,000 (7.9 million including Austrians, if Austrians are regarded as Germans) [16]  Denmark 15-20,000 (border region) [17]  Ireland 11,797 [18]
Languages
German: High German (Upper German, Central German), Low German (see German dialects)
Religions
Roman Catholic, Protestant (chiefly Lutheran), secular, others

Germans (German: Deutsche) are defined as an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, citizenship, speaking the German language as a mother tongue and being born in Germany. Germans are also defined by their national citizenship, which had, in the course of German history, varying relations to the above (German culture), according to the influence of subcultures and society in general (also refer to Imperial Germans, Federal Germans etc. and Demographics of Germany). Genealogy (from Greek: γενεα, genea, family; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Brazil. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_CIS.svg Flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States. ...  Member state  Associate member Headquarters Minsk, Belarus Working language Russian Type Commonwealth Membership 11 member states 1 associate member Leaders  -  Executive Secretary Viktor Yanukovych Establishment December 21, 1991 Website http://cis. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kazakhstan. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Paraguay. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Chile. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Venezuela. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in... Some basics of Germanic linguistics : in linguistics, German and Germanic do not have the same meaning: see Germanic. ... Central German (in German: Mitteldeutsch) is a group of German dialects spread from the Rhineland to Thuringia, south of Low German and north of Upper German. ... Low German (also called Niederdeutsch, Plattdeutsch or Plattdüütsch) is a name for the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch (Low German), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch (Low Saxon). Low refers to... By the High German consonant shift, the former Dutch-German dialect continuum. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. ... German culture (German: Deutsche Kultur) is a term that refers to the heritage and weltanschauung of the people from the German-speaking world, or Deutschsprechende Welt. ... “Citizen” redirects here. ... 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. ... “Native Language” redirects here. ... “Citizen” redirects here. ... The history of Germany is, in places, extremely complicated and depends much on how one defines Germany. ... German culture (German: Deutsche Kultur) is a term that refers to the heritage and weltanschauung of the people from the German-speaking world, or Deutschsprechende Welt. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ... 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). ... Germanys population pyramid. ...

Out of approximately 100 million native speakers of German in the world, about 75 million consider themselves Germans. There are an additional 70 million people of German ancestry (mainly in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Kazakhstan and Canada) who are not native speakers of German but who may still consider themselves ethnic Germans, so that the total number of Germans worldwide lies between 75 and 160 million, depending to the criteria applied (native speakers, single-ancestry ethnic Germans or partial German ancestry). In the USA, 15.2% of citizens identify as of German American according to the United States Census of 2000, more than any other group.^[19] Ethnic Germans – often simply called Germans – are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be ethnically German but do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. ... German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... 1880 US Census of Hoboken, New Jersey The United States Census is mandated by the United States Constitution[1]. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats (congressional apportionment), electoral votes, and government program funding. ...

History of the term

The Holy Roman Empire in 1512

The English term German as used today translates German deutsch. It is derived from Latin Germanus and has been used since the 16th century synonymously with "Teuton", after teutonicus used in Latin since the 9th century to refer to the German language, from the name of the Teutones. Before the 16th century, the terms used in English were Almain, from the name of the Alemanni, or Dutch, an imitation of both Dutch "diets" (meaning "Dutch") and the German cognate "deutsch" (meaning: "German"). The diffuse nature of the term mirrors the heterogeneous nature of the Holy Roman Empire, from the 16th century also known as "Holy Roman Empire of the German nation". The linguistic affiliation of the English language itself was hotly debated at the time, and English academia was split into "Germanophiles" who preferred to include English as one of the "Germanic" or "Teutonic" languages, and "Scandophiles" who preferred to classify English as "Scandinavian" (now known as North Germanic)^[20]. With the rise of the German Empire as a threat to British interests in Hamburg, the "Germanophile" position came out of fashion and British romanticism turned to Scandinavia (see Viking revival). "German" from this period refers to the German Empire, already to the exclusion of Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Usage of Dutch was narrowed to refer to the Netherlands exclusively during the early 16th century. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (727x714, 67 KB) Summary I am the author of this image file. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (727x714, 67 KB) Summary I am the author of this image file. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ... Germanus is the Latin term referring to the Germanic peoples. ... This entry is about the Teutonic people, not to be confused with the Teutonic Knights. ... The Alamanni, Allemanni or Alemanni, are a Germanic tribe, first mentioned by Dio Cassius, under the year 213. ... Dietsch (Diets in modern Dutch) is a colloquial word for the Middle Dutch language. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A Germanophile is a person who is fond of German culture, and Germany in general, exhibiting as it were German nationalism in spite of not being an ethnic German. ... A Scandophile (or Septentrionalist) is a person of non-Scandinavian origin with an affinity to Scandinavian (North Germanic) culture. ... A North Germanic language is any of several Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia, parts of Finland and on the islands west of Scandinavia. ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Early modern publications dealing with what we now call Viking culture appeared in the 16th century, e. ...

There is a lack of international consensus in regard to the characterization of certain historical persons and institutions as "German", like for instance Kafka, Copernicus or the Hanseatic League. In the 19th century, it was common in Germany to use "German" synonymously with "Germanic" for pre-modern times, and e.g. the Walhalla temple includes Gothic, Langobardic, Anglo-Saxon and Alemannic people among those honoured as 'Germans'. Franz Kafka approximately 1917 Franz Kafka (July 3, 1883 in Prague - June 3, 1924 in Vienna) was one of the major German language writers of the 20th century most of whose work was published posthumously. ... Nicolaus Copernicus (in Latin; Polish Mikołaj Kopernik, German Nikolaus Kopernikus - February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was a Polish astronomer, mathematician and economist who developed a heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory of the solar system in a form detailed enough to make it scientifically useful. ... Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... View of the Walhalla from the Danube View of the Walhalla main hall The Walhalla, Hall of Fame and Honor is a hall of fame located on the Danube River 10 km from Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany. ...

Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - who spent most of their lives in what is Austria today - may be considered to have been central within the German culture but may nevertheless, sometimes often be characterized as Austrians, not as Germans. Many people also consider them Austrian and German at once, like e.g. the U.S. State Department [6] does on its report on current Austria, describing it as inhabited by Austrian nationals of which 98% are ethnic Germans. (Franz) Joseph Haydn (in German, Josef; he never used the Franz) (March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the classical period. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... “Beethoven” redirects here. ...

Ethnic Germans

Main article: Ethnic Germans

The term Ethnic Germans may be used in several ways. It may serve to distinguish Germans from those who may have citizenship in the German state but are not Germans; or it may indicate Germans living as minorities in other nations. In English usage, but less often in German, Ethnic Germans may be used for assimilated descendants of German emigrants. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Cultural assimilation (often called merely assimilation) is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are absorbed into an established, generally larger community. ...

German language area in 1910–11

Ethnic Germans form an important minority group in several countries in central and eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Russia) as well as in Namibia, southern Brazil (German-Brazilian), Peru, Argentina and Chile. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 504 pixelsFull resolution (1031 × 650 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/png) German language around 1910. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 504 pixelsFull resolution (1031 × 650 pixel, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/png) German language around 1910. ... Ethnic Germans – often simply called Germans – are those who are considered, by themselves or others, to be ethnically German but do not live within the present-day Federal Republic of Germany, nor necessarily hold its citizenship. ... 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). ... 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. ...

Some groups may be noted as Ethnic Germans despite no longer having German as their mother tongue or belonging to a distinct German culture. Until the 1990s, two million Ethnic Germans lived throughout the former Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan.

In the United States 1990 census, 57 million people are fully or partly of German ancestry, forming the largest single ethnic group in the country. Most Americans of German descent live in the Mid-Atlantic states (especially Pennsylvania) and the northern Midwest (especially in Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Missouri), but historically Germanic immigrant enclaves can be found in many other states (e.g., the German Texans). It has been suggested that Middle Atlantic States be merged into this article or section. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 199 miles (320 km)  - % water 0. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42° 30′ N to 47° 05′ N  - Longitude 86° 46′ W to 92° 53′ W Population  Ranked... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) English Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Area  Ranked 38th  - Total 36,418 sq mi (94,321 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 270 miles (435 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Pierre Largest city Sioux Falls Area  Ranked 17th  - Total 77,163 sq mi (199,905 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 380 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis[1] Area  Ranked 21st  - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 300 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... German Texans are an ethnic category belonging to residents of the state of Texas who acknowledge German ancestry and self-identify with the term. ...

Notable Ethnic German populations also exist in other Anglosphere countries such as Canada (approx. 9% of the population) and Australia (approx. 4% of the population). Definitions of the Anglosphere vary: Countries in which English is the first language of a large fraction of the population are shown in blue. ...

History

Origins

Main article: Germanic peoples

The Germans are a Germanic people which as an ethnicity emerged in southern Scandinavia in the centuries leading up to the Migrations Period, where they were in contact with other peoples, including Finnic inhabitants of Scandinavia to the north, Balto-Slavic peoples to the east and Celts to the south. Later in history, Germanic peoples — as most other European people — mixed with bordering ethnic groups such as Gallo-Romans and Slavs. For the global genetic make-up of the Germans and other peoples, see also the World Haplogroups MapsPDF (386 KiB) and the National Geographic Genographic Atlas Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... The term Germanic peoples may refer to: the Germanic tribes that in the first millennium were seen as a barbarian threat by the Roman Empire and its successors; the Germanic Christianity that in the second millennium came to dominate much of Northern Europe, politically organized in the Holy Roman Empire... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe which includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Balto-Slavic languages are an Indo-European language family, consisting of the (possibly genetically related) Baltic languages and Slavic languages. ... Celts, normally pronounced // (see article on pronunciation), refers primarily to the members of any of a number of peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages, a branch of Indo-European languages, or descended from those who did. ... This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... “PDF” redirects here. ... A kibibyte (a contraction of kilo binary byte) is a unit of information or computer storage, commonly abbreviated KiB (never kiB). 1 kibibyte = 210 bytes = 1,024 bytes The kibibyte is closely related to the kilobyte, which can be used either as a synonym for kibibyte or to refer to...

Germanic tribes from ca. 100 AD until 400 AD. Note: the large area in south-western Poland, the Przeworsk culture, is here assumed to be Germanic, others consider it to have been Slavic, or mixed

In the course of the Migration Period, 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 (at the Baltic Sea), Hamburg (connected to the North Sea), and along the river Elbe and its tributary Saale further South. Image File history File links Pre_Migration_Age_Germanic. ... Image File history File links Pre_Migration_Age_Germanic. ... The green area is the Przeworsk culture in the first half of the 3rd century. ... 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. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonialism. ... For other uses, see Lübeck (disambiguation). ... 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). ...

Middle Ages

See also: Medieval demography

A "German" as opposed to generically "Germanic" ethnicity emerges in the course of the Middle Ages, under the influence of the unity of Eastern Francia from the 9th century^{[citation needed]}. The process is gradual and lacks any clear definition. Medieval demography is the study of human demography in Europe during the Middle Ages. ... East Francia was the land of Louis the German after the Treaty of Verdun of 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire of the Franks. ...

After Christianization, the superior organization of the Roman Catholic Church lent the upper hand for a German expansion at the expense of the Slavs, giving the medieval Drang nach Osten as a result. At the same time, naval innovations led to a German domination of trade in the Baltic Sea and Central–Eastern Europe through the Hanseatic League. Along the trade routes, Hanseatic trade stations became centers of Germanness where German urban law (Stadtrecht) was promoted by the presence of large, relatively wealthy German populations and their influence on the worldly powers. 9th century depiction of Christ as a heroic warrior (Stuttgart Psalter, fol. ... “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. ... Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... Town privileges were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. ...

This means that people whom we today often consider "Germans", with a common culture and worldview very different from that of the surrounding rural peoples, colonized as far north of present-day Germany as Bergen (in Norway), Stockholm (in Sweden), and Vyborg (now in Russia). At the same time, it is important to note that the Hanseatic League was not exclusively German in any ethnic sense. Many towns who joined the league were outside of the Holy Roman Empire, which wasn't by far entirely German itself, and a number of them ought not at all be characterized as German. 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. ...

It is only in the late 15th century that the Holy Roman Empire comes to be called Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, and even this was not in any way exclusively German, notably including a sizeable Slavic minority. The Thirty Years' War, a series of conflicts fought mainly in modern Germany, confirmed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Napoleonic Wars gave it its coup de grâce. The Holy Roman Empire should not be mistaken for the Roman Empire (31 B.C.–A.D. 476). ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway (Until 1643) Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire ( Catholic League) Spain Austria Bavaria Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I of... 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... Coup de Grace was a a multimedia project under which Michael Moynihan released recordings and print. ...

The Divided Germany

The idea that Germany is a divided nation is not new and not peculiar. Foreign powers had long interceded in German affairs, pitting one German principality against the other. Since the Peace of Westphalia, Germany has been "one nation split in many countries". The Austrian–Prussian split, confirmed when Austria remained outside of the 1871 created Imperial Germany, was only the most prominent example. Most recently, the division between East Germany and West Germany kept the idea alive. Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... This article or section should include material from German Monarchy The term German Empire (the translation from German of Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... 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...

In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German nation), Austria and Prussia would emerge as two opposite poles in Germany, trying to re-establish the divided German nation. In 1870, Prussia attracted even Bavaria in the Franco-Prussian War and the creation of the German Empire as a German nation-state, effectively excluding the multi-ethnic Austrian Habsburg monarchy. 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... This article is about the medieval empire. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ... Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with south German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III Otto Von Bismarck, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at the beginning of the war 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000 dead or wounded 284,000 captured 350,000 civilian... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... The term nation-state, while often used interchangeably with the terms unitary state and independent state, refers properly to the parallel occurence of a state and a nation. ... 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. ...

The dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire after World War I led to a strong desire of the population of the new Republic of Austria to be integrated into Germany. This was, however, prevented by the Treaty of Versailles. Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ...

The Nazis attempted to unite "all Germans" in one realm. This idea was initially welcomed by many ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Poland, Danzig and Western Lithuania, but met with significant resistance among the Swiss and the Dutch, who saw themselves as separate nations at least since the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. 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. ... 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. ... Ratification of the Treaty of Münster. ...

The concept of a separate Austrian nation emerges in the 19th century, following the Napoleonic wars, but German speaking Austrians continued to consider themselves Germans until 1919, when "German Austria" was dissolved following the Treaty of Saint-Germain. After World War II, the Austrians increasingly saw themselves as a nation distinct from the other German-speaking areas of Europe; today, some polls^{[citation needed]} have indicated that no more than 10% of the German-speaking Austrians see themselves as part of a larger German nation linked by ancestry or language. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... 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... 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. ... The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the new Republic of Austria on the other. ... 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...

Subgroups

Further information: German dialects

The Germans are divided into sub-nationalities, some of which form dialectal unities with groups outside Germany that are not considered "Germans". The southern Upper German groups retain a pronounced identity, in the case of the Swabians historically even the cause of a limited movement of Alemannic separatism. The Low German Platt speakers also retain a certain ethnic identity, while the Central German majority has largely abandoned individual nationalisms. By the High German consonant shift, the former Dutch-German dialect continuum. ... Some basics of Germanic linguistics : in linguistics, German and Germanic do not have the same meaning: see Germanic. ... Alemannic Separatism is a political movement advocating the unification of the Alemannic speech areas northeast of the Rhine and Lake Constance with Switzerland and Federal Republic of Germany, lie in the reunification of Germany, the apparent dismantling of the Welfare State, the economic problems of Germany, and the introduction of... Central German (in German: Mitteldeutsch) is a group of German dialects spread from the Rhineland to Thuringia, south of Low German and north of Upper German. ...

• Upper German
  • the Bavarians (ca. 10 million) form the Austro-Bavarian ethno-linguistic group together with the Austrians.
  • the Swabians (ca. 10 million) form the Alemannic group together with the Alemannic Swiss, the Alsatians and the Vorarlbergians.
• Central German dialect group (ca. 45 million)
  • Central Franconian, forms a dialectal unity with Luxembourgish
  • Rhine Franconian (Ripuarian, Kölsch)
  • Thuringian
  • Hessian
  • Upper Saxon
  • High Prussian
  • German Silesian
• Yiddish dialects
• Low German (ca. 3-10 million), forms a dialectal unity with Dutch Low Saxon

Some basics of Germanic linguistics : in linguistics, German and Germanic do not have the same meaning: see Germanic. ... Geography Bavaria shares international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. ... Austro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German varieties. ... Swabians (German: Schwaben or Schwabenland) is both a historically grown and linguistic (see Swabian German) group in Germany. ... The term Alemannic can have several meanings. ... Main languages in Switzerland[1]: German (63. ... 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. ... Vorarlberg is the westernmost state (Land) of Austria. ... Central German (in German: Mitteldeutsch) is a group of German dialects spread from the Rhineland to Thuringia, south of Low German and north of Upper German. ... A name for the following set of dialect groups: Ripuarian Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Belgium, and Dutch Limburg) Moselle Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and France) Luxembourgish (Luxembourg, Belgium and France) Luxembourgish is often included within Moselle Franconian, but sometimes regarded as a separate group. ... Luxembourgish (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch, French: , German: , Walloon: ), also spelled Luxemburgish, is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ... Rhenish Franconian (in German: Rheinfränkisch) is a dialect family of West Central German. ... Ripuarian, Rhinish, or Middle Franconian is a western Germanic dialect group in Rhineland, eastern Belgium and southern Dutch Limburg from northwest of Düsseldorf and Cologne to Aachen in the west, and Siegen in the east. ... Kölsch is a very closely related small set of dialects, or variants, of the Ripuarian Middle German group of languages. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 sq. ... The term Hessian refers to the inhabitants of the German state of Hesse. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... High Prussian (German: ), sometimes known simply as Prussian (Preußisch), is a dialect of East Central German that developed in the region of East Prussia. ... Germans are a notable national minority in Poland, consisting of almost 150,000 people. ... // Regional variation Yiddish has two main branches: Western and Eastern. ... Low German (also called Niederdeutsch, Plattdeutsch or Plattdüütsch) is a name for the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch (Low German), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch (Low Saxon). Low refers to... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Ethnic nationalism

Main article: Völkisch movement

The reaction evoked in the decades after the Napoleonic Wars was a strong ethnic nationalism that emphasized, and sometimes overemphasized, the cultural bond between Germans. Later alloyed with the high standing and world-wide influence of German science at the end of the 19th century, and to some degree enhanced by Bismarck's military successes and the following 40 years of almost perpetual economic boom (the Gründerzeit), it gave the Germans an impression of cultural supremacy, particularly compared to the Slavs. The völkisch movement is the German interpretation of the Populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the organic. ... Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings (ethnicities); the underlying assumption is that ethnicities should be politically distinct. ... “Bismarck” redirects here. ... The Gründerzeit (German, literally: the Founding Epoch) denotes the first decades after the foundation in 1871 of the Prussia-led German Empire. ... 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. ...

Ethnic nationalism has essentially been a taboo in German society since World War II, but it has seen a limited comeback since German reunification, with the ethnic nationalist National Democratic Party of Germany receiving 1.6% of the popular vote in the 2005 federal election. 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... German reunification (German: ) took place on October 3, 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, in English commonly called East Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, in English commonly called West Germany). The start of this reunification process is commonly referred to... The National Democratic Party of Germany (German: , NPD) is a German nationalist political party. ... German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. ...

Religion

Today, the German identity includes both Protestants and Catholics. The groups are about equally represented in Germany, contrary to the belief that it is mostly Protestant. The Protestant Reformation started in the German cultural sphere, when in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche ("castle church") in Wittenberg. Among Protestant denominations, the Lutherans are well represented by the Germans, while Calvinists are historically only to be found near the Dutch border and in a few cities like Worms and Speyer. The late 19th century saw a strong movement among the Jewry in Germany and Austria to assimilate and define themselves as à priori Germans, i.e. as Germans of Jewish faith (a similar movement occurred in Hungary). In conservative circles, this was not always embraced, and, for the Nazis, it was unacceptable. The Nazi rule led to the death of almost all of the relatively small number of domestic Jews. Today Germany attempts to successfully integrate the Gastarbeiter and later arrived refugees from ex-Yugoslavia, especially Bosnian Muslims. “Reformation” redirects here. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... The 95 Theses. ... Statue of Martin Luther in the main square Wittenberg, officially [Die] Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12° 59 E, 51° 51 N, on the Elbe river. ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Calvinism is a theological... Wormser Dom Worms (pronounced ) is a city in the southwest of Germany. ... Speyer (English formerly Spires) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gastarbeiter is a German word that literally means Guest Worker. It referred to people who had moved to Germany for jobs since the end of World War II, but is considered outdated. ... 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. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...

Minorities

In recent years, the German-speaking countries of Europe have been confronted with demographic changes due to decades of immigration. These changes have led to renewed debates (especially in the Federal Republic of Germany) about who should be considered German. Non-ethnic Germans now make up more than 8% of the German population, mostly the descendants of guest workers who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. Turks, Italians, Greeks, and people from the Balkans in southeast Europe form the largest single groups of non-ethnic Germans in the country. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

In addition, a significant number of German citizens (close to 5%), although traditionally considered ethnic Germans, are in fact foreign-born and thus often retain the cultural identities and languages or their native countries in addition to being Germans, a fact that sets them apart from those born and raised in Germany. Of course, the idea of foreign-born repatriates is not unique to Germany. The English and British equivalent legal term is lex sanguinis, which is exactly the same principle- that citizenship is inherited by the child from his/her parents. It has nothing to do with ethnicity. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jus sanguinis (Latin for right of blood) is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born to a parent who is a national or citizen of that state. ...

Ethnic German repatriates from the former Soviet Union are a separate case and constitute by far the largest such group and the second largest ethno-national minority group in Germany. The repatriation provisions made for ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe are unique and have historical basis, since these were areas where Germans traditionally lived. A controversial example of repatriation involves the Volga Germans, descendents of ethnic Germans who settled in Russia during the 18th century, who have been able to claim German citizenship even though neither they nor their ancestors for several generations have ever been to Germany. In contrast, persons of German descent in North America, South America, Africa, etc. do not have an automatic right of return and must actually prove their eligibility for German citizenship according to the clauses pertaining to the German nationality law. Other countries with post-Soviet Union repatriation programs include Greece, Israel and South Korea. 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. ... German citizenship is based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis. ...

Unlike these ethnic German repatriates, some non-German ethnic minorities in the country, including some who were born and raised in the Federal Republic, choose to remain non-citizens. Although citizenship laws have been recently relaxed to allow such individuals to become nationalized citizens, many choose not to give up allegiance to the countries of their ethnic roots and continue to live in Germany under an ambiguous status of an alien resident or a guest worker, especially since this status, though lacking certain political rights, often does not impede one's ability to work, get free public higher education and travel abroad.

As a result, close to 10 million people permanently living in the Federal Republic today distinctly differ from the majority of the population in a variety of ways such as race, ethnicity, religion, language and culture, yet often fail to be recognized as minorities in official statistical sources due to the fact that such sources traditionally survey only German citizens, and under the so called jus sanguinis system, that has been in effect in Germany since the 19th century, and has only recently been partially replaced by the alternative jus soli system. This situation contributes to the invisibility of Germany's minorities making Germany technically one of the most ethnically homogeneous nation in the world, whereas in all practicality the Federal Republic is today one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Europe. Jus sanguinis (Latin for right of blood) is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born to a parent who is a national or citizen of that state. ... Jus soli (Latin for right of the territory), or birthright citizenship, is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born in the territory of the related state. ...

References

German-Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Although the United States currently has no official language, it is largely monolingual with English being the de facto national language. ... 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. ... Map of the dominant self-identified ethnic origins of ancestors per census division. ... Not by Their Own Will. ... “PDF” redirects here. ... A kibibyte (a contraction of kilo binary byte) is a unit of information or computer storage, commonly abbreviated KiB (never kiB). 1 kibibyte = 210 bytes = 1,024 bytes The kibibyte is closely related to the kilobyte, which can be used either as a synonym for kibibyte or to refer to... Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... Population, 1961-2004 The demographics of Australia cover basic statistics, most populous cites, ethnicity and religious affiliation. ... Opole Voivodship. ... The demographics of Poland describe the make-up of the country of Poland. ... Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which have heavily influenced the countrys languages and cultural practices. ... Austrians are a homogeneous people, although four decades of strong immigration have significantly altered the composition of the population of Austria. ... Population of the United States, 1790 to 2000 The demographics of the United States depict a largely urban nation, with 57 percent of its population living in places more than 100 miles away from the ocean (2003). ... European American is a term for an American of European descent, who are usually referred as White or Caucasian. ... Also referred to as Ingaevones, North Sea Germans (Ingwäonen, Nordsee-Germanen in German). ...

See also

German Americans are common in the US. Light blue indicates counties that are predominantly German ancestry.

• Germany
• Germanic peoples
• List of Germans
• German Jews
• List of Austrians
• List of Swiss people
• List of Alsatians and Lorrainians
• German diaspora
• Genetic history of Europe
• Organised persecution of ethnic Germans
• Names of the German people and language in other languages
• German idealism

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. ... German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... This is a list of famous Germans. ... ... The following list is a selection of famous Austrians. ... This is a list of famous Swiss and notable people from or resident in Switzerland and cantons forming present-day Switzerland. ... This is a list of well-known Alsatians and Lorrainians (particularly from the area of the Alsace-Lorraine (Elsaß-Lothringen). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article describes demographic and genetic flows into and around European populations, as a product of human migrations. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... 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 idealism was a philosophical movement in Germany in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. ...

External links

• Famous Germans
• German, Austrian and Swiss inventors
• Top 100 Germans