Germans
German: Deutsche | |
---|---|
Regions with significant populations | |
Germany | 72,569,978[a] |
United States | 534,000[b] c. 42,600,000[3] |
Brazil | 21,000[c] c. 5,000,000[4][5] |
Canada | 157,000[d] c. 3,322,405[6] |
Australia | 125,000[e] 1,026,140[7] |
Kazakhstan | c. 900,000[8] |
Russia | 142,000[f] c. 840,000[8] |
Argentina | 9,000[g] c. 500,000[9] |
Switzerland | 357,000[h] |
United Kingdom | 310,000[i] |
Hungary | 36,000[j] c. 250,000[8] |
New Zealand | 25,000[k]
c. 200,000[l] |
Austria | 233,000[m] |
Italy | 211,000[n] |
France | 203,000[o] |
Spain | 201,000[p] |
Poland | 101,000[q] 148,000 (of whom 45,000 declared solely German ethnicity)[11] |
Turkey | 102,592[12] |
Mexico | 7,000[r]
c. 90,000[s] |
Chile | 8,000[t]
c. 500,000 [14] |
South Africa | 17,000[u]
c. 75,000[9] |
Romania | 34,071[v] c. 22,900[15] |
Slovakia | 8,537[16][17] |
Germans (German: Deutsche, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə] ⓘ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language.[18][19] The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War II, defines a German as a German citizen.[20] During the 19th and much of the 20th century, discussions on German identity were dominated by concepts of a common language, culture, descent, and history.[21] Today, the German language is widely seen as the primary, though not exclusive, criterion of German identity.[22] Estimates on the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 to 150 million, most of whom live in Germany.[23]
The history of Germans as an ethnic group began with the separation of a distinct Kingdom of Germany from the eastern part of the Frankish Empire under the Ottonian dynasty in the 10th century, forming the core of the Holy Roman Empire. In subsequent centuries the political power and population of this empire grew considerably. It expanded eastwards, and eventually a substantial number of Germans migrated further eastwards into Eastern Europe. The empire itself was politically divided between many small princedoms, cities and bishoprics. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, many of these states found themselves in bitter conflict concerning the rise of Protestantism.
In the 19th century, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, and German nationalism began to grow. The Kingdom of Prussia incorporated most Germans into its German Empire in 1871, and a substantial additional number of Germans were in the multiethnic kingdom of Austria-Hungary. During this time, a large number of Germans emigrated to the New World, particularly to the United States, especially to present-day Pennsylvania. Large numbers also emigrated to Canada and Brazil, and they established sizable communities in New Zealand and Australia. The Russian Empire also included a substantial German population.
Following the end of
Owing to their long history of political fragmentation, Germans are culturally diverse and often have strong regional identities. Arts and sciences are an integral part of German culture, and the Germans have been represented by many prominent personalities in a significant number of disciplines, including Nobel prize laureates where Germany is ranked third among countries of the world in the number of total recipients.
Names
The English term Germans is derived from the ethnonym Germani, which was used for Germanic peoples in ancient times.[24][25] Since the early modern period, it has been the most common name for the Germans in English. The term Germans may also be applied to any citizens, natives or inhabitants of Germany, regardless of whether they are considered to have German ethnicity.
In some contexts, people of German descent are also called Germans.[19][18] In historical discussions the term "Germans" is also occasionally used as a way to refer to members of the Germanic peoples during the time of the Roman empire.[18][26][27]
The German
History
Ancient history
The first information about the peoples living in what is now Germany was provided by the Roman general and politician Julius Caesar, who gave an account of his conquest of Gaul in the 1st century BC. Gaul included parts of what is now Germany, west of the Rhine river. He specifically noted the potential future threat which could come from the related people east of the river. Under Caesar's successors, the Romans began to conquer and control the entire region between the Rhine and the Elbe which centuries later constituted the core of medieval Germany. These efforts were significantly hampered by the victory of a local alliance led by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, which is considered a defining moment in German history.[28] The early Germanic peoples were later famously described in more detail in Germania by the 1st century Roman historian Tacitus. At this time, the Germanic peoples, or Germani, were fragmented into a large number of peoples who were frequently in conflict with both the Roman Empire and one another.[29] He described them as a diverse group, dominating a much larger area than Germany, stretching to the Vistula in the east, and Scandinavia in the north.
At the time of Caesar's invasion, much of Central Europe was inhabited by
Medieval history
German ethnicity emerged in medieval times among the descendants of the Romanized Germanic peoples in the area of modern western Germany, between the Rhine and Elbe rivers, including Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Thuringii, Alemanni and Baiuvarii.[28] These peoples had been under the dominance of the western Franks starting with
By the early 9th century AD, large parts of Europe were united under the rule of the Frankish leader
A warrior nobility dominated the
Further south,
Trade increased and there was a specialization of the arts and crafts.[38] In the late Middle Ages the German economy grew under the influence of urban centers, which increased in size and wealth and formed powerful leagues, such as the Hanseatic League and the Swabian League, in order to protect their interests, often through supporting the German kings in their struggles with the nobility.[37] These urban leagues significantly contributed to the development of German commerce and banking. German merchants of Hanseatic cities settled in cities throughout Northern Europe beyond the German lands.[39]
Modern history
The Habsburg dynasty managed to maintain their grip upon the imperial throne in the early modern period. While the empire itself continued to be largely de-centralized, the Habsburgs own personal power increased outside of the core German lands. Charles V personally inherited control of the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, the wealthy low countries (roughly modern Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia, and the Dukedom of Milan. Of these, the Bohemian and Hungarian titles remained connected to the imperial throne for centuries, making Austria a powerful multilingual empire in its own right. On the other hand, the low countries went to the Spanish crown and continued to evolve separately from Germany.
The introduction of printing by the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg contributed to the formation of a new understanding of faith and reason. At this time, the German monk Martin Luther pushed for reforms within the Catholic Church. Luther's efforts culminated in the Protestant Reformation.[38]
Religious schism was a leading cause of the Thirty Years' War, a conflict that tore apart the Holy Roman Empire and its neighbours, leading to the death of millions of Germans. The terms of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) ending the war, included a major reduction in the central authority of the Holy Roman Emperor.[40] Among the most powerful German states to emerge in the aftermath was Protestant Prussia, under the rule of the House of Hohenzollern.[41] Charles V and his Habsburg dynasty defended Roman Catholicism.
In the 18th century, German culture was significantly influenced by the Enlightenment.[40]
After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of German unity began to emerge in the 18th century.
Throughout the 19th century, Prussia continued to grow in power.
In the years following unification, German society was radically changed by numerous processes, including industrialization, rationalization, secularization and the rise of capitalism.
What many Germans saw as the "humiliation of Versailles",
The German states of West Germany and East Germany became focal points of the Cold War, but were reunified in 1990. Although there were fears that the reunified Germany might resume nationalist politics, the country is today widely regarded as a "stablizing actor in the heart of Europe" and a "promoter of democratic integration".[45]
Language
German is the native language of most Germans. It is the key marker of German ethnic identity.[24][29] German is a West Germanic language closely related to Frisian (in particular North Frisian and Saterland Frisian), Luxembourgish, English, Dutch, and Low German.[24] Modern Standard German is based on High German and Central German, and is the first or second language of most Germans, but notably not the Volga Germans.[47]
Low German, which is often considered to be a distinct language from both German and Dutch, was the historical language of most of northern Germany, and is still spoken by many Germans, often as a second language.[citation needed]
Geographic distribution
It is estimated that there are over 100 million Germans today, most of whom live in Germany, where they constitute the majority of the population. [48] There are also sizable populations of Germans in Austria, Switzerland, the United States, Brazil, France, Kazakhstan, Russia, Argentina, Canada, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Paraguay, and Namibia.[8][9]
Culture
The Germans are marked by great regional diversity, which makes identifying a single German culture quite difficult.
Popular German dishes include brown bread and stew. Germans consume a high amount of alcohol, particularly beer, compared to other European peoples. Obesity is relatively widespread among Germans.[49]
Carnival (German: Karneval, Fasching, or Fastnacht) is an important part of German culture, particularly in Southern Germany and the Rhineland. An important German festival is the Oktoberfest.[49]
A steadily shrinking majority of Germans are
Identity
A German ethnic identity began to emerge during the early medieval period.[53] These peoples came to be referred to by the High German term diutisc, which means "ethnic" or "relating to the people". The German endonym Deutsche is derived from this word.[24] In subsequent centuries, the German lands were relatively decentralized, leading to the maintenance of a number of strong regional identities.[36][37]
The German nationalist movement emerged among German intellectuals in the late 18th century. They saw the Germans as a people united by language and advocated the unification of all Germans into a single nation state, which was partially achieved in 1871. By the late 19th and early 20th century, German identity came to be defined by a shared descent, culture, and history.
See also
- Ethnic groups in Europe
- German diaspora
- Die Deutschen, ZDF's documentary television series
- Anti-German sentiment
- Germanophile
- Persecution of Germans
- Demographics of Germany
Notes
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there on 31 December 2020 according to official census data[1]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ People living in New Zealand having German ancestry[10]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ About 15,000 citizens of Germany plus 75,000 people of German descent[13]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there[2]
- ^ Citizens of Germany living there, according to Eurostat in 2020
References
- ^ "Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht 2020" (in German). Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". Migration Policy Institute. 10 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Table B04006 – People Reporting Ancestry – 2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "German Immigration to Brazil". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-19-936643-9. Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (17 June 2019). "Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Ancestry | Australia | Community profile". Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Haarmann 2015, p. 313. "Of the 100 million German speakers worldwide, about three quarters (76 million) live in Germany, where they account for 92 percent of the population. Populations of Germans live elsewhere in Central and Western Europe, with the largest communities in Austria (7.6 million), Switzerland (4.2 million), France (1.2 million), Kazakhstan (900,000), Russia (840,000), Poland (700,000), Italy (280,000), and Hungary (250,000). Some 1.6 million U.S. citizens speak German as their first language, the largest number of German speakers overseas."
- ^ a b c Moser 2011, pp. 171–172. "The Germans live in Central Europe, mostly in Germany... The largest populations outside of these countries are found in the United States (5 million), Brazil (3 million), the former Soviet Union (2 million), Argentina (500,000), Canada (450,000), Spain (170,000), Australia (110,000), the United Kingdom (100,000), and South Africa (75,000). "
- ^ Bade, James N. (2015). "Germans". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
In the early 2000s, about 200,000 New Zealanders were likely to have German heritage.
- ^ Przynależność narodowo-etniczna ludności – wyniki spisu ludności i mieszkań 2011 Archived 15 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine. GUS. Materiał na konferencję prasową w dniu 29. 01. 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ [1] Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine' 'Türkiye'de ikamet eden yabancı ülke vatandaşlarının sayısı ne? (Turkish)Retrieved 22 November 2022.
- ^ Burchard, Gretha (April 2010). "The German Population in Mexico: Maintenance of German culture and integration into Mexican society" (PDF). p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
the German embassy in Mexico City reports an estimated number of 15.000 Germans and 75.000 people of German origin living in Mexico
- ^ "Alemanes en Chile: Entre el pasado colono y el presente empresarial | DW | 31.03.2011". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- ^ Bogdan Păcurar (30 December 2022). "Recensământ 2022. România are 19.053.815 locuitori. Țara noastră a pierdut peste un milion de locuitori față de acum 10 ani". Digi24.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "SODB2021 – Obyvatelia – Základné výsledky". www.scitanie.sk. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "SODB2021 – Obyvatelia – Základné výsledky". www.scitanie.sk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
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- ^ ISBN 978-0199571123. Archivedfrom the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (ed.). "Article 116". Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
Unless otherwise provided by a law, a German within the meaning of this Basic Law is a person who possesses German citizenship or who has been admitted to the territory of the German Reich within the boundaries of 31 December 1937 as a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such person.
- ^ a b c Moser 2011, p. 172. "German identity developed through a long historical process that led, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to the definition of the German nation as both a community of descent (Volksgemeinschaft) and shared culture and experience. Today, the German language is the primary though not exclusive criterion of German identity."
- ^ Haarmann 2015, p. 313. "After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of national unity as Germans began to evolve in the eighteenth century, and the German language became a key marker of national identity."
- ^ Moser 2011, p. 171. "The Germans live in Central Europe, mostly in Germany... Estimates of the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 million to 150 million, depending on how German is defined, but it is probably more appropriate to accept the lower figure."
- ^ a b c d e f Haarmann 2015, p. 313.
- ISBN 9780192830982. Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Germans". Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ISBN 9780191735257. Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archivedfrom the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
Within the boundaries of present-day Germany... Germanic peoples such as the eastern Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Thuringians, Alemanni, and Bavarians—all speaking West Germanic dialects—had merged Germanic and borrowed Roman cultural features. It was among these groups that a German language and ethnic identity would gradually develop during the Middle Ages.
- ^ a b c d Moser 2011, p. 172.
- ^ a b c d e Minahan 2000, pp. 288–289.
- ^ Steuer 2021, p. 32.
- ^ Steuer 2021, p. 89, 1310.
- ^ Timpe & Scardigli 2010, p. 636.
- ^ Todd 1999, p. 11.
- ^ a b c Haarmann 2015, pp. 313–314.
- ^ a b c d Haarmann 2015, p. 314.
- ^ a b c d e Minahan 2000, pp. 289–290.
- ^ a b c d Moser 2011, p. 173.
- ^ Minahan 2000, p. 290.
- ^ a b Moser 2011, pp. 173–174.
- ^ a b c Minahan 2000, pp. 290–291.
- ^ a b c d e Moser 2011, p. 174.
- ^ a b Minahan 2000, pp. 291–292.
- ^ a b Haarmann 2015, pp. 314–315.
- ^ a b c Haarmann 2015, p. 316.
- JSTOR 42568610.
- ^ Minahan 2000, p. 288.
- ^ Moser 2011, pp. 171–172.
- ^ a b c d Moser 2011, pp. 176–177.
- ^ Waldman & Mason 2005, pp. 334–335.
- ^ a b Moser 2011, p. 176.
- ^ Minahan 2000, p. 174.
- ^ Haarmann 2015, p. 313 "Germans are a Germanic (or Teutonic) people that are indigenous to Central Europe... Germanic tribes have inhabited Central Europe since at least Roman times, but it was not until the early Middle Ages that a distinct German ethnic identity began to emerge."
- ^ Rock 2019, p. 32.
- ^ a b c Rock 2019, p. 33.
- ^ Rock 2019, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Rock 2019, p. 34.
Bibliography
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- Steuer, Heiko (2021). Germanen aus Sicht der Archäologie: Neue Thesen zu einem alten Thema. de Gruyter.
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Further reading
- ISBN 0452006228. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ISBN 0231105630. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ISBN 1842122045. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- Mallory, J. P. (1991). "Germans". In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language Archeology and Myth. Thames & Hudson. pp. 84–87. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- S2CID 241563332.
- ISBN 9781405117142. Archivedfrom the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-521-19404-4. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020.