Greeks in Germany

Greeks in Germany
Distribution of Greek nationals in Germany
Total population
2016, Greek Ethnic Origin 443,000
2016, Greek Citizens 348,475
2016, Born in Greece 274,060
2016, Born in Germany 74,415
Regions with significant populations
Berlin, Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, Munich, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Bielefeld
Languages
Greek and German
Religion
Predominantly Greek Orthodox Church some Islam (Greek Muslims)
Related ethnic groups
Greek diaspora

The Greeks in Germany (Greek: Έλληνες στη Γερμανία, romanized: Éllines sti Germanía; German: Griechen in Deutschland) comprise German residents or citizens of Greek heritage and Greeks who immigrated to Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, 453,000 people living in Germany in 2019 had full or partial Greek ancestry.[1] 363,650 of these were Greek citizens (including those with dual citizenship).[2]

History

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Groups by region
Modern Greece:

Constantinople and Asia Minor:

Africa:

Other regions:

Other groups:

Greek culture
Religion
Languages and dialects
Greek:

Other languages

History of Greece
(Ancient · Byzantine · Ottoman)

Significant immigration from Greece to Germany started around 1700, when the Ottoman Empire opened its borders. The first community was found in Leipzig at this time.

A second wave of immigration occurred when Otto of Wittelbach became King of Greece as Otto of Greece. Many Greeks came as students to Bavaria.

The last major wave took place following World War II, with the majority of today's Greek population arriving during this period. In those post-war years, West Germany sought workers for their expanding industries, while East Germany provided safe haven for Greek communists.

Many Greek children were involuntarily relocated to the German Democratic Republic by the Communist rebels during the Greek Civil War.

Education

The first Greek schools were created because of the number of Greeks immigrating to Germany. Since the first Greek school built in 1960 and up until 1990, over 1 million Greeks had immigrated to Germany. About 800,000 of those Greeks had after either a long-term or a short term stay gone back to Greece. Nowadays, every fifth of an estimated 47,000 students of Greek origin attends one of 35 Greek schools in Germany.

Demographics

See also: Academic achievement among different groups in Germany

The first Greeks came during the time of the Roman Empire to Central Europe. Among the major German cities Offenbach am Main and Stuttgart had the highest share of Greek migrants in 2011 according to German Census data. [3] Munich was home to the largest Greek community in Germany. According to the same census, there are also large Greek diaspora communities in Nordrhein-Westfalen, especially in Düsseldorf and Bielefeld.

Early Greek workers in Germany, in 1956
The place where the Griechenhaus stood, a court of Greek merchants in Leipzig
The Greek Salvator church in Munich
This Greek tavern, located in Neckargemuend near Heidelberg, was founded in 1882.
Number of Greeks in larger cities
# City People
1. Munich 26,613
2. Berlin 14,625
3. Stuttgart 13,757
4. Nuremberg 12,145
5. Düsseldorf 10,388
6. Frankfurt 6,381
7. Wuppertal 6,130
8. Hamburg 6,095
9. Cologne 5,841
10. Offenbach 5,230
11. Hanover 4,763
12. Dortmund 4,132
13. Bielefeld 3,765
14. Mannheim 3,341
15. Essen 3,000
16. Wiesbaden 2,774
17. Duisburg 2,381
18. Augsburg 2,219
19. Ludwigshafen 2,086
20. Krefeld 1,942
Greeks in Germany by Nationality[4]
YearPop.±%
1967200,951—    
1972389,426+93.8%
1977328,465−15.7%
1982300,824−8.4%
1987256,396−14.8%
1992345,902+34.9%
1997363,202+5.0%
2002359,361−1.1%
2007294,891−17.9%
2012298,254+1.1%
2017362,245+21.5%

Muslims from Greece

See also: Turks of Western Thrace, Muslim minority of Greece, and Greek Muslims

There are some members of the Turks of Western Thrace who espouse a Turcophone identity including Turks of the Dodecanese among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany.[5][6] The majority of them immigrated from Western Thrace.[7] In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. This resulted in many Muslims leaving their homes and emigrating abroad, with estimates suggesting that there are now between 12,000[8] and 25,000[9] residing in Germany.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung in Privathaushalten nach Migrationshintergrund im weiteren Sinn nach ausgewählten Geburtsstaaten". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  2. ^ "Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Geschlecht und ausgewählten Staatsangehörigkeiten". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  3. ^ "Kartenseite: Griechen in Deutschland - Landkreise". kartenseite.wordpress.com. 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  4. ^ Knerr, Béatrice (2006). Vorweggenommene Erweiterungen: Wanderungsbewegungen aus Grenzgebieten in die EU. kassel university press GmbH. ISBN 9783899582819.
  5. ^ "Deutsche Minderheit in Germany - Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe".
  6. ^ Westerlund & Svanberg 1999, 320-321.
  7. ^ Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly 2007, 118.
  8. ^ Clogg 2002, 84.
  9. ^ International Assembly of Western Thrace Turks. "POLITICAL AND CIVIL ORGANISATION COMMISSION". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-05-19.

Bibliography

  • Clogg, Richard (2002). Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1-85065-705-X..
  • Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly (2007). Parliamentary Assembly: Working Papers 2007 Ordinary Session 22–26 January 2007. Council of Europe. ISBN 978-92-871-6191-8..
  • Westerlund, David; Svanberg, Ingvar (1999). Islam Outside the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-22691-8..

Further reading