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Revision as of 15:15, 26 May 2008

German-Argentines Germany Argentina

Notable German-Argentines
Gabriel Heinze · Néstor Kirchner · Héctor Germán Oesterheld
Carlos Reutemann · Milagros Schmoll · Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider
Regions with significant populations
Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Entre Ríos, La Pampa Province, Córdoba, Río Negro Province, Misiones, Chaco, Santa Fe, Neuquén.
Languages
Predominantly Rioplatense Spanish, minority speak German
Religion
Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic and Protestantism)
Related ethnic groups
German, German American, German-Chilean, German-Brazilian, German-Paraguayan, German Mexican, German-Canadian

German Argentines (German: Deutschargentinier, Spanish: germano argentinos) are Argentines of German descent. The term "German" is an extremely vague and imprecise concept. Ethnic Germans immigrated to the Argentina not only from Germany, but also from Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, former Yugoslavia and elsewhere across Europe. Some German-Argentines, or their ancestors, have originally settled in Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, or Uruguay first, then later on immigrated to Argentina. Germany as a political entity was founded only in 1871, but German language and culture have traditionally been of more importance than the country of origin as a basis for ethnic consciousness and nationalism. Beside that, "Germans" speak in many different dialects named after specific regions like Friesian, Pomeranian, Prussian, Swabian, Plautdietsch, Hunsrückisch, Volga Germans and others. Germans today make up the third largest group in Argentina with well over 1,200,000 Volga Germans alone. Thousands of German-Argentines had become professionals and technicians like doctors, bureaucrats, teachers and soldiers. They took strong influence into the Argentine education system and many German schools emerged. Many German businessmen and professionals believed that Argentina was industrializing and would become more dependent from German advanced technology. Indeed the Argentine military planned recruiting large numbers of German scientists and technologists for new steel and other industries. Also creating German-language newspapers, the Argentinisches Tageblatt meaning in German the "Argentine Daily".

German Immigration to Argentina

When the first wave of German physicists arrived in Argentina during the decade before 1914, they would have found a large German community centered around the capital. Between 1885 and the First World War the population of Argentina doubled with the influx of three million immigrants, 100,000 of whom spoke German. Strong German communities developed in Argentina, and especially in Buenos Aires with their own schools, hospitals, shops, theaters, sport clubs and banks. Many in the upper middle class feared assimilation and maintained strong ties to German culture, providing high-quality German instruction so that their children would not be at a disadvantage when they returned to Germany. German power lay in the manpower of the German colonies, in the political force of the National Socialist and Pan-German ideologies, in the strong personal and political influence exerted by the two on Argentine society, and in the German economic empire extended into Argentina. During the 1920s and 1930s the German-speaking collectives had strong influence in Argentine politics. After World War I and World War II due to the social situation in Germany and due to the fact that large German colonies already existed, many German speakers emigrated again to Argentina. After the large Wave of Germans coming to Argentina in World War I and II, another notable time period was in 1970-1 where Germans emigrated to Argentina than to the USA (up to 250,000 per year).

Volga German Immigration to Argentina

Queen of the German Collectivity in the Fiesta Nacional del Inmigrante in Oberá, Misiones.
See also: Volga Germans

Upon the invitation of Catherine the Great, 25,000 Germans immigrated to the Volga valley of Russia to establish 104 German Villages from 1764-1767. A century after the first Germans had settled in the Volga region, Russia passed legislation that revoked many of the privileges promised to them by Catherine the Great. The sentiment in Russia became decidedly anti-German. Russia first made changes to the German local government. In 1874, a new military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in the military for 6 years. For the German colonists, this law represented a breach of faith. In the 1880s the Russia began a subtle attack on the German schools.

Just when Russia was abridging the privileges granted to the Germans in an earlier era, several nations in the Americas were attempting to attract settlers by offering inducements reminiscent of those of Catherine the Great. Soon after the military service bill became law, both Protestant and Catholic Volga Germans gathered and choose delegations to journey across the Atlantic to examine settlement conditions in countries like th United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada.

Many Catholic Volga Germans chose South America as their new homeland because the official religion in Brazil and Argentina was Catholic. The ratio of Catholics to Protestant Volga Germans in South America was 7 to 1. The opposite was true in the Volga, Protestant Volga Germans outnumbered Catholics by about 2 to 1. So in spite of the numerous stories told of Volga German immigrants being diverted to South America against their will or being sent there because they were denied entry to the US due to health reasons, Brazil and Argentina were the planned destination of many Catholic Volga German immigrants.

Under the guidance of Andreas Basgall, Volga Germans started to relocate to Argentina from Brazil in December 1877 and in January 1878 they founded the first Volga German colony of Hinojo, in the province of Buenos Aries in Argentina. Some large groups of Volga Germans on ships destined for Brazil were diverted to Argentina. These people settled in Colonia General Alvear in the province of Entre Ríos. Additional Volga Germans, some from Brazil and others directly from Russia, arrived in Argentina over the next few years. Colonia General Alvear was for many years the main settlement of Volga Germans in Argentina. Nearly 90% of the first Volga Germans that arrived in Argentina settled there.

The first census of the Volga Germans in Argentina was performed on March 31, 1881 in "Colonia General Alvear", Entre Rios Province, Argentina. A complete census index of all the villages within the colony villages can be found here [2]. This colony was composed of 6 villages: Asunción (Spatzenkutter), Concepción (Valle María), San José (Brasilera), Agricultores (Protestante), San Francisco (Pfeiffer) and Salto (Koeller). This census provides: Date of arrival in the Colony (24 groups between 22-01-1878 and 24-04-1880), Name, Nationality, Marital status, age and literacy. Five of six villages were Catholic. The single Protestant or Lutheran village was Agricultores (Protestante or Protestantendorf).

From both starting points of Colonia General Alvear and of Colonia Hinojo they spread in all directions. There are still fifteen villages in Entre Ríos populated by descendants of the original settlers, twelve of them are of Catholic origin and the remaining three, Protestant. However, most Volga Germans live in small cities like Ramírez, Crespo, Urdinarrain, Galarza and Maciá where they usually are majority. Expansion from Colonia Hinojo went westwards comprising south of Buenos Aires and the province of La Pampa; from there they reached Córdoba and Chaco. Catholic settlers in La Pampa came from south of Buenos Aires and Protestants from Entre Ríos. The former founded Santa María and Santa Teresa, the latter Guatraché, San Martín and Alpachiri. Source: "Los Alemanes del Volga" 1977 Victor Popp - Nicolás Dening

Upon arriving in Argentina, the Volga German families were very happy even though they had to begin from scratch, because they were finally living in freedom. In contrast to their Volga German countrymen in Russia, they would never be exiled, they did not experience famines like those of 1921 and 1933 in the Volga region nor any mass shootings and deportation as under Stalin's regime. Finally, they were never dispossessed, they kept their land and their animals -- something they remain proud of to this day. The immigration of Germans from Russia to Argentina kept a steady pace until the beginning of World War I. Crespo in Entre Ríos Province and Coronel Suárez in Buenos Aires Province became the most outstanding centers of colonization, as in both cities people of Volga German descent make up the majority of the population. At the present time, the descendants of these people live disseminated all over Argentina. The numerous progeny of the original founders and the division and distribution of their properties into smaller lots forced many of them to abandon the original colonization sites and find new occupations.

The fact that Argentina appears among the most important grain producers of the world is, in part, responsibility of its citizens of Volga German origin.

In 1927 only 6,000 Volga Germans in Brazil as compared to 70,000 in Argentina.

Today the Volga-German population alone in Argentina is well over 1,200,000.

Historical Ties with Argentina and Germany

Argentina and Germany had close ties to each other since the immigration of Germans to Argentina. A flourishing trade developed between Germany and Argentina as early as the German Unification, Germany had a privileged position in the Argentine economy. Later on, Argentina maintained a strong economic relationship with both Germany and Great Britain and supported them with supplies during World War I.

The military connection between Argentina and Prussia has often been emphasized, and there can be no doubt that sympathy for Germany among the general staff in Buenos Aires contributed to establishing Argentina's policy of neutrality during the two world wars. From the point of view of Argentine strategists at the end of the nineteenth century, it was a clever move to fall in line with the strongest European war machine. Great Britain and North America became aware of the threat that Argentina's German-speakers, which was a quarter million strong, acted as the Reich's agent. There was indeed some support for Nazi Germany among some Argentines, although many also viewed Hitler's rise to power and militarism with suspicion.

German impact on culture in Argentina

Oktoberfest in Villa General Belgrano.

Food

The influence of German culture has also impacted Argentine cuisine, this trend is especially apparent in the field of desserts. The pastries known as facturas are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas (from German Halbmond), are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the "Berliner" known as borlas de Fraile ("friar's tassels"), and the rolls called piononos. The facturas were re-christened with local names given the difficult phonology of German, and usually Argentinized by the addition of a dulce of leche filling. That was also the case of the Kreppel, which are also called torta fritas in Argentina, and were introduced by German immigrants. In addition, dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) and many different kinds of sausage like bratwurst and others have also made it into mainstream Argentine cuisine.

Language

Today, most German Argentines do not speak German. However, as over 1,800,000 [3] Argentinians do, it has become a language heard all over the country, due to the many business started by German-Argentines and Germans alike. For this reason, it has also become an important business language: it is currently the fourth most spoken language in Argentina. [4]

German Colonies in Argentina

This is a partial list

Buenos Aires Province

Entre Ríos Province

  • Colonia General Alvear (1878), includes the following 5 hamlets:
Aldea Valle María (Marienthal)
Aldea Campo María (Spazenkutter)
Aldea Salto (Kehler) or Santa Cruz
Aldea San Francisco (Pfeifer)
Aldea Protestante
  • Aldea Brasilera (1879)
  • Aldea María Luisa (1883)
  • Aldea San Juan (1889)
  • Aldea San Antonio (1889)
  • Aldea Santa Celia (1889)
  • Aldea San Miguel (1899)
  • Aldea Santa Anita (1900)
  • Aldea San Isidro (1921)
  • Villa Paranacito (1906)

La Pampa Province

  • Colonia Santa María (1909)
  • Colonia San José (1910)
  • Colonia Santa Teresa (1921)

Córdoba Province

Chaco Province

Santa Fe Province

Formosa Province

Neuquén Province

Río Negro Province

Chubut Province

Misiones Province

  • Eldorado (1919)
  • Puerto Rico
  • Monte Carlo
  • Andresito

Quilmes

Cervecería y maltería or Quilmes Beer Company is an Argentine Brewery founded in 1888 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, by Otto Bemberg, a German immigrant. His Daughter María Luisa Bemberg took over the company until she died in 1995 and her son, Carlos Miguens Bemberg was the director from 1989 until his resignation on May 17, 2006.

San Carlos de Bariloche

Swiss Chalet architecture of San Carlos de Bariloche.

Like many cities settled by Germans, its development was greatly influenced by them and today the city has many examples of Chalet-style architecture brought by German, Swiss and Austrian immigrants. It was named after Carlos Wiederhold, a pioneer who settled the region, and the city has become one of Argentina's top tourist destinations.

Some Famous German-Argentines

See also: List of German Argentines

(this is not an exhaustive list)

References

  1. ^ [1] "Though her father (Rene Von Drachenberg) is of German descent and her mother (Sylvia Galeano) has Spanish-Italian roots, both her parents are native Argentinians."
  • Schönwald, M.: Deutschland und Argentinien nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Politische und wirtschaftliche Beziehungen und deutsche Auswanderung 1945-1955, (= Sammlung Schöningh zur Geschichte und Gegenwart).
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