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German Chileans

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German-Chilean
chileno-aleman
File:Miguel kast.jpg
Notable German Chileans:
Tomás Hirsch • Rodolfo Armando Philippi • Miguel Kast • Evelyn Matthei
Regions with significant populations
Valdivia, Valparaíso, Santiago de Chile, Temuco, Talca, Concepción, Viña del Mar, Osorno, Puerto Varas.
Languages
Chilean Spanish, German
Religion
Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic and Protestant)
Related ethnic groups
German, German Americans, German-Argentinians, German-Brazilian, German Mexican, German-Paraguayan

German-Chileans (Template:Lang-es or Germano-chileno; Template:Lang-de) are an ethnic group in the south of the country, mainly in the Los Ríos and Los Lagos Regions. Their establishment dates to the second half of the 19th century.

Most of the thousands of German descendants (by surname) in the centre of Chile came from the southern provinces of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue.

While most of the group originates in Germany, the German-Chilean community also consists of Austrians, Swiss Germans, Silesians, Alsatians and German Argentines from neighboring Argentina.

History

Valdivian Settlement

The first mention of a German in Chile was in the 16th century, with the Pedro de Valdivia expedition. They were: Bartholomeus Blumenthal, founder of Talagante and first engineer in the remote colony, and Johann von Bohon, founder of La Serena.

With independence from Spain (1810), trade began with other countries, including Germany. The Chilean government encouraged German immigration in 1848, a time of revolution in Germany. Before that Bernhard Eunom Philippi recruited nine working families to emigrate from Hesse to Chile.

The origin of the German immigrants in Chile began with the Law of Selective Immigration of 1845. The objective of this law was to bring people of a medium social/high cultural level to colonize the southern regions of Chile; these were between Valdivia and Puerto Montt. Some report [citation needed] that 20,000 immigrated as a result. The process was administered by Vicente Pérez Rosales by mandate of the then-president Manuel Montt. The German immigrants revived the domestic economy and they changed the southern zones. An example of this constructive spirit was stated by the leader of the first colonists Carlos Anwandter, who proclaimed to all the colonists:

We shall be honest and laborious Chileans as the best of them, we shall defend our adopted country joining in the ranks of our new countrymen, against any foreign oppression and with the decision and firmness of the man that defends his country, his family and his interests. Never will have the country that adopts us as its children, reason to repent of such illustrated, human and generous proceeding,...
- Carlos Anwandter

The expansion and economic development of Valdivia were limited in the early 19th century. To stimulate economic development, the Chilean government initiated a highly-focused immigration program under Vicente Pérez Rosales as government representative.[citation needed] Through this program, thousands of Germans settled in the area, incorporating then-modern technology and know-how to develop agriculture and industry. Some of the new immigrants stayed in Valdivia but others were given forested land, which they cleared for farms[3]

Valdivia, situated at some distance from the coast, on the Calle-calle river, is a German town. Everywhere you meet German faces, German signboards and placards alongside the Spanish. There is a large German school, a church and various Vereine, large shoe-factories, and, of course, breweries...
- Carl Skottsberg

For ten years after the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, immigrants came from Germany. They established themselves principally in the Llanquihue, Osorno and Puerto Montt areas. This area continues as the only completely-German language settlement in Chile.

Valdivia prospered with industries, including shipyards, the Hoffmann Gristmill, the Rudloff shoe factory and many more enterprises. The steel mills of Corral were the biggest recorded private investment in Chile at the time, and were the first steel mills in South America. In 1891 Valdivia became a commune according to a law that created that subdivisions in Chile. After that the Malleco Viaduct had been built in 1890 the railroads advanced further south reaching Valdivia in 1895. The first train with passengers arrived in 1899.

The German military culture had great influence on the Army of Chile. At the end of the 19th century, adopted the Prussian military tradition, especially after the Civil War of 1891. A German-Chilean, Emil Körner, reached the rank of commander-in-chief of the Army in 1900.

Subsequently, a new wave of German immigrants arrived in Chile, with many settling in Temuco, and Santiago. Many founded businesses; for example, Horst Paulmann's small store in the capital of the IX Region of the Araucanía grew into Cencosud, one of the largest businesses in the region.

German-Chilean relations

German values have influenced Chilean culture and economic development. For example,

  • The establishment of commercial houses and German shipping businesses in Valparaíso
  • The foundation of the German Club in 1838
  • The exploration of the Patagonia by the German Bernardo Phillipi, and his participation in the Chilean possession of the Strait of Magallanes
  • The German immigration to the south of Chile after World War II
  • Colonization and development of the city of Valdivia and the outskirts
  • The exploitation of the nitrate fields
  • The close relations between the ports of Valparaíso and Hamburg
  • The establishment of a number of Chilean-German fire companies. (Nearly 20)
  • Migration of ethnic Germans into Chile from Argentina in the early 20th century.

In Germany is also possible to find testimonies of the links between Chile and Germany. The building Chilehaus (The House of Chile) in the port of Hamburg symbolizes the past trade relations between the countries. The building was constructed in the 20th century, designed with the form of a bow of ship.

20th Century

During World War II, many German Jews fled to Chile before and during the Holocaust. For example, the families of Mario Kreutzberger and Tomás Hirsch came to Chile during this time.

After World War II, many leaders of the Nazi Germany tried to take refuge in the central and southern regions of the country, fleeing trials against them in Europe and elsewhere. Paul Schäfer even founded Colonia Dignidad, German enclave in the Maule Region and in which abuses against human rights were allegedly carried out.

German Chileans today

The exact number German-Chileans is unknown, because many of the early arrivals' descendants have intermarried and assimilated over the past 150 years. Almost 6,000 are known to have been born in Germany, and approximate figures suggest 300,000 direct descendants.[4]

Today the German language is still spoken by about 20,000 Chileans in daily life. There are German schools and German language newspapers and periodicals (e.g., CONDOR - a weekly newspaper, levy: 6,000 / economy in Chile).

Religious affiliations

Many Germans who migrated to Chile practice Roman Catholicism but there are others with Protestant affiliation. Germans introduced the first Evangelical Protestant (such as Lutheranism) churches to Chile. Many German Jews who escaped the Nazi persecution in the 1940s established synagogues.

Notable German Chileans

See also

Template:People of the German colonization of southern Chile

References

  1. ^ Deutscher als die Deutschen [1]
  2. ^ Die soziolinguistische Situation von Chilenen deutscher Abstammung [2]
  3. ^ Luis Otero, La Huella del Fuego: Historia de los bosques y cambios en el paisaje del sur de Chile (Valdivia, Editorial Pehuen)
  4. ^ Cf. Oliver Zöllner: Generating samples of diasporic minority populations: A Chilean example (2005). Internet resource Full article
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