Germans of Romania

The Germans of Romania (german: Rumäniendeutsche; ro, Germanii din România) represent one of the most significant historical ethnic minorities of Romania. During the interwar period, the total number of ethnic Germans in this country amounted to as much as 800,000 (according to some sources and estimates dating to 1939, just on the verge of World War II), a figure which has subsequently fallen to 36,000 (according to the 2011 census).

Following the decreasing trend of the overall population of Romania, the German community of the country is expected to continue shrinking in numbers as well, as it will later be officially reported in the near future by the partial results of the 2022 census.

Overview and classification of Romanian-Germans

The Germans of Romania (or Romanian-Germans) are not a single, unitary, homogeneous group, but rather a series of various regional sub-groups, each with their different culture, traditions, dialects, and history.

This claim stems from the fact that various German-speaking populations had previously arrived in the territory of present-day Romania in different waves or stages of settlement, initially starting with the High Middle Ages, firstly to southern and northeastern Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (some of them even crossing the outer Carpathians to neighbouring Moldavia and Wallachia), then subsequently during the Modern Age in other Habsburg-ruled lands (such as Bukovina, at the time part of Cisleithania, or the Banat). Subsequently, the Romanian Old Kingdom was also colonized by Germans, firstly in Dobruja and then gradually in Moldavia and Wallachia.

Therefore, given their rather complex geographic background, besides major border changes took place in the region throughout history (after World War I, Romania expanded its territory from the pre-war to . In order to understand their language, culture, customs, and history, the Germans of Romania must be regarded as the following independent sub-groups:

* Transylvanian Saxons – the largest and oldest German community in the territory of modern-day Romania (often simply equated with all Romanian-Germans);
* Transylvanian Landlers – expelled Protestants (Evangelical Lutherans) from the region of Salzkammergut, contemporary Austria to southern Transylvania during the 18th century;
* Most Banat Swabians as well as the entirety of the Sathmar SwabiansMonica Barcan, Adalbert Millitz, ''The German Nationality in Romania'' (1978), page 42: "The Satu Mare Swabians are true Swabians, their place of origin being Württemberg, in the land of Baden-Württemberg. They were colonized between 1712 and 1815. Their most important settlements are Satu Mare (german: Sathmar) and Petrești (german: Petrifeld) in northwestern Romania." – both representing sub-groups of the Danube Swabians (german: Donau Schwaben) in Romania;
* Bukovina Germans – once with a sizable or overwhelming demographic presence in all urban centres from the historical region of Bukovina (more specifically Suceava, Gura Humorului, Siret, Rădăuți, Vatra Dornei, and Câmpulung Moldovenesc) or some rural areas of the nowadays Suceava County in northeastern Romania; equally indigenous to Cernăuți and contemporary Chernivtsi province in western Ukraine between the years 1780–1940. Moreover, even to this date, Suceava County is one of the Romanian counties with some of the most significant amount of ethnic Germans in the country;
* Zipser Germans, mostly from Maramureş (including Borșa and Vişeu), but also with a smaller presence in southern Bukovina beginning in the 18th century;Oskar Hadbawnik, ''Die Zipser in der Bukowina'' (1968) discusses the Zipserfest held in Jakobeny in 1936 to commemorate 150 years since the Zipsers migrated to Jakobeny in 1786.І. Я. Яцюк, ''Тернопільський національний педагогічний університет ім. Володимира Гнатюка'', ''Наукові записки. Серія “Філологічна”'', ''УДК 81’282.4:811.112.2(477)'': ''Lexikalische Besonderheiten Deutscher Dialekte in Galizien- und der Bukowina'': “Die Siedler in den ursprünglichen Bergwerksgemeinden im Südwesten der Bukowina sprachen Zipserisch und zwar Gründlerisch, wie es in der Unterzips gesprochen wurde. Dabei wurde im Anlaut wie ausgesprochen: Werke – berka, weh – be, Schwester – schbesta. Anlautendes wurde zu Brot – prot, Brücke – prik.”
* Regat Germans (including the Dobrujan Germans);
* Bessarabia Germans, Romanian citizens for the period 1918–1940, indigenous to Budjak in southern Bessarabia;
* Alsatians as well as small groups of Walsers vintners who also settled in Banat from Alsace, Lorraine, and Switzerland at the invitation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th century (though they were not only Alemannic-speaking Swiss but also French and Italian); Subsequently, these settlers came to be known as 'Français du Banat' (i.e. 'Banat French').

Contributions to Romanian culture

The German community in Romania has been actively and consistently contributing to the culture of the country. Notable examples include:

* Romanian architecture (e.g. the picturesque Transylvanian villages with fortified churches, known in German as kirchenburgen), or some of the most renowned castles as well as several medieval town centers with local markets, all of them highly popular touristic attractions);
* Romanian language (where approximately 3% of the words in the Romanian lexis are of German origin, mainly stemming from the influence of the Transylvanian Saxons and, later on, that of Austrians);
* Romanian literature (the first letter written in Romanian was addressed to the former early 16th century mayor of Kronstadt, Johannes Benkner, and the first Romanian language book was printed in Hermannstadt).
* The collections of Ottoman rugs kept in Transylvania inside several fortified churches (known as Transylvanian rugs) are associated with the Transylvanian Saxon Evangelical Lutherans.

Royal House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Romania

In the time of Romania's transition from a middle-sized principality to a larger kingdom, members of the German House of Hohenzollern (hailing from the Swabian Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, part contemporary Baden-Württemberg) reigned initially over the Danubian United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and then, eventually, also over the unified Kingdom of Romania both during the 19th and 20th centuries. Consequently, the ruling Romanian monarchs who were part of this dynastic branch were the following ones:

Pretenders to the throne of Romania (after 1947, when King Michael I was forced to abdicate):

Recent history (20th century onwards)

Between the two World Wars, namely in 1925, 20,000 Swabians from Timiș County were relocated to neighbouring Arad County in order to create an ethnic balance in the latter administrative unit. Subsequently, huge numbers of both Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians (ranging between 67,000 to 89,000 in total) were deported to the Soviet Union for forced labour after World War II, as a war compensation to the Soviets, despite the diplomatic efforts of Transylvanian Saxon politician Hans Otto Roth. Later during the 1950s, the Bărăgan deportations forcibly relocated many from near the Yugoslav border to the Bărăgan Plain. Survivors of both groups generally returned, but had often lost their properties in the process.

In addition, the once influential Bukovina German community also drastically dwindled in numbers, primarily as of the cause of the Heim ins Reich population transfer, leaving only several thousands of ethnic Germans in southern Bukovina (or present-day Suceava County) after the end of World War II. As communism paved its way in Romania, most of the remaining Bukovina Germans decided to gradually leave the country for West Germany up until 1989 (and even beyond), as it was the case of the entire German community of the country for that matter.

Furthermore, during the 1970s and 1980s, tens of thousands of other Romanian-Germans were 'bought back' by the West German government under a program to reunite families - and following the collapse of Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime in December 1989, around 200,000 Germans left their homes in Romania. During communist times, there have been several significant German-speaking opposition groups to the Romanian communist state, among which most notably there was Aktionsgruppe Banat, a literary society constituted in Banat by intellectual representatives of the local Swabian community (including, most notably, writer Richard Wagner).

Recent developments (21st century onwards)

Eventually, although the German minority in Romania has dwindled in numbers to a considerable extent since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the few but well organised Romanian-Germans who decided to remain in the country after the 1989 revolution are respected and regarded by many of their fellow ethnic Romanian countrymen as a hard-working, thorough, and practical community which contributed tremendously to the local culture and history of, most notably, Transylvania, Banat, and Bukovina, where the largest German-speaking groups once lived alongside the Romanian ethnic majority.

Furthermore, the bilateral political and cultural relationships between post–1989 Romania and the unified Federal Republic of Germany have seen a continuous positive evolution since the signing of a friendship treaty between the two countries in 1992. Additionally, on the occasion of the election of Frank-Walter Steinmeier as President of Germany in 2017, current Romanian president Klaus Johannis stated, among others, that: ''" ..Last but not least, there is a profound friendship bounding the Romanians and the Germans, thanks mainly to the centuries-long cohabitation between the Romanians, Saxons, and Swabians in Transylvania, Banat, and Bukovina."''

Demographics

Current population by settlement

The data displayed in the table below highlights notable settlements (of at least 1%) of the German minority in Romania according to the 2011 Romanian census. Note that some particular figures might represent a rough estimate.

Current population by county

Below is represented the notable German minority population (of at least 1%) for some counties, according to the 2011 census.

Administration, official representation, and politics

In the wake of World War I, the German minority in unified Romania had been represented by a number of political parties which gradually gained parliamentary presence during the early to mid-early 20th century, more specifically the Swabian Group, the Group of Transylvanian Saxons, the German Party (which briefly formed an alliance known as the Hungarian German Bloc with the Magyar Party), and the German People's Party (the latter two having a national socialist political orientation after 1930). In stark contrast to the political mutation of both aforementioned parties, the Anti-Fascist Committee of German Workers in Romania was formed shortly thereafter as a democratic counterpart. After the end of World War II, all of the political parties representing the German minority in Romania were either disbanded or ceased to exist.

Subsequently, just after the Romanian Revolution, the entire German-speaking community in post-1989 Romania has been represented at official level by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (german: Demokratisches Forum der Deutschen in Rumänien, ro, Forumul Democrat al Germanilor din România). The forum is therefore a political platform which has a centrist ideology aiming to support the rights of the German minority in Romania.

Since 1989, the FDGR/DFDR has competed both in local and legislative elections, cooperating in the process with two historical parties of the Romanian politics, namely the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD), most notably at local administrative level, in cities such as Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt), Timișoara (german: Temeschburg), or Baia Mare (german: Frauenbach or Neustadt). The FDGR/DFDR also adheres to a pro-monarchic stance regarding the matter of monarchy restoration in Romania.

Until 1 January 2007 (i.e. the date of accession of Romania to the European Union), the FDGR/DFDR was also an observing member of the European Parliament (EU), briefly affiliated with the European People's Party (EPP; german: Europäische Volkspartei), between January and November of the same year, with only one seat occupied by Ovidiu Victor Ganț.

Culture and education

In 1922, all political representatives of the German community in Romania founded the ''Cultural League of Germans in Sibiu/Hermannstadt'' which was initially led by Richard Csaki. The league was in charge of organizing post-university summer courses, sending books, and providing teaching material through various lecturers in the settlements inhabited by ethnic Germans.

Nowadays, there are two German-language schools in Bucharest, namely Deutsche Schule Bukarest and Deutsches Goethe-Kolleg Bukarest. The Deutsche Schule Bukarest serves Kinderkrippe, Kindergarten, Grundschule, and Gymnasium (high school).

In Timișoara, the Nikolaus Lenau High School was founded during the late 19th century. It was named this way in reference to Nikolaus Lenau, a Banat Swabian Romanticist poet. Nowadays, the Nikolaus Lenau High School is considered the most important of its kind from Banat.Geschichte Temeswars
Schulwesen

In Sibiu, the Samuel von Brukenthal National College is the oldest German-language school from Romania (recorded as early as the 14th century), being also classified as a historical monument. It was subsequently renamed this way in reference to baron Samuel von Brukenthal, a Transylvanian Saxon aristocrat. Additionally, there is one Goethe Institut cultural centre based in Bucharest as well as five Deutsche Kultzertrum based in Iași, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, and Sibiu.

Media

The ''Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung für Rumänien'' (''ADZ'') is the daily German-language newspaper in contemporary Romania. To this day, it is the only German-language newspaper published in Eastern Europe. Regional German-language publications also include the '' Neue Banater Zeitung'' in Banat and the '' Hermannstädter Zeitung'' for the town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt). Previously, in the passing of time, other historical German-language newspapers included: Arbeiter-Zeitung, Temeswarer Nachrichten, and Banater Arbeiter-Presse in Banat, Vorwärts in Bukovina, and Neuer Weg in Bucharest.

Gallery

File:Universitatea Saseasca Sapte Scaune CoA.png, Historical coat of arms of the Transylvanian Saxons
File:Coat of arms of Bucovina.svg, Historical coat of arms of the Bukovina Germans
File:Dunauschwaben.jpg, Historical coat of arms of the Banat Swabians
File:Sathmarer Schwaben.jpg, Historical coat of arms of the Sathmar Swabians
File:Hungary 13th cent.png, 13th century map of the Kingdom of Hungary highlighting Saxon-populated areas
File:Deutsche Siedlungsgebiete in Osteuropa 1925.jpg, Distribution of ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe in 1925, also highlighting German settlements in the Kingdom of Romania
File:Deutschsiebenbürgen.svg, Traditional areas of settlement for the Saxons and Swabians in Transylvania and Banat, Kingdom of Romania (at the round of the 20th century)
File:Pudelmützen.jpg, A group of Bessarabian Germans ( 1935)
File:Kirche Klöstitz um 1940.jpg, The Evangelical Lutheran church of Vesela Dolyna ( ro, Cleaștiţa, german: Klöstitz), situated in Budjak, initially populated by Bessarabian Germans (up until 1940)
File:Kirche Tarutino.jpg, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tarutino
File:79 Kirchweihfest 1940.jpg, A group of Banat Swabians in 1940, celebrating 'Kirchweih' (or 'Kerwei' in their local dialect)
File:Dobrudschadeutscher in Culelia.JPG, A Dobrujan German in Culelia
File:St. Georg (Malkotsch).jpg, The ruins of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Malcoci (german: Malkotsch) of the Dobrujan Germans in Tulcea County
File:Biserica fortificată din Saschiz vazuta de la Cetatea Taraneasca 2.jpg, Saschiz (german: Keisd), Mureș County, example of typical rural Transylvanian Saxon settlement
File:Die Gartenlaube (1874) b 005.jpg, Transylvanian Saxon couple from Bistrița (german: Bistritz/Nösen) area
File:Sächsische Bauern aus der Umgebung von Hermannstadt.jpg, Transylvanian Saxon couple from Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt)
File:Hammersdorf mann.jpg, Transylvanian Saxon lad from Gușterița (german: Hammersdorf)
File:Trachten-Kabinett von Siebenbürgen - Ein Sächsin aus Cronstadt.jpg, Traditional Saxon woman costume from Brașov (german: Kronstadt)

See also

* Germany–Romania relations
* Germany–Moldova relations
* List of ambassadors of Germany to Romania
* Romanians in Germany
* Transylvanian Saxon dialect
* Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania
* List of fortified churches in Transylvania
* List of Transylvanian Saxon localities
* Group of Transylvanian Saxons
* List of Transylvanian Saxons
* Sibiu Lutheran Cathedral
* Siebenbürgenlied
* Transylvanian Museum (in Gundelsheim, Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany)
* Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany
* German culture
* Geographical distribution of German speakers

External links

Germanii din România: între nazism și stalinism
by William Totok on Observatorul Cultural (in Romanian)

Archiving family memories and dreams – stories about the German minorities in Romania
(with many archive images; English/German) by Gerlinde Schuller

Further reading

* ''Povești din folclorul germanilor din România'' by Roland Schenn, Corint publishing house, 2014 (in Romanian)

References

{{Authority control

Romanian people of Austrian descent
Germany–Romania relations