The Dobrujan Germans (german: Dobrudschadeutsche) were an

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

group, within the larger category of

Black Sea Germans The Black Sea Germans (german: Schwarzmeerdeutsche; russian: черноморские немцы; uk, чорноморські німці) are ethnic Germans who left their homelands (starting in the late-18th century, but mainly in the e ...

, for over one hundred years. German-speaking colonists entered the approximately 23,000 km² area of

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

around 1840 and left during the relocation of 1940. Dobruja is a historic territory on the west coast of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

Colonization

The first of these

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

settlers came between 1841 and 1856 from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. They were farming families from the neighboring areas of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

and Cherson, who immigrated because of an economic recession in their home territories. Thirty years later colonists from

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

also moved into the region. During this period, Dobruja still belonged to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and the colonists were subject to colonization regulations from Turkey. Consequently, the Dobrujan Germans were the only

ethnic Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

to ever be Turkish subjects without actually moving to Turkey (as did the

Bosporus Germans Bosporus Germans are those ethnic Germans living and settled in Istanbul since the second half of the 19th century. Nineteenth century The first generation came a few decades before and (especially) during the three political visits of Kaiser Wil ...

). They contributed to the agricultural development of the fertile

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate gras ...

Relocation

In the first years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the majority of the 16,000 Dobrujan Germans, as well as the

and

Bukovina Germans ''Buchelanddeutsche'' , native_name_lang = , image = , image_caption = , image_alt = , image_upright = , total = , total_year = , total_source = , total_ref = , genealogy ...

, were relocated into Germany. This was done under the motto: ''

Heim ins Reich The ''Heim ins Reich'' (; meaning "back home to the Reich") was a foreign policy pursued by Adolf Hitler before and during World War II, beginning in 1938. The aim of Hitler's initiative was to convince all ''Volksdeutsche'' (ethnic Germans) w ...

'' (Home into the Empire). The refugees lived temporarily in relocation camps in Austria, but in 1941/1942 they resettled the German occupied eastern territories in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...

, and Poland. At the end of the war, they fled west, and were found as refugees in all four occupation zones in Germany.

Footnotes

References

*Dobrudscha. In: Handwörterbuch für das Grenz- und Auslandsdeutschtum. Band 2, Breslau. S. 278 - 290. *Petri, Hans: Geschichte der Deutschen Siedlungen in der Dobrudscha. *Hundert Jahre deutschen Lebens am Schwarzen Meere. München 1956. *Sallanz, Josef: Dobrudscha. Deutsche Siedler zwischen Donau und Schwarzem Meer (Potsdamer Bibliothek östliches Europa), Potsdam 2020. *Teutschländer, Willibald: Geschichte der evangelischen Gemeinden in Rümänien. Leipzig 1891, S. 240 f. *Träger, Paul: Die Deutschen in der Dobrudscha. Schriften des deutschen Auslandsinstituts zu Stuttgart (Kulturhistorische Reihe Bd. 6), Stuttgart 1922. New edition in German 2012,

External links

Dobruscha.eu

Colonization

Relocation

Footnotes

References

External links

See also