German Bolivians are

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

ns of full, partial, or predominantly

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent, or German-born people residing in Bolivia.

Waves of immigration

German immigrants began to arrive in

in the 18th century, and many more arrived in the 19th century. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Bolivia ceased diplomatic relations with Germany and expelled many Germans. Many German Jews immigrated to Bolivia during the war. Inti SA, Bolivia's largest pharmaceutical company, was founded by German immigrant Ernesto W. N. Schilling Huhn. A substantial and growing part of the Germanic population in Bolivia are

Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...

-speaking Mennonites from Russia, who are of Dutch and Prussian descent. These Mennonites started to immigrate in the 1950s, with large waves of immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. In 2012 there were 23,818 church members in congregations of these Mennonites, indicating a total population of about 70,000. The total population of German Mennonites in Bolivia was estimated at 60,000 by Lisa Wiltse in 2010. See also:

Mennonites in Bolivia The Mennonites in Bolivia are among the most traditional and conservative of all Mennonite denominations in Latin America. They are mostly Russian Mennonites of Frisian, Flemish, and Prussian descent. , there were about 70,000 Mennonites livin ...

Education

German schools: * Deutsche Schule La Paz * Deutsche Schule Santa Cruz Historic German schools:Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672
( ).

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 18-19/51. * Deutsche Schule

Oruro Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the Altiplano, approximately above sea level. It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by populat ...

* Deutsche Schule

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

Notable German Bolivians

* Ronald Rivero Kuhn, footballer *

Hugo Banzer Hugo Banzer Suárez (; 10 May 1926 – 5 May 2002) was a Bolivian politician and military officer who served as the 51st president of Bolivia. He held the Bolivian presidency twice: from 1971 to 1978 as a military dictator; and then again ...

, military officer, twice President *

Germán Busch Víctor Germán Busch Becerra (23 March 1903 – 23 August 1939) was a Bolivian military officer and statesman who served as the 36th president of Bolivia from 1937 until his death in 1939. Prior to his presidency, he served as the Chief of t ...

, military officer and President * Luciano Durán Böger, writer and poet *

Enrique Hertzog José Enrique Hertzog Garaizábal (10 November 1897 – 31 July 1981) was a Bolivian physician and politician who served as the 42nd president of Bolivia from 1947 to 1949. Biography Hertzog was born on 10 November 1897. A medical doctor by ...

, physician and President * Pato Hoffmann, actor and theater director * Noel Kempff, biologist and environmentalist * Jaime Mirtenbaum Zenamon, classical guitarist and composer *

Alberto Natusch Alberto Natusch Busch (May 23, 1933, in Beni, Bolivia – November 23, 1994, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia) was a Bolivian general who served briefly as the ''de facto'' 55th president of Bolivia in 1979. Background and earlier career Natusch i ...

, military officer and dictator * Erwin Sánchez Freking, footballer * Achim von Kries, German military officer * Blanca Wiethüchter, writer and poet * Jorge Wilstermann, aviator *

Lidia Gueiler Tejada Lidia Gueiler Tejada (28 August 1921 – 9 May 2011) was a Bolivian politician who served as the 56th president of Bolivia on an interim basis from 1979 to 1980. She was Bolivia's first female Head of State, and the second female head of state ...

, politician (the first female President of Bolivia, and the second woman in the Americas to ever become chief of state). * Luis Gamarra Mayser, singer and songwriter * Rodrigo Mendoza Heinrich, American War Hero * Pedro Kramer, Historian and diplomat

References

{{German people

Bolivians Bolivians () are people identified with the country of Bolivia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Bolivians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being B ...

German diaspora in South America Bolivia–Germany relations