Germans of Yugoslavia

The Germans of Yugoslavia ( _de. Jugoslawiendeutsche) is a term used to describe people of German descent who live in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Slovenia. Despite their German heritage, Germans of the former Yugoslavia include both Danube Swabians and Austrians.

History

Due to incursions of the Huns in Europe and the associated migration period in the 4th century, Germanic people migrated to the Danube and the Mediterranean as early as the year 375. The first Germans settled in areas of former Yugoslavia approximately 800 years ago. The majority of Germans in the area lived in the Danube basin between Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, and were known as Danube Swabians. The Danube Swabians developed their own distinct culture and dialect. There were most likely also German settlers on the Adriatic who were absorbed into the local population. Among the Danube Swabians, mixed marriages of Germans with Hungarians, Croatians, Serbians and Czechs were common.

To a large degree, the German-speaking population greeted German Armed Forces in the 1941 invasion of Yugoslavia. In fact, a portion of the male population joined the combat units of the German troops. After the Second World War, most of those belonging to the Yugoslavian-German minority were interned at camps and eventually expelled from the county. The majority went to Austria and West Germany. However, there were a number of people who stayed, because they were married to local partners. These people and their descendants were no longer officially considered a part of the German population.

Current situation

There are currently approx 8,300 people in former Yugoslavia who consider themselves German. Many residents actively practice their German cultural heritage, and some still speak the local form of the German dialect. This dialect is similar to the German that was spoken in Yugoslavia before the Second World War.

Croatia

In Croatia around 2,800 people identify themselves as German, the majority of which are Danube Swabians. The “German and Austrian Minority,” as they are officially called, holds a permanent seat in the Croatian Parliament (Sabor).

erbia

The largest German minority in the former Yugoslavia is found in Serbia. The majority of the remaining population of German origin lives in the northern Serbia in Vojvodina, an area that also has a sizeable Hungarian minority. Around 3,900 people in Vojvodina consider themselves German, although they generally refer to themselves as Swabian. The Hungarian and Serbian populations also refer to them as Swabian as well. They are known as the Danube Swabians or Banat Swabians.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

No figures exist for people of German origin in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Areas formerly settled by Germans include:
* Dubrava (Königsfeld)
* Nova Topola (Windthorst)
* Prosara (Hohenberg / Hindenburg)
* Zenica (Senitza)
* Zepce (Scheptsche)

lovenia

There is a German-speaking minority in Slovenia of around 1,600 people, centred around Maribor (German: "Marburg"). They are Austrian in origin, and are unrelated to the other German minorities in Yugoslavia.

ee also

*Danube Swabians
*Germans of Hungary
*Germans of Romania

References

* [http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/ESE/dschwaben.html Source of location names] (in German)
* Werner Conze, Hartmut Boockmann, Norbert Conrads und Günter Schödl: " Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas, 10 Bde", ISBN 3-88680-771-1 (in German)