Germans

The Reichstag, seat of the German Parliament

Germans (German: Deutsche, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə] ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language.[1][2] The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War II, defines a German as a German citizen.[3] During the 19th and much of the 20th century, discussions on German identity were dominated by concepts of a common language, culture, descent, and history.[4] Today, the German language is widely seen as the primary, though not exclusive, criterion of German identity.[5] Estimates on the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 to 150 million, most of whom live in Germany.[6]

The history of Germans as an ethnic group began with the separation of a distinct Kingdom of Germany from the eastern part of the Frankish Empire under the Ottonian dynasty in the 10th century, forming the core of the Holy Roman Empire. In subsequent centuries the political power and population of this empire grew considerably. It expanded eastwards, and eventually a substantial number of Germans migrated further eastwards into Eastern Europe. The empire itself was politically divided between many small princedoms, cities and bishoprics. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, many of these states found themselves in bitter conflict concerning the rise of Protestantism.

In the 19th century, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, and German nationalism began to grow. The Kingdom of Prussia incorporated most Germans into its German Empire in 1871, and a substantial additional number of Germans were in the multiethnic kingdom of Austria-Hungary. During this time, a large number of Germans emigrated to the New World, particularly to the United States, especially to present-day Pennsylvania. Large numbers also emigrated to Canada and Brazil, and they established sizable communities in New Zealand and Australia. The Russian Empire also included a substantial German population.

Following the end of World War I, Austria-Hungary and the German Empire were partitioned, resulting in many Germans becoming ethnic minorities in newly established countries. In the chaotic years that followed, Adolf Hitler became the dictator of Nazi Germany and embarked on a genocidal campaign to unify all Germans under his leadership. His Nazi movement defined Germans in a very specific way which included Austrians, Luxembourgers, eastern Belgians, and so-called Volksdeutsche, who were ethnic Germans elsewhere in Europe and globally. However, this Nazi conception expressly excluded German citizens of Jewish or Roma background. Nazi policies of military aggression and its persecution of those deemed non-Germans in the Holocaust led to World War II in which the Nazi regime was defeated by allied powers, led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the former Soviet Union. In the aftermath of Germany's defeat in the war, the country was occupied and once again partitioned. Millions of Germans were expelled from Central and Eastern Europe. In 1990, West Germany and East Germany were reunified. In modern times, remembrance of the Holocaust, known as Erinnerungskultur ("culture of remembrance"), has become an integral part of German identity.

Owing to their long history of political fragmentation, Germans are culturally diverse and often have strong regional identities. Arts and sciences are an integral part of German culture, and the Germans have been represented by many prominent personalities in a significant number of disciplines, including Nobel prize laureates where Germany is ranked third among countries of the world in the number of total recipients.

  1. ^ "German Definition & Meaning". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. ^ "German". Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press. 2010. p. 733. ISBN 978-0199571123. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ^ Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (ed.). "Article 116". Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021. Unless otherwise provided by a law, a German within the meaning of this Basic Law is a person who possesses German citizenship or who has been admitted to the territory of the German Reich within the boundaries of 31 December 1937 as a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such person.
  4. ^ Moser 2011, p. 172. "German identity developed through a long historical process that led, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to the definition of the German nation as both a community of descent (Volksgemeinschaft) and shared culture and experience. Today, the German language is the primary though not exclusive criterion of German identity."
  5. ^ Haarmann 2015, p. 313. "After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of national unity as Germans began to evolve in the eighteenth century, and the German language became a key marker of national identity."
  6. ^ Moser 2011, p. 171. "The Germans live in Central Europe, mostly in Germany... Estimates of the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 million to 150 million, depending on how German is defined, but it is probably more appropriate to accept the lower figure."