Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, there are over 2,900 people who consider themselves German, most of these

Danube Swabians The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...

. Germans are officially recognized as an autochthonous national minority, and as such, they elect a special representative to the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

, shared with members of eleven other national minorities. They are mainly concentrated in the area around

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

(

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 **Ger ...

: ''Esseg'') in eastern

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

Ethnology

The community traditionally inhabited northern Croatia and

. In the Early modern period they had settled from other territories in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, and in what is today Croatia mainly settled territories of the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...

. The

that inhabited Western Slavonia were subject to strong Croatization. The Croatian intelligentsia only acknowledged a German minority in 1865.

History

Ethnic Germans in Hungary and parts of adjacent Austrian territories

With the dissolution of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and the establishment of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, the Germans of Croatia became a minority. In 1920, Germans established the cultural association ''Kulturbund''. Kulturbund was banned on April 11, 1924 by Minister of the Interior

Svetozar Pribićević Svetozar Pribićević ( sr-cyr, Светозар Прибићевић}, ; 26 October 1875 – 15 September 1936) was a Croatian Serb politician in Austria-Hungary and later Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was one of the main proponents of Yugoslavism a ...

. The following government of Ljuba Davidović and the Democratic Party saw the ban lifted. In 1922, they formed the German Party (''Partei der Deutschen''). The party existed until it was banned as part of King Alexander's dictatorship in 1929. The Croatian German population reached 85,781 in the 1900 census, while this number plummeted after the German exodus in the aftermath 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Austro-Hungarian census of 1910 recorded 134,000 Germans. After World War II, 100,000 Yugoslav Germans fled to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

.Vladimir Geiger,
Povratak slavonskih Nijemaca nakon Drugoga svjetskog rata iz izbjeglištva / prognaništva u zavičaj i njihova sudbina
' This population was not dealt with in the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

which prevented them from being repatriated to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Allies considered them Yugoslavian citizens and sought their repatriation there. However, on June 4 the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

released a decree that rescinded the citizenship of Yugoslavian Germans. Their property was henceforth confiscated, and the majority settled in Germany and Austria. Some managed to return to Yugoslavia and returned to their homes. The historically predominantly German town of Čeminac built the parish Church of Sacred Heart of Christ in 1906-1907. The German population in the town was forced to leave in 1945. After democratic changes in Croatia in 1990, former inhabitants of the town, mostly living in

, repaired the church. However, on April 10, 1992 the church was burnt by Serb forces as part of the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. In 2001, various levels of the Croatian government contributed to its repairs, which were carried out by 2005. In 1996, Croatia and Germany signed an agreement to facilitate the marking of German graves from the World Wars in Croatia. There are German military cemeteries in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. In 2005, the

Croatian government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

passed a comprehensive law on the return of nationalized Austrian property to its rightful owners.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Croatian census, there are 2,965 Germans in Croatia.

Geography

The main locations in Slavonia formerly settled by Germans include: * Darda (Darda) *

Jagodnjak Jagodnjak ((Croatian and Serbian pronunciation: ) sr-cyrl, Јагодњак, hu, Kácsfalu, german: Katschfeld) is a village and a municipality in the Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. Landscape of the Jagodnjak Municipality is marked by the Drav ...

(Katschfeld) * Josipovac-Kravice (Oberjosefsdorf-Krawitz) * Kula (Kula-Josefsfeld) *

(Esseg) *

Sarvaš Sarvaš (german: Sarwasch-Hirschfeld, hu, Drávaszarvas) is a village in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, east of Osijek. It has a population of 1,658 (census 2021). It is administratively within the area of the city of Osijek. Szarvas means "deer" in ...

(Sarwasch-Hirschfeld) * Satnica Đakovačka (Satnitz) *

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

(Brod) *

Harkanovci Harkanovci is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D517 highway. Until the end of the World War II, the majority of the inhabitants were Danube Swabians, some of them came around 1865 - 1880 from Tolna County (former)-Hungary, who named ...

(Kawinz) There were many German settlements in the adjacent region of

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

(''Symrien''); there is still a village called

Nijemci Nijemci ( sr, Нијемци, hu, Csótnémeti) is a village and a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia. In the 2011 census, there were 4,705 inhabitants in the municipality, 87.78% of which were Croats. The second largest eth ...

which literally translates to "Germans". The main locations in the Croatian part of Syrmia formerly settled by Germans include: *

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

(Wukowar) * Novo Selo (Neudorf), now the western part of

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surrounde ...

* Opatovac (Sankt Lorenz) * Lovas (Lowas) *

Jarmina Jarmina is a village and municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia. Name In German the village is known as ''Jahrmein'' or ''Hermann'', in Hungarian as ''Járomnaszentmiklós'', and in Serbian Cyrillic as Јармина. Demographic ...

(Jahrmein) *

Berak Berak is a village in municipality of Tompojevci in eastern Croatia. Village is located 11 km from county seat Vukovar. History First written records about Berak comes from 15th century when village was known under names Perecke and Pereth ...

* Tompojevci *

Tovarnik Tovarnik (, sr-Cyrl, Товарник, hu, Felsőtárnok, german: Sankt Georg, la, Ulmo) is a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia next to the border with Serbia with the town of Šid and the village of Ilinci on the other sid ...

(Sankt Georg) *

Ilača Ilača ( hu, Illyefő) is a village in eastern Croatia, southeast of Vinkovci. The village is connected with the rest of the country by the D46 state road connecting it with the town of Vinkovci and continuing into Serbia as the State Road 120 ...

(Illatsch) *

Svinjarevci Svinjarevci is a settlement in Vukovar-Syrmia County Vukovar-Srijem County ( hr, Vukovarsko-srijemska županija), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the eas ...

Bapska Bapska ( hu, Babafalva, german: Bapskau) is a village in Croatia. Geography It is located south of Šarengrad (at the D2 highway) and north of Šid, Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ) ...

(Babska) * Orolik * Banovci *

Novi Jankovci Novi Jankovci ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Јанковци, hu, Újjankovce) is a village in the Stari Jankovci Municipality in eastern Croatia. Name The name of the village in Croatian is plural. History Novi Jankovci was most likely created in 17 ...

(Neu-Jankowzi) *

Ernestinovo Ernestinovo ( hu, Ernőháza, german: Ernestinenhof, sr-cyr, Ернестиново) is a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. There are a total of 2,189 inhabitants, 78% of whom are Croats, 19% are Hungarians, and 7% are Serbs. The m ...

(Ernestinenhof) German settlements in Western Slavonia: * Hrastovac (Eichendorf) * Blagorodovac (Blagorodowatz) * Filipovac * Antunovac *

Dobrovac Dobrovac is a village in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , ...

* Mali Bastaji * Veliki Miletinac *

Đulovac Đulovac (German: ''Wercke'', Hungarian: ''Gjulaves'', ''Gyula'' in Middle Ages) is a municipality in Slavonia, in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County of Croatia. There are 3,640 inhabitants, 79.5% of which are Croats. History In the late 19th and earl ...

(Wercke) * Novo Zvečevo (Papuck)

Culture

Organizations

The Germans and Austrians have created the Society of Germans and Austrians of Croatia. There is a German culture centre in Osijek, and a small number of German schools in the area. Since the fall of communism and Croatian independence, the minority has held an annual academic conference titled ''Germans and Austrians in the Croatian cultural circle''.16. Znanstveni skup 'Nijemci i Austrijanci u hrvatskom kulturnom krugu'
/ref>

Anthropology

Surnames

Examples of Croatianized Germanic surnames in Croatia include Ajhner (Eichner), Bahman (Bachmann), Birer (Bührer), Ceglec (Ziegler), Cukerić (Zucker), Flajs (Fleiss), Fresel (Fressl), Goldštajn (Goldstein), Gotvald (Gottwald), Helfrich (Helfricht), Hohšteter (Hochstädter), Kunštek (Kunst), Majer, Majerić, Majerović (from Mayer/Meyer/Meier), Šmit (Schmidt), Šnidarić, Šnidaršić (Schneider), Špic (Spitz), Špicmiler (Spitzmüller), Šturmer (Stürmer), Šuflaj (Schufflei), Šuper (Schupper), Švarc (Schwarz), Tabajner (Tappeiner), Tišlarić (Tischler), Tunkel (Dunkel), Vinšer (Wünscher), Vitman (Wittman), etc. Among surnames that have retained their original form, Mayer/Meyer, Schmidt, Hermann, Bauer, Wolf, Fischer, Schneider, Schwarz, Richter, Müller, Zimmermann, Wagner, are examples of those found in greater numbers.

Notable people

Ljudevit Gaj Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; hu, Gáj Lajos; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian Linguistics, linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement. Biography Origi ...

(1809–1872), linguist, from Krapina-Zagorje * Adolfo Veber Tkalčević (1825–1889), philologist, Moravian German father * Josip Stadler (1843–1918), Catholic archbishop, from Slavonski Brod *

Ivan Merz Ivan Merz (16 December 1896 – 10 May 1928) was a Croatian lay academic, beatified by Pope John Paul II on a visit at Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 22, 2003. Ivan Merz promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia and together wi ...

(1896–1928), Catholic lay academic and saint, from Banja Luka *

Pavao Štoos Pavao Štoos (10 December 1806 – 30 March 1862) was a Croatian poet, priest and a revivalist. After graduating theology in Zagreb, he served as a bishop's secretary for a brief period, and from 1842 he was a pastor of the Pokupsko parish. � ...

(1806–1862), Catholic priest and poet, from Zagreb * Anton Geiser (1924–2012), Nazi, from Đakovo *

Rikard Jorgovanić Rikard Jorgovanić (Mali Tabor, 1853 – Zagreb, 1880) was a Croatian writer. As the son of a Bohemian immigrant of German ethnicity, and his Croatianized last name was calqued after German ''Flieder''. He enrolled in the public school of Vara� ...

(1853–1880), writer, from Krapina-Zagorje, Bohemian German father *

Vjekoslav Klaić Vjekoslav Klaić (21 June 1849 – 1 July 1928) was a Croatian historian and writer, most famous for his monumental work ''History of the Croats''. Klaić was born in Garčin near Slavonski Brod as the son of a teacher. He was raised in German s ...

(1849–1928), historian, from Slavonski Brod, German mother *

Pavao Ritter Vitezović Pavao Ritter Vitezović (; 7 January 1652 – 20 January 1713) was a Habsburg-Croatian polymath, variously described as a historian, linguist, publisher, poet, political theorist, diplomat, printmaker, draughtsman, cartographer, writer and print ...

(1652–1713), writer and diplomat, German father *

Velimir Neidhardt Velimir Neidhardt (; born 7 October 1943) is a Croatian architect, president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2019. Neidhardt is a professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Architecture, former president of the Croatian ...

(born 1943), architect, from Zagreb *

Franjo Maixner Franjo Maixner (August 4, 1841 – March 2, 1903) was a Croatian university professor and rector of the University of Zagreb. Born in Osijek, he graduated philosophy at the Charles University in Prague. In 1886, he founded a Seminar for Classical ...

(1841–1903), academic and professor, from Osijek *

Ferdinand Kulmer Ferdinand Kulmer (29 January 1925 – 11 November 1998) was a Croatian abstract painter and teacher. He studied at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts, the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts, and took special classes with Đuro Tiljak. Kulmer worked in th ...

(1925–1998), painter, from Zagreb *

Ljudevit Jonke Ljudevit Jonke (29 July 1907 – 15 March 1979) was a Croatian linguist. Life and work Jonke was born in Karlovac, where he completed primary school and Gymnasium Karlovac. He graduated at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagre ...

(1907–1979), linguist, from Karlovac *

Josip Hamm Josip Hamm (3 December 1905 – 23 November 1986) was a Croatian Slavist best known for his research on Old Church Slavonic language and literature. Biography Hamm was born in the village of Gat near Belišće and Valpovo. In 1924 he finished t ...

(1905–1986), Slavist, from Osijek-Baranja *

Željko Reiner Željko Reiner (born 28 May 1953) is a Croatian physician, politician, university professor, member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and former Minister of Health and Social Welfare who served as the 10th Speaker of the Croatian Parlia ...

(born 1953), politician, from Zagreb *

Josip Schlosser Josip Klasancije Schlosser pl. Klekovski (1801–1882) was a Croatian physician, alpinist and botanist. Together with Ljudevit Farkaš Vukotinović, he was an author of ''Flora croatica'' (1869), the main work for the knowledge of plants in Croati ...

(1801–1882), physician * Josip Seissel (1904–1987), architect, from Krapina-Zagorje *

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor. Early life an ...

(1815-1905), politician, Roman Catholic bishop, and benefactor, from Osijek *

Ante Šercer Ante Šercer (21 April 1896, Požega, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia – 25 June 1968, Zagreb) was a Yugoslav physician. He attended elementary school in Dubrovnik. Finishing medical studies in Graz (Austria) and Prague (Czech Republic), he soon a ...

(1896–1968), physician, from Požega *

Ivo Šlaus Ivo Šlaus (born 26 September 1931 in Split, Croatia, Split) is a nuclear and particle physicist and Distinguished Fellow of New Westminster College. Biography He earned a B.Sc. in Physics in 1954 from the University of Zagreb and a Ph.D. in ph ...

(born 1931), physicist, from Split *

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

(born 1947), film director from Zagreb *

Branko Schmidt Branko Schmidt (born 21 September 1957) is a Croatian film director. His 2012 film ''Cannibal Vegetarian'' was selected as the Croatian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlis ...

(born 1957),film director from Osijek * Radovan Fuchs (born 1953), scientist and politician serving as Minister of Science and Education in the Government of Croatia since 2020 *

Gordon Schildenfeld Gordon Schildenfeld (born 18 March 1985) is a Croatian retired footballer who played as a centre-back. He was capped 29 times for the Croatia national team. Club career Šibenik Schildenfeld began playing football at his hometown club HNK Ši ...

(born 1985), football player from Šibenik * Željko Koenigsknecht (born 1961), film actor from Vukovar *

Inge Appelt Ingeborg "Inge" Appelt (born 1 January 1943) is a Croatian actress. She appeared in more than eighty films since 1967. Selected filmography References External links * 1943 births Living people Croatian film actresses People from ...

(born 1943), actress

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *Geiger, V., 2008. Josip Broz Tito i sudbina jugoslavenskih Nijemaca. Časopis za suvremenu povijest, 40(3), pp.789-818. *Mira Kolar-Dimitrijević, Skrivene biografije nekih Nijemaca i Austrijanaca u Hrvatskoj 19. i 20. stoljeća, Osijek, 2001. *Kolar-Dimitrijević, M., 1994. Nijemci u podravini. U: GB Richembergh (prir.), Nijemci u Hrvatskoj: Jučer i danas (Zbornik). Zagreb: Volksdeutsche Gemeinschaft, pp.43-50.
TRADICIJSKI ŽIVOT MAĐARA I NIJEMACA U RETFALI, DIJELU OSIJEKA
Vlasta Šabić ; Muzej Slavonije, Osijek, Hrvatska str. 105-120 *Osvrt na važnije radove o Nijemcima u Požegi i Požeškoj kotlini; Vladimir Geiger str. 296-307 *Migracije njemačkog stanovništva na hrvatskom području tijekom Drugoga svjetskog rata i poraća; Marica Karakaš Obradov str. 271-294

External links

Community of Germans in Croatia

Representation of the German national minority of the City of Zagreb
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germans Of Croatia