German Uruguayans

The German community in Uruguay is small but significant; it numbers ca. 10,000 German expatriates and 40,000 people of German descent.[1] Most of them live in the Montevideo area, although there are German minorities in Paysandú, Río Negro, San José and Canelones.

History

One of the first Germans to come to the region was Ulrich Schmidl (known locally as Ulrico Smidel), who arrived at the oriental shores of the River Plate in the early 16th century and described the Charrúas.[2]

The German presence in Uruguay was always small, relatively discrete. The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 1,167 people who declared Germany as their country of birth.[3] However, there are important German names closely linked to the political landscape:

Sport is another field where several German Uruguayans stand out:

Other important German Uruguayan people are:

Religion

Local Germans practise different Christian religions:

There is also an important presence of German Jews,[4] with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.

Institutions

German immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others:

  • German School Montevideo (German: Deutsche Schule Montevideo, established 1857)[5]
  • German Evangelical Community (German: Deutsch-Evangelische Gemeinde Montevideo)[6]
  • German Cultural and Social Work (German: Deutsches Kultur- und Hilfswerk)[7]
  • German Club (German: Deutscher Klub, established 1866)[8]
  • Uruguayan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (German: Deutsch-Uruguayische Industrie- und Handelskammer, established 1916)[9]
  • German Rowing Club Montevideo (German: Deutscher Ruderverein Montevideo, established 1922)[10]
  • German Male Choir (German: Deutscher Männerchor)[7]
  • Alpine Club Montevideo (German: Alpenländer Verein Montevideo, established 1934)[11]
  • Bertolt Brecht House (German: Bertolt-Brecht-Haus, established 1964)[12]
  • German-Uruguayan Cultural Association (German: Deutsch-Uruguayische Kulturvereinigung)[7]
  • German Cultural Association Paysandú (German: Deutsche Kulturvereinigung Paysandú)[7]
  • German-Uruguayan Friendship Circle[7]

There are also local offices of German institutions:

Historic German schools:[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Uruguay-Portal (in German)
  2. ↑ Schmidel, Ulrich (2001). Viaje al Río de la Plata. Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes - Digital edition based on Buenos Aires Edition - Cabaut y Cía. 1903.
  3. ↑ "Immigration to Uruguay" (PDF) (in Spanish). INE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Christoph Marx; Christine Hatzky; Waltraud Kokot; Hauke Dorsch (2004). Periplus 2004: Jahrbuch für Aussereuropäische geschichte. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 22. ISBN 978-3-8258-7820-7.
  5. ↑ Deutsche Schule Montevideo Archived April 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ German Evangelical Church in Uruguay
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 German institutions in Uruguay (in German)
  8. ↑ Deutscher Klub Archived August 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (in Spanish)
  9. ↑ AHK Uruguay
  10. ↑ DRVM Archived May 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ ALVM
  12. ↑ Casa Bertolt Brecht Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ FESUR
  14. ↑ KAS Uruguay
  15. ↑ Goethe-Institut Montevideo
  16. ↑ "Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672" (Archive). Bundestag (West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 29/51.
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