Greeks in Germany

The Greeks in Germany form a significant community with a population of roughly 348,475 people having Greek Citizenship according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, on December 31, 2016. Some 274,060 of these were born in Greece and 74,415 were born in Germany.[1]. About 443,000 people of Greek ethnic origin are estimated to live in Germany according to the 2016 Statistical Yearbook.[2]. The number varies significantly in other estimations, as the Federal Foreign Office of Germany gives an estimated population of 320,000 people,[3] while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece steps it up to 380,000.[4].

Greeks in Germany

Distribution of Greek nationals in Germany
Total population
2016, Greek Ethnic Origin 443,000 2016, Greek Citizens 348,475 2016, Born in Greece 274,060 2016, Born in Germany 74,415
Regions with significant populations
Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, Munich, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Bielefeld
Languages
German, Greek
Religion
Predominantly Greek Orthodox Church

History

Significant immigration from Greece to Germany started around 1700, when the Ottoman Empire opened its borders. The first community was found in Leipzig at this time.

The second wave of immigration was when Otto of Wittelbach became King of Greece as Otto of Greece. Many Greeks came as students to Bavaria.

The Greek population of today came mostly after World War II. West Germany needed employees for their expanding industry. In East Germany, Greek communists came as political refugees until 1973.

Many Greeks were relocated to German Democratic Republic during the Greek Civil War.

Education

The first Greek schools were created because of the number of Greeks immigrating over to Germany. Since the first Greek school built in 1960 and up until 1990, over 1 million Greeks had immigrated to Germany. About 800,000 of those Greeks had after either a long-term or a short term stay had gone back to Greece. Nowadays, every fifth of an estimated 47,000 students of Greek origin attends one of 35 Greek schools in Germany.

Demographics

See also: Academic achievement among different groups in Germany

The first Greeks came during the time of the Roman Empire to Central Europe. Among the major German cities Offenbach am Main and Stuttgart had the highest share of Greek migrants in 2011 according to German Census data. [5] Munich was home to the largest Greek community in Germany. According to the same census, there are also large Greek diaspora communities in Nordrhein-Westfalen, especially in Düsseldorf and Bielefeld.

Early Greek workers in Germany, in 1956

The place where the Griechenhaus stood, a court of Greek merchants in Leipzig

The Greek Salvator church in Munich

This Greek tavern was founded 1882 in Neckargemuend near Heidelberg

Greeks in Germany by Nationality[6]

Year	Pop.	±%
1967	200,951	—
1968	211,764	+5.4%
1969	271,313	+28.1%
1970	342,891	+26.4%
1971	354,949	+3.5%
1972	389,426	+9.7%
1973	407,614	+4.7%
1974	406,394	−0.3%
1975	390,455	−3.9%
1976	353,733	−9.4%
1977	328,465	−7.1%
1978	305,523	−7.0%
1979	296,803	−2.9%
1980	297,518	+0.2%
1981	299,300	+0.6%
1982	300,824	+0.5%
1983	292,349	−2.8%
1984	287,099	−1.8%
1985	280,614	−2.3%
1986	278,506	−0.8%
1987	256,396	−7.9%
1988	274,793	+7.2%
1989	293,649	+6.9%
1990	320,181	+9.0%
1991	336,893	+5.2%
1992	345,902	+2.7%
1993	351,976	+1.8%
1994	355,583	+1.0%
1995	359,556	+1.1%
1996	362,539	+0.8%
1997	363,202	+0.2%
1998	363,514	+0.1%
1999	364,354	+0.2%
2000	365,438	+0.3%
2001	362,708	−0.7%
2002	359,361	−0.9%
2003	354,630	−1.3%
2004	315,989	−10.9%
2005	309,794	−2.0%
2006	303,761	−1.9%
2007	294,891	−2.9%
2008	287,187	−2.6%
2009	278,063	−3.2%
2010	276,685	−0.5%
2011	283,684	+2.5%
2012	298,254	+5.1%
2013	316,331	+6.1%
2014	328,564	+3.9%
2015	339,931	+3.5%
2016	348,475	+2.5%
2017	362,245	+4.0%
2018	363,205	+0.3%
2019	363,650	+0.1%

Muslims from Greece

See also: Turks in Germany, Turks of Western Thrace, and Muslim minority of Greece

There are some members of the Muslim minority of Greece among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany who are ethnic Turks or who espouse a Turkish identity.[7] The majority of Turks immigrated from Western Thrace.[8] In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. This resulted in many Muslims leaving their homes and immigrating to Germany with estimates suggesting that today there are now between 12,000[9] and 25,000[10] residing in Germany.

Notable people

• Theophano (960-991) - Empress of Holy Roman Empire, Wife of Otto II.
• John Argyris (1913-2004) - was among the creators of the Finite Element Method (FEM)
• Daniela Amavia - actress and model
• Adam Bousdoukos- from Soul Kitchen
• Constantin Carathéodory - mathematician
• Miltiades Caridis - conductor
• Costa Cordalis - singer/songwriter
• Giorgos Donis - footballer
• Margaritis Dimitsas (1830-1903) - geographer
• Artemis Gounaki - singer/songwriter
• LaFee - singer/songwriter
• Georg Anton Jasmatzi (1847-1922) - founder of the Jasmatzi tabac factory (later sold to British American Tobacco)
• Aris Kalaizis - painter
• Panajotis Kondylis (1943-1998) - philosopher
• Jonas Kyratzes - video game designer
• Vicky Leandros - singer
• Pierre Mavrogordatos (1870-1948) - archaeologist
• Ioannis Masmanidis - footballer
• Kostantinos Mitroglou - footballer
• Argyris Nastópoulos - singer
• Demis Nikolaidis - footballer
• Antonis Remos - singer
• Susan Sideropoulos- singer and actress
• Despina Vandi - singer
• Anastasia Zampounidis - broadcaster
• Linda Zervakis - newscaster (Tagesschau)
• Xaris & Panos Katsimihas - singers, songwriters, composers
• Odisseas Vlachodimos - footballer
• Panagiotis Vlachodimos - footballer
• Shindy - rapper
• Ioannis Panousis - Author, Law Enforcement Specialist

See also

• German-Greek relations
• Greek diaspora

References

2. https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Population/MigrationIntegration/Tables_PersonsMigrationBackground/MigrantStatusSelectedCountries.html
3. "Greece". Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
4. "Germany". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece. Archived from the original on 2009-08-01. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
5. "Kartenseite: Griechen in Deutschland - Landkreise". kartenseite.wordpress.com. 2017-03-26. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
6. Knerr, Béatrice (2006). Vorweggenommene Erweiterungen: Wanderungsbewegungen aus Grenzgebieten in die EU. ISBN 9783899582819.
7. Westerlund & Svanberg 1999, 320-321.
8. Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly 2007, 118.
9. Clogg 2002, 84.
10. International Assembly of Western Thrace Turks. "POLITICAL AND CIVIL ORGANISATION COMMISSION". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-05-19.

• Your Link to Germany

Bibliography

• Clogg, Richard (2002). Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1-85065-705-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link).
• Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly (2007). Parliamentary Assembly: Working Papers 2007 Ordinary Session 22–26 January 2007. Council of Europe. ISBN 978-92-871-6191-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link).
• Westerlund, David; Svanberg, Ingvar (1999). Islam Outside the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-22691-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link).

Further reading

• Troebst, Stefan (September 2004). "Evacuation to a cold country: child refugees from the Greek Civil War in the German Democratic Republic, 1949-1989". Nationalities Papers. 32 (3): 675–691. doi:10.1080/0090599042000246442.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)