German Culture

All about Germany

Ethnic Germans

Ethnic Germans have immigrated to Germany since the end of World War II. At first, these immigrants were Germans who had resided in areas that had formerly been German territory. Later, the offspring of German settlers who in previous centuries had settled in areas of Eastern Europe and Russia came to be regarded as ethnic Germans and as such had … [Read more...]

Foreigners In Germany

A total of nearly 8.2 million people holding only foreign citizenship were registered in the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR) at the end of 2014. This was the highest number of foreigners ever registered in Germany since the AZR was established in 1967. Compared with 2013, the number of foreigners rose by roughly 519,300 or 6.8% in 2014. This … [Read more...]

Immigration In Germany

Immigration has been a primary force shaping demographic developments in the two Germanys in the postwar period. After the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the immigration flow, first into West Germany and later into united Germany, consisted mainly of workers from southern Europe. In addition, the immigrants included several other groups: a … [Read more...]

German Population

The German population has reached a new record. In 2018, the population grew by 227,000 people, or 0.3 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced in Wiesbaden. This is the first time in history that over 83 million people live in Germany. The exact figure at the end of the year was given by the Federal Office at 83.0192 … [Read more...]

May 20 in German History

May 20, 1860 Birth of the biochemist Eduard Buchner (1860-1917) in Munich. He was given the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1907 for demonstrating that the fermentation of carbohydrates results from the action of enzymes in yeast. May 20, 1851 Birth of Emile Berliner (1851-1929) in Hannover, Germany. Berliner is best known for … [Read more...]

May 19 in German History

May 19, 804 Death of Alcuin, intellectual in the court of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) in Aachen. Alcuin was born in about 730 in York in England. He was educated at and became the master of the cathedral school of York. In 781 he made the acquaintance of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) and joined him at Charlemagne's capital of Aachen as the … [Read more...]

May 18 in German History

May 18, 1616 Birth of Johann Jakob Froberger in Stuttgart, Germany. Froberger was an outstanding composer of the early Baroque period. He composed at the court of Vienna from 1641-1645 and from 1653-1657. He composed primarily for the harpsichord and organ. May 18, 1782 Birth of Adolf von Lützow in Berlin, Germany. After Napoleon had … [Read more...]

May 17 in German History

May 17, 1490 Birth of Albert of Prussia (1490-1568) in Ansbach, Germany. Albert was the last grand master of the Teutonic Knights. He was named grand master in 1510 and thus lord of East Prussia. In 1523 Martin Luther advised Albert to dissolve the Teutonic Order and to create in East Prussia into a hereditary dukedom. The Holy Roman … [Read more...]

May 16 in German History

May 16, 1788 Birth of Friedrich Rückert in Schweinfurt, Germany. Rückert was a poet who taught oriental languages and literature at the universities of Erlangen and Berlin. He is remembered largely for his lyric poems. Collections of poetry by Rückert include, Deutsche Gedichte (1814), Kindertotenlieder (1834), and Liebesfrühling (1844). Gustav … [Read more...]

German Society

Nationality: noun: German(s) adjective: German Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) Languages: German (official) note: Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romany are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower … [Read more...]