Румыниядағы неміс этносының тарихы мен халқы

Ethnic minority in Romania

The Germans of Romania (Rumäniendeutsche; Germanii din România or germani români; romániai németek) represent one of the most significant historical ethnic minorities of Romania since the late modern period onwards. Throughout the interwar period, the total number of ethnic Germans in this country amounted to as much as 800,000 (according to some sources and estimates dating to 1939, just on the verge of World War II), a figure which has subsequently drastically fallen to 36,000 (according to the 2011 census) and dropped even more to 22,900 (as per the 2021 Romanian census, postponed one year because of the COVID 19 pandemic and conducted in 2022). Following the decreasing trend of the overall population of Romania, the German community of the country is expected to continue shrinking in numbers as well, as it has already been officially reported by the partial results of the 2021 census.

While an ancient Germanic presence on the territory of present day Romania can be traced back to late antiquity and is represented by such migratory peoples as the Buri, Vandals, Goths (more specifically Visigoths), or the Gepids, the first waves of ethnic Germans on the territory of modern Romania came during the High Middle Ages, firstly to Transylvania (then part of the Kingdom of Hungary) and then to the neighbouring and emerging medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The first major German group to arrive and settle in what is now Romania were the Transylvanian Saxons (Siebenbürger Sachsen, Sași transilvăneni, erdélyi szászok), partly under the protection of the Teutonic Knights, who came to Transylvania (Siebenbürgen, meaning seven cities/citadels, i. e. from the seven fortified medieval cities/citadels which they founded) at the request of Hungarian King Géza II (Géza a második, Géza der Zweite, Géza al doilea) during the late 12th century. The main tasks of these settlers was to develop the areas of Transylvania where they settled as well as to defend them, and, implicitly, the rest of the Kingdom of Hungary, from the invading incursions of the migratory Asian peoples such as the Cumans, the Pechenegs, or, ultimately, the Mongols and then the Tatars. Later on, the Transylvanian Saxons further fortified both their rural and urban settlements against the invading Ottoman Empire. Slowly but steadily, the Saxon colonists managed to build solid and prosperous communities in the Carpathian Basin, more specifically in south eastern, southern, and north eastern Transylvania. These Transylvanian Saxons are very tied with their initial origin which stems from Western Europe, more specifically from Luxembourg and the Rhine Moselle river valley. Their dialect, Transylvanian Saxon, is a strong testimony to this as it reflects many similarities with Luxembourgish. Subsequently, as the Teutonic Knights left Transylvania (forced by the Hungarian rulership), the Transylvanian Saxon colonists remained and were given more rights through local autonomies, according to Diploma Andreanum (Der Goldener Freibrief der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Carta de aur a sașilor transilvani) issued by Andrew II of Hungary in the early 13th century. Their autonomous lands were later known as the 'Royal Lands' or 'Saxon Lands'. In these lands, they lived together with the Romanian ethnic majority as well as with the Hungarians (who formed a significant minority). Eventually, they also sporadically rebelled against the Hungarian rulership, most notably in the proximity of Rupea (Reps, Transylvanian Saxon: Räppes) led by graf (greav or grof) Henning of Petersdorf/Petrești in 1324. Across the Carpathians, the Saxons settled along with the Romanians in Wallachia and Moldavia and contributed to the establishment of the first major urban centres and capitals of these two Romanian medieval principalities. Noteworthy towns and medieval capitals co founded by Saxons include Baia in present day Suceava County or Târgu Neamț (Niamtz) in Neamț County as well as Târgoviște (Tergowisch) in Dâmbovița County or Câmpulung Muscel (Langenau) in Argeș County. Here they brought urbanisation and German laws as they did in Suceava as well, in which the local administration had operated for some time under the Magdeburg law, just like Siret (Sereth), Baia, or Neamț. They even briefly served as Schultheiß (Șoltuz), or the equivalent of the administrative title of medieval mayor in these communities. Nonetheless, along with the passing of time, the Saxons were assimilated in the larger Romanian communities of Romanians, both of the Wallchians and Moldavians. Back in Transylvania, they managed to thoroughly fortify their villages and towns. In bygone times, there used to be as many as 300 (or approximately 300) villages with fortified churches built by the Transylvanian Saxons. Now their number is close to half, but among these there are many very well preserved ones which are both UNESCO recognized (as World Heritage Sites) and important tourist destinations in Romania.

During the Modern Age, other groups of Germans commenced to arrive and settle parts of contemporary Romania, more specifically in the historical regions of Bukovina, Banat, and once more in Transylvania. As the Kingdom of Hungary became weakened by the Ottoman wars and the Habsburgs were on the rise and continuously expanding their domains eastward, larger groups of Bukovina Germans, Banat Swabians, and Zipser Germans settled the aforementioned Romanian historical regions, mainly for economic and socio demographic reasons. In Transylvania, other groups of Transylvanian Saxons settled there along with expelled Protestants from Salzkammergut, Austria during Empress Maria Theresa's reign to Sibiu region, Evangelical Lutheran settlers henceforth known as Transylvanian Landlers or, simply, landlers. At the same time, during the 19th century, in the Romanian Old Kingdom (Vechiul regat, Altreich), concomitantly with the crowing of King Carol I, a large influx of German settlers came to Muntenia and Oltenia. These Germans are known as Regat Germans. In addition, Germans also settled in Dobruja and this group is known as Dobrujan Germans. At around the same time, in Bessarabia, then part of the Russian Empire, larger numbers of German settlers established colonies in preponderantly in Budjak (Buceag), a constituent historical region of Bessarabia situated in its south towards the Danube's end to the Black Sea. These settlers were requested by the then imperial Russian authorities in order to develop the agriculture of the land and boost the region's economy as well as to instill urbanisation. As the Modern Age came to an end, gradually so did the privileged class status of the Saxons in Transylvania which eventually drew them closer to Romania and voting the declaration of union of Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania in the wake of World War I in 1918. Other groups of Germans from other previously Austrian ruled Romanian historical regions (and the previously Russian ruled historical region of Bessarabia) also voted for the union of their respective regions with the Kingdom of Romania from a wide variety of reasons. One of the most important reason was that the Romanian monarchy was also German in origin, being a branch of the House of Hohenzollern from the principality of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen in Swabia.

Between the two World Wars, namely in 1925, 20,000 Swabians from Timiș County were relocated to neighbouring Arad County in order to create an ethnic balance in the latter administrative unit. Before and during World War II, their organization Deutsche Voksgruppe in Rumänien actively supported Nazi Germany. Subsequently, huge numbers of both Transylvanian Saxons and Banat Swabians (ranging between 67,000 to 89,000 in total) were deported to the Soviet Union for forced labour after World War II, as a war compensation to the Soviets, despite the diplomatic efforts of Transylvanian Saxon politician Hans Otto Roth. Later during the 1950s, the Bărăgan deportations forcibly relocated many from near the Yugoslav border to the Bărăgan Plain. Survivors of both groups generally returned, but had often lost their properties in the process. In addition, the once influential Bukovina German community also drastically dwindled in numbers, primarily as of the cause of the Heim ins Reich population transfer, leaving only several thousands of ethnic Germans in southern Bukovina (or present day Suceava County) after the end of World War II. As communism paved its way in Romania, most of the remaining Bukovina Germans decided to gradually leave the country for West Germany up until 1989 (and even beyond), as it was the case of the entire German community of the country for that matter. Furthermore, during the 1970s and 1980s, tens of thousands of other Romanian Germans were 'bought back' by the West German government under a program to reunite families and following the collapse of Nicolae Ceaușescu's regime in December 1989, around 200,000 Germans left their homes in Romania. During communist times, there have been several significant German speaking opposition groups to the Romanian communist state, among which most notably there was Aktionsgruppe Banat, a literary society constituted in Banat by intellectual representatives of the local Swabian community (including, most notably, writer Richard Wagner). Overall, regarding the many Germans which were bought per capita by the West German government, the communist Romanian state was quite greedy in requesting more German marks for them, as in the words of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, also former leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Eventually, although the German minority in Romania has dwindled in numbers to a considerable extent since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the few but well organised Romanian Germans who decided to remain in the country after the 1989 revolution are respected and regarded by many of their fellow ethnic Romanian countrymen as a hard working, thorough, and practical community which contributed in many positive regards to the local culture and history of, most notably, Transylvania, Banat, and Bukovina, where the largest German speaking groups once lived alongside the Romanian ethnic majority. Furthermore, the bilateral political and cultural relationships between post–1989 Romania and the unified Federal Republic of Germany have seen a continuous positive evolution since the signing of a friendship treaty between the two countries in 1992. Additionally, on the occasion of the election of Frank Walter Steinmeier as President of Germany in 2017, current Romanian president Klaus Johannis stated, among others, that: "[ ] Last but not least, there is a profound friendship bounding the Romanians and the Germans, thanks mainly to the centuries long cohabitation between the Romanians, Saxons, and Swabians in Transylvania, Banat, and Bukovina."

In 1941, the initial number of all ethnic Germans in Romania amounted to as much as 542,325. Subsequently, however, in December 1941, after Romania created, incorporated, and administered the Transnistria Governorate, the total number of ethnic Germans increased to 674,307, most notably along with the then newly registered Black Sea Germans, solely for the short period between 1941 and 1944. It is also important to note the fact that the Germans constituted the second most numerous ethnic group in Romania at that time, after the Romanians, accounting for 4.01% (in April) respectively 3.53% (in December) of the total population.

The data displayed in the table below highlights notable settlements (of at least 1%) of the German minority in Romania according to the 2011 Romanian census. Note that some particular figures might represent a rough estimate. +German minority population by settlement (Source: 2011 Romanian census) Romanian name German name Percent CountyBrebu Nou Weidenthal 30.2 Caraș Severin Petrești Petrifeld 27.8 Satu MareUrziceni Schinal 23.9 Satu MareCămin Kalmandi 22.5 Satu MareBeltiug Bildegg 11.4 Satu MareTiream Terem 10.9 Satu MareLaslea Grosslasseln 7.5 SibiuAnina Steierdorf 5.6 Caraș SeverinAțel Hatzeldorf 5.3 SibiuCârlibaba Mariensee/LudwigsdorfKirlibaba 5.1 SuceavaSaschiz Keisd 5.0 MureșBiertan Birthälm 4.6 SibiuArdud Erdeed 4.5 Satu MareVișeu de Sus Oberwischau 4.0 MaramureșDeta Detta 4.0 TimișTomnatic Triebswetter 3.9 TimișSemlac Semlak 3.6 AradPeregu Mare Deutschpereg 3.5 AradSântana Sanktanna 2.9 AradJimbolia Hatzfeld 2.9 TimișJibert Seiburg 2.8 BrașovMăieruş Nussbach 2.6 BrașovCăpleni Kaplau 2.4 Satu MareLovrin Lowrin 2.3 TimișCarei Grosskarol 2.3 Satu MareParța Paratz 2.1 TimișBuziaș Busiasch 2.1 TimișPeriam Perjamosch 2.1 Timiș Sânnicolau Mare Grosssanktnikolaus 2.1 TimișPâncota Pankota 2.1 AradCristian Neustadt 1.9 BrașovLenauheim Schadat 1.9 TimișLugoj Logosch 1.9 TimișMiercurea Sibiului Reussmarkt 1.8 SibiuRupea Reps 1.7 BrașovSânpetru Petersberg 1.7 BrașovUngra Galt 1.7 BrașovReșița Reschitz 1.7 Caraș SeverinCiacova Tschakowa 1.6 TimișCisnădie Heltau 1.5 SibiuMediaș Mediasch 1.5 SibiuMoșna Meschen 1.5 SibiuSighișoara Schässburg 1.5 MureșOțelu Roșu Ferdinandsberg 1.4 Caraș SeverinTimișoara Temeschburg/Temeswar 1.4 Timiș Nițchidorf Nitzkydorf 1.4 Timiș Hălchiu Heldsdorf 1.4 SibiuMerghindeal Mergeln 1.3 SibiuBeba Veche Altbeba 1.3 Timiș Iacobeni Jakobsdorf 1.3 SibiuLipova Lippa 1.3 Arad CountyHomorod Hamruden 1.2 BrașovHărman Honigberg 1.2 BrașovMatei Mathesdorf 1.2 Bistrița NăsăudSebeș Mühlbach 1.1 AlbaBecicherecu Mic Kleinbetschkerek 1.1 TimișCaransebeș Karansebesch 1.1 Caraș SeverinBod Brenndorf 1.1 BrașovBrateiu Pretai 1.0 BrașovBocșa Neuwerk 1.0 Caraș SeverinSatu Mare Sathmar 1.0 Satu MareSibiu Hermannstadt 1.0 SibiuMănăstirea Humorului Humora Kloster 1.0 SuceavaAgnita Agnetheln 1.0 SibiuHoghilag Halvelagen 1.0 SibiuDumbrăveni Elisabethstadt 1.0 SibiuȘeica Mare Marktschelken 1.0 SibiuCodlea Zeiden 1.0 BrașovGătaia Gattaja 1.0 TimișMăureni Moritzfeld 1.0 Caraș Severin

The vast majority of the Romanian Germans are either Roman Catholic or Protestant (i. e. Evangelical Lutheran). The Evangelical Lutherans pertain to the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (Evangelische Kirche A. B. [Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses] in Rumänien).

In 1922, all political representatives of the German community in Romania founded the Cultural League of Germans in Sibiu/Hermannstadt which was initially led by Richard Csaki. The league was in charge of organizing post university summer courses, sending books, and providing teaching material through various lecturers in the settlements inhabited by ethnic Germans. Nowadays, there are two German language schools in Bucharest, namely Deutsche Schule Bukarest and Deutsches Goethe Kolleg Bukarest. The Deutsche Schule Bukarest serves Kinderkrippe (nursery), Kindergarten, Grundschule (elementary school), and Gymnasium (high school). In Timișoara (Temeschburg or Temeswar), the Nikolaus Lenau High School was founded during the late 19th century. It was named this way in reference to Nikolaus Lenau, a Banat Swabian Romanticist poet. Nowadays, the Nikolaus Lenau High School is considered the most important of its kind from Banat. In Sibiu/Hermannstadt, the Samuel von Brukenthal National College is the oldest German language school from Romania (recorded as early as the 14th century), being also classified as a historical monument. It was subsequently renamed this way in reference to baron Samuel von Brukenthal, a Transylvanian Saxon aristocrat. Additionally, there is one Goethe Institut cultural centre based in Bucharest as well as five Deutsche Kultzertrum based in Iași, Brașov, Cluj Napoca, Timișoara, and Sibiu. In Brașov/Kronstadt, the German language school is the Johannes Honterus National College, named after the renowned great 16th century Transylvanian Saxon scholar and humanist Johannes Honterus. The German State Theatre Timișoara (Deutsches Staatstheater Temeswar) is one of the oldest state theaters in Romania.

The Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung für Rumänien (ADZ) is the daily German language newspaper in contemporary Romania. To this day, it is the only German language newspaper published in Eastern Europe. Regional German language publications also include the Neue Banater Zeitung in Banat and the Hermannstädter Zeitung for the town of Sibiu (Hermannstadt). Previously, in the passing of time, other historical German language newspapers included: Arbeiter Zeitung, Temeswarer Nachrichten (the first German language newspaper published in Southaestern Europe), and Banater Arbeiter Presse in Banat, Vorwärts in Bukovina, and Neuer Weg in Bucharest. On the Romanian public TV channel TVR, the show of the German minority in Romania is called Akzente and airs quite regularly. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2019. The show is dubbed in standard German (i. e. Hochdeutsch) and subtitled in Romanian as well.