German Bolivians Explained
| Group: | German Bolivians
Deutsche Bolivianer |
| Population: | Different estimates:- 57,000 mennonites
(Kopp, 2015).[1]
- 60,000 plautdietsch speakers
(Salminen, 2007; in Ethnologue, 2019).[2]
|
| Langs: | Bolivian Spanish, German, and Plautdietsch. Yiddish is spoken by German-Jewish communities. |
| Rels: | Christianity (Protestantism, Lutheranism, Reformed, Mennonite, Amish, Roman Catholicism) and Judaism. |
| Related: | Germans
Austrian Americans
German Mexican
German Brazilians
German Argentines
German diaspora |
German Bolivians are Bolivians of full, partial, or predominantly German descent, or German-born people residing in Bolivia.
Waves of immigration
German immigrants began to arrive in Bolivia in the 18th century, and many more arrived in the 19th century.[3] During World War II, Bolivia ceased diplomatic relations with Germany and expelled many Germans.[3] Many German Jews immigrated to Bolivia during the war.[4] Inti SA, Bolivia's largest pharmaceutical company, was founded by German immigrant Ernesto W. N. Schilling Huhn.[5]
A substantial and growing part of the Germanic population in Bolivia are Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from Russia, who are of Dutch and Prussian descent. These Mennonites started to immigrate in the 1950s, with large waves of immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, mainly from Mexico and Paraguay. In 2012 there were 23,818 church members in congregations of these Mennonites, indicating a total population of about 70,000.[6] The total population of German Mennonites in Bolivia was estimated at 60,000 by Lisa Wiltse in 2010.[7] See also: Mennonites in Bolivia.
Education
German schools:
Historic German schools:[8]
Notable German Bolivians
- Ronald Rivero Kuhn, footballer
- Hugo Banzer, military officer, twice President
- Germán Busch, military officer and President
- Luciano Durán Böger, writer and poet
- Enrique Hertzog, physician and President
- Pato Hoffmann, actor and theater director
- Noel Kempff, biologist and environmentalist
- Jaime Mirtenbaum Zenamon, classical guitarist and composer
- Alberto Natusch, military officer and dictator
- Erwin Sánchez Freking, footballer
- Achim von Kries, German military officer
- Blanca Wiethüchter, writer and poet
- Jorge Wilstermann, aviator
- Lidia Gueiler Tejada, politician (the first female President of Bolivia, and the second woman in the Americas to ever become chief of state).
- Luis Gamarra Mayser, singer and songwriter
- Rodrigo Mendoza Heinrich, American War Hero
- Pedro Kramer, Historian and diplomat
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Las colonias menonitas en Bolivia . 2015 . Adalberto Kopp . 57 . Fundación Tierra . 978-99974-821-6-7.
- Web site: Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, & Charles D. Fennig . Ethnologue: Languages of the World . Plautdietsch . 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190402192648/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/pdt . 2 April 2019. 2019-04-02 .
- News: Los alemanes hicieron industria de la grande. La Razón. June 29, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716144203/http://www.wradio.com.mx/nota.aspx?id=836273. July 16, 2011.
- Web site: El Refugio en Latinoamerica. Holocaust Encyclopedia. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. 22 May 2015.
- News: Oblitas. Mónica. Stege: 100 años, un buen comienzo. May 22, 2015. Los Tiempos. February 2, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20150522042916/http://www.lostiempos.com/oh/actualidad/actualidad/20100207/stege-100-anos-un-buen-comienzo_56725_101359.html. May 22, 2015. dead.
- http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bolivia&oldid=103617 Bender, Harold S., Martin W. Friesen, Menno Ediger, Isbrand Hiebert and Gerald Mumaw. "Bolivia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2013. Web. 11 Feb 2014.
- Web site: Lisa wiltse – the mennonites of manitoba, bolivia. 26 August 2010.
- "Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672" . Bundestag (West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 18-19/51.
