Germans in the Czech Republic
Encyclopedia
There are various communities of Germans in the Czech Republic . In the 2001 census, 39,106 Czech citizens, or around 0.4% of the Czech Republic
's total population, declared German ethnicity. Government statistics also showed 14,157 German citizens
living in the CR .
form a minority of the residents in Bohemia
, Moravia
, and Czech Silesia
. They are mostly descendants of those Sudeten Germans
who were not expelled after World War II
(officially all anti-Nazis could stay, the reality was often different). However, neither the Czech government nor the majority of Germans there still see themselves as Sudeten Germans. After the Second World War, the Germans were under great pressure to assimilate to general Czech society; as a result, many members of this group, especially the younger generation, are now completely assimilated.
According to the Czech censuses, the number of self-identified Germans in the Czech Republic fell from 160,000 in 1950 to under 40,000 by 2001. Over the decades, many older Germans died, and the younger generations grew up often speaking only Czech. In addition, when Germans married Czechs, their children were almost always counted as Czech in the census. Lastly, as many Czechs carry German surnames, the assimilated Germans are not particularly noticeable.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
's total population, declared German ethnicity. Government statistics also showed 14,157 German citizens
German nationality law
German citizenship is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. In other words one usually acquires German citizenship if a parent is a German citizen, irrespective of place of birth....
living in the CR .
Migration history
Ethnic GermansGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
form a minority of the residents in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, and Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia is an unofficial name of one of the three Czech lands and a section of the Silesian historical region. It is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in the Moravian-Silesian Region, with a section in the northern Olomouc Region...
. They are mostly descendants of those Sudeten Germans
Sudeten Germans
- Importance of Sudeten Germans :Czechoslovakia was inhabited by over 3 million ethnic Germans, comprising about 23 percent of the population of the republic and about 29.5% of Bohemia and Moravia....
who were not expelled after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(officially all anti-Nazis could stay, the reality was often different). However, neither the Czech government nor the majority of Germans there still see themselves as Sudeten Germans. After the Second World War, the Germans were under great pressure to assimilate to general Czech society; as a result, many members of this group, especially the younger generation, are now completely assimilated.
According to the Czech censuses, the number of self-identified Germans in the Czech Republic fell from 160,000 in 1950 to under 40,000 by 2001. Over the decades, many older Germans died, and the younger generations grew up often speaking only Czech. In addition, when Germans married Czechs, their children were almost always counted as Czech in the census. Lastly, as many Czechs carry German surnames, the assimilated Germans are not particularly noticeable.