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
Berlin,Frankfurt Rhine Main Region,Munich,Stuttgart,Düsseldorf,Bielefeld
Languages
Greek andGerman
Religion
PredominantlyGreek Orthodox Church,Atheism, someIslam (Greek Muslims)
Related ethnic groups
Greek diaspora

TheGreeks in Germany (Greek:Έλληνες στη Γερμανία,romanized: Éllines sti Germanía;German:Griechen in Deutschland) comprise German residents or citizens of Greek heritage and Greeks who immigrated to Germany. According to theFederal Statistical Office of Germany, 453,000 people living in Germany in 2019 had full or partial Greek ancestry.^[1] 363,650 of these were Greek citizens (including those with dual citizenship).^[2]

Part ofa series on
Greeks
Etymology Greek names
By country Native communities Greece Cyprus Albania Italy Russia and Ukraine Turkey Greek diaspora Australia Melbourne Canada Toronto Germany United Kingdom United States
Groups by region Modern Greece: Macedonians Sarakatsani Maniots Tsakonians Constantinople and Asia Minor: Cappadocians Constantinopolitan Greeks Phanariots Karamanlides Pontic Caucasus Crimea Africa: Egyptiots Ethiopian Greeks Sudanese Greeks Other regions: Cypriots Griko Urums Other groups: Aromanians Arvanites Megleno-Romanians Slavophones Souliotes
Greek culture Art Cinema Cuisine Dance Dress Education Flag Language Literature Music Politics Religion Sport Television Theatre
Religion Greek Orthodox Church Greek Roman Catholicism Greek Byzantine Catholicism Greek Evangelicalism Judaism Islam Hellenism
Languages and dialects Greek: Australian Calabrian Cappadocian Constantinopolitan Cretan Cypriot Griko Hellenoromani Himariote Maniot Mariupol Pontic Tsakonian Yevanic Greeklish Other languages Aromanian Arvanitika Greek Sign Language Karamanli Turkish Megleno-Romanian Slavic Urum
History of Greece (Ancient ·Byzantine ·Ottoman)
v t e

Significant immigration fromGreece to Germany started around 1700, when theOttoman Empire opened its borders. The first community was found inLeipzig at this time.

A second wave of immigration occurred in and after 1832 when Otto of Wittelbach (1815—1867) becameKing of Greece asOtto of Greece. Many Greeks came as students toBavaria.

The last major wave took place followingWorld War II, most Greeks arriving during this time. In those post-war years,West Germany sought workers for their expanding industries, whileEast Germany provided safe haven forGreek communists.

Many Greek children were involuntarily relocated to theGerman Democratic Republic by the Communist rebels during theGreek Civil War.

The first Greek schools were created because of the number of Greeks immigrating 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 gone back to Greece. Nowadays, every fifth of an estimated 47,000 students of Greek origin attends one of 35 Greek schools in Germany.

The first Greeks came during the time of theRoman Empire toCentral Europe. Among the major German citiesOffenbach am Main andStuttgart had the highest share of Greek migrants in 2011 according to German Census data.^[3]Munich was home to the largest Greek community in Germany. According to the same census, there are also large Greek diaspora communities inNordrhein-Westfalen, especially inDüsseldorf andBielefeld.

There are some members of theTurks of Western Thrace who espouse a Turcophone identity includingTurks of the Dodecanese among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany.^[5][6] The majority of them immigrated fromWestern Thrace.^[7] 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 emigrating abroad, with estimates suggesting that there are now between 12,000^[8] and 25,000^[9] residing in Germany.

• Theophano (960-991) - Empress of Holy Roman Empire, Wife ofOtto II.
• John Argyris (1913-2004) - was among the creators of theFinite Element Method (FEM)
• Daniela Amavia - actress and model
• Adam Bousdoukos- fromSoul Kitchen
• Constantin Carathéodory - mathematician
• Miltiades Caridis - conductor
• Costa Cordalis - singer/songwriter
• Georgios 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
• Melina Aslanidou - singer
• Andromache Dimitropoulou - singer
• Anastasia Zampounidis - broadcaster
• Antonios Papadopoulos - footballer
• Linda Zervakis - newscaster (Tagesschau)
• Haris & Panos Katsimihas - singers, songwriters, composers
• Odisseas Vlachodimos - footballer
• Panagiotis Vlachodimos - footballer
• Shindy - rapper
• Ioannis Panousis - Author, Law Enforcement Specialist
• Evan K
• Joseph Pilates Inventor of the Pilates method of physical fitness.

• Germany–Greece relations
• Greek diaspora
• Immigration to Germany
• Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany

• Your Link to Germany

• Clogg, Richard (2002).Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers.ISBN 1-85065-705-X..
• 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..
• Westerlund, David; Svanberg, Ingvar (1999).Islam Outside the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN 0-312-22691-8..

• 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.S2CID 153812866.

• Greeks in Germany
• German people of Greek descent

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• "Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation
• Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters
• Articles containing Greek-language text
• Articles containing German-language text