Serben in Deutschland Срби у Немачкој Srbi u Nemačkoj | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral inDüsseldorf | |
| Total population | |
| 232,252 Serbian citizens (2022)[1] ~387,000 of Serb ancestry (2023)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia,Baden-Württemberg,Bavaria,Hessen,Lower Saxony,Berlin | |
| Languages | |
| German andSerbian | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodoxy (Serbian Orthodox Church) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Serbs in Austria,Serbs in Switzerland |
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Serbs in Germany areGerman citizens of ethnicSerb descent andSerbian citizens living inGermany. According to official data from 2022 census, there were 232,252 Serbian citizens in Germany, while estimated number of people of Serb ethnic descent stands at around 387,000, representing the largest group within the globalSerb diaspora.[1][2]
Serbian immigration to Germany began during the 1960s and 1970s when Germany'sGastarbeiter ("guest worker") program attracted many laborers fromYugoslavia, including ethnic Serbs.
The foundations of the modern Serbian community in Germany were laid during West Germany’sWirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle"). Devastated by war and facing acute labor shortages, theWest Germany turned to southern Europe for workers. In 1961, West Germany and Yugoslavia signed the Belgrade Treaty, the first bilateral labor recruitment agreement between a NATO-aligned state and a non-aligned communist country: Germany needed labor for its factories; Yugoslavia needed hard currency remittances to fund its ambitious industrialization.
Serbs formed a significant portion of the Yugoslav migrant stream, though official statistics recorded them simply as "Yugoslavs". Most came from rural Serbian regions with high unemployment and strong traditions of seasonal labor migration. Recruitment offices inBelgrade,Niš, andKragujevac processed thousands of young men, often with only primary education, promising two-year contracts in auto plants, steelworks, and construction.[3]They concentrated in industrial corridors: theRuhr (Essen,Duisburg,Dortmund),North Rhine-Westphalia,Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart,Mannheim), andBavaria (Munich). Companies likeVolkswagen,Opel,ThyssenKrupp, andSiemens became synonymous with Yugoslav-labor. Workers lived in factory dormitories, wages were modest by German standards but transformative back home: a worker earning 1,200DM monthly could send 600-800 DM to Serbia, enough to build a house in a village within a few years. The phrase ("I’m going to Germany to earn for a house" (Idem u Nemačku da zaradim za kuću) became a refrain in Serbian villages.[4]
Despite the hardship, the early 1960s saw the first seeds of community life. In 1965, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Düsseldorf consecrated Saint Sava Church in the first permanent Serbian parish in Germany.[5] Weekend gatherings,slava celebrations, folk dances, and choir practices, became vital for preserving identity in an alien industrial landscape.
The1973 oil crisis and subsequent recession abruptly ended active recruitment. The ChancellorWilly Brandt’s government imposed a freeze on new guest worker visas. But rather than triggering mass return, it accelerated permanent settlement. Workers already in Germany were allowed to extend contracts, and crucially, family reunification became possible under a new legislation. This marked a profound demographic shift as wives and children arrived, transforming single-male enclaves into family communities. By 1980, the Yugoslav population in Germany had significantly grown, with a growing second-generation born in Germany. Children attended German schools but maintained Serbian language and culture through weekend supplementary schools (dopunska škola), often held in Serbian Orthodox churches. The first such school opened inCologne in 1977, followed by others inHamburg,Berlin, andFrankfurt. Radio programs inSerbo-Croatian, such asWDR’s "Yugoslav Hour", broadcast news, music, and call-ins, linking diaspora to Yugoslavia.[6]
The violentbreakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s brought another wave of Serbian migration to Germany. Germany, bound by its liberal asylum laws, became the primary destination. Many entered on tourist visas and applied forDuldung ("tolerated stay") or asylum. The German government, overwhelmed, introduced the "safe third country" rule and restricted benefits, but family ties built over decades facilitated chain migration. This wave was different than the one in 1960s and 1970s: more urban and educated.
Serbian citizens in Germany, numbering 232,252 according to data from the 2022 census, are heavily concentrated (72%) in four federal states:North Rhine-Westphalia,Baden-Württemberg,Bavaria, andHesse. Major hubs of Serbian immigration includeFrankfurt,Dusseldorf,Cologne,Berlin,Munich, andStuttgart.[1]
People with Serbian ancestry (including Serbian citizens born in Germany and all persons born in Germany as German citizens with at least one Serbian parent who migrated to Germany or was born in Germany as a Serbian citizens) are currently estimated to number around 387,000, forming the 15th largest ancestry group in the country.[2]
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Serbs in Germany predominantly belong to theEastern Orthodoxy with theSerbian Orthodox Church as the traditional church. There is Serbian Orthodox diocese, theSerbian Orthodox Eparchy of Düsseldorf and all of Germany, encompassing 27 parishes across Germany with 18churches as well as monastery inHildesheim.[7]
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Note: Serbs in countries and territories borderingSerbia (Bosnia and Herzegovina,Montenegro,Croatia,Kosovo,North Macedonia,Romania,Hungary, andAlbania) are not considered diaspora, as they are autochthonous communities and recognized ethnic minorities in those states. | ||
