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 The coat of arms of the city ofSan Bernardino, a German-founded town in Paraguay, displays the German and Paraguayan flags. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 450,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Asunción,Itapúa Department andBoquerón Department. | |
| Languages | |
| Paraguayan Spanish,Guaraní,German,Hunsrik,Plautdietsch | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (mostlyRoman Catholic andProtestantism),Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| German diaspora,German Canadians,German-Chileans,German-Argentinians,German-Brazilian,German Uruguayan,German Americans,Russia Germans |
TheGerman minority inParaguay came into existence with immigration during theindustrial age. The "Nueva Germania" colony was founded in Paraguay in 1888; though regarded as a failure, it still exists despite being abandoned by many of its founders in the 1890s. Paraguay was apopular place for German leaders accused ofwar crimes to retreat after thesecond World War. There are large communities of German descendants living in the central Paraguayan department ofGuairá, in a town calledColonia Independencia, in the northern Paraguayan department capital city ofFiladelfia and in the southern Paraguayan cities ofEncarnación,Obligado,Bella Vista,Fram,Pilar,San Ignacio,Coronel Bogado andHohenau. Some recent immigrants from other countries to Paraguay also have German ancestry.[2] Notable Paraguayans of German descent include the former president of ParaguayAlfredo Stroessner. The German Paraguayans are one of the most prominent and growingGerman communities in South America, with some 25,000 German-speakingMennonites living in the ParaguayanChaco.[3]
Another large group of Germanic people who immigrated to Paraguay arePlautdietsch-speakingRussian Mennonites, people of Dutch and Prussian ancestry who immigrated to Russia under the rule ofCzarina Catherine the Great. The Paraguayan Mennonite community left Russia in two waves: the first in the 19th century when their exemption from military service ended, and the second to avoid Stalin's collectivization programs.[citation needed] Russian Mennonites are different from another German-Russian group, theVolga Germans, through religion, ethnicity, and reasons for immigrating to Russia. Russian Mennonites are religiousMennonites while the Volga Germans are religiousLutherans andRoman Catholics. Russian Mennonites are mostly ofFlemish andFrisian origin.[citation needed]
When the Communists came to power in Russia, the German-speaking population were persecuted by the new government. Some Russian Mennonites saw Paraguay as a perfect place to settle because it looked isolated.[citation needed] The government of Paraguay wanted more people to settle in the Chaco region, which was under dispute with its southern neighbor Argentina and its western neighbor Bolivia. The move to Paraguay was difficult for the Russian Mennonites, because they were new to the climate.[citation needed] Some of them left Paraguay for neighboring Argentina, where they met many Volga Germans, who had decided to settle in Argentina to escape the persecution in Russia.[citation needed]
The Russian Mennonites settled in theBoquerón Department in Paraguay.[citation needed]
![Alemana 1, a German pastry shop and restaurant in San Bernardino, is a popular meeting place year-round.[4][5]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aInmger_py.jpg)
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German schools:
Historic German schools:[6]
