German Brazilian
A German Brazilian (German: Deutschbrasilianer, Portuguese: teuto-brasileiro or germano-brasileiro; also: alemão) is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin. German Brazilians live in the entire country, although the overwhelming percentage is found in the country's South Region, mainly in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, with lesser but still significant degree in the Southeast Region. German dialects together make up the second most spoken first language in Brazil. A few Brazilian municipalities have Brazilian Hunsrückisch and Germanic Pomeranian as co-official with Portuguese. They are located in Southern Brazil and Espírito Santo. About 12 million Brazilians have at least some German heritage, 1.5 million speak German or Brazilian German.[1].
Contents
Forced assimilation
Due to anti-German sentiment and especially envy of German prosperity, in 1938, President Getúlio Dorneles Vargas initiated a strict racist program of forced cultural assimilation: Nacionalismo. He forbade any organised manifestation of German culture in Brazil. Schools were required to teach exclusively in Portuguese,[2] and the publishing of books, newspapers and magazines in foreign languages (which in practice meant German language and Italian language) was subjected to prior censorship by the Ministry of Justice[3] The use of foreign languages in governmental precincts was forbidden,[4] as well as the use of foreign languages in religious services.[5] Members of the Brazilian army were sent to areas of "foreign colonization" to "monitor" the local population. There are records of arrest or moral coercion motivated by the use of foreign languages.[6][7]
Sometimes, Germans surnames were adapted or changed in Brazil. Although this was part forced assimilation, officially it was stated, that this was done for a more "understandable" writing in Portuguese since many were incomprehensible to Brazilians. The name change meant a loss of cultural identity for great masses of Brazilians with, often unknown, German heritage.
| Germans surnames adapted in Brazil [8][9] | |
|---|---|
| German | Adapted |
| Birnbaum | Pereira |
| Diemer | Dimer or Timer |
| Emmerich | Emerin |
| Frazen | França |
| Greis | Krais |
| Hahn | Hánn |
| Herzenritter | Heizeriter or Aizenrita |
| Jungles | Junckes or Junkes |
| Justin | Justo or Justino |
| Kehrig | Koerich |
| Kuhn | Cunha |
| Lefhaar | Leffa,Lefa or Leva |
| Löwe | Leão |
| Meng | Mengue |
| Meyer | Maia |
| Ostien | Hóstia |
| Paulus | Paulos or Paulo |
| Schaeffer | Schefer |
| Schlitzer | Silistre |
| Weber | Webber or Veber |
| Weingärtner | Vaingärtner |
| Wilvert | Vicente |
| Zimmermann | Simão |
The first German communities
| Place | Date | Place of origin of the settlers[10] |
|---|---|---|
| Nova Friburgo (RJ) | 1819 | Switzerland, Rhineland, Saxony, Bohemia |
| São Leopoldo (RS) | 1824 | Hunsrück, Saxony, Württemberg, Saxe-Coburg |
| Santo Amaro (district of São Paulo) (SP) | 1829[11] | Hunsrück |
| Petrópolis (RJ) | 1837[12] | Kastellaun, Mosel, Bingen, Nassau, Ingelheim, Wörrstadt, Darmstadt, Rhineland |
| Santa Cruz (RS) | 1849 | Rhineland, Pomerania, Silesia |
| Santo Ângelo (RS) | 1857 | Rhineland, Saxony, Pomerania |
| Nova Petrópolis (RS) | 1859 | Pomerania, Saxony, Bohemia |
| Teutônia (RS) | 1868 | Westphalia |
| São Lourenço do Sul (RS) | 1857 | Pomerania, Rhineland |
| Blumenau (SC) | 1850 | Pomerania, Holstein, Hanover, Braunschweig, Saxony |
| Brusque (SC) | 1860 | Baden, Oldenburg, Rhineland, Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Braunschweig |
| [Pomerode (SC) | 1861 | Pomerania |
| Joinville (SC) | 1851 | Pomerania, Prussia, Oldenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Switzerland |
| Curitiba (PR) | 1851 | Volga Germans |
| Guarapuava (PR) | 1951 | Swabian Germans; Swabia |
| Santa Isabel (ES) | 1847 | Hunsrück, Pomerania, Rhineland, Prussia, Saxony |
| Santa Leopoldina (ES) | 1857 | Pomerania, Rhineland, Prussia, Saxony, Switzerland, Tirol, Schleswig-Holstein |
| Santa Maria de Jetibá (ES) | 1857 | Pomerania |
Year of Germany
Beginning May 2013, Brazil celebrated the "Year of Germany in Brazil". Just in time for German Unity Day on 3 October 2012 the world-famous Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janeiro was illuminated in Germany’s national colors of black, red and gold to point towards this awaited event. The motto of the year is “Germany and Brazil – when ideas come together”.[13] The Unidos da Tijuca school, the third-oldest samba school, reigning carnival champions, chose to go for a German theme at this year's Carnival with an unusual title for their 80-minute performance in February 2013: "Alemanha Encantada" or "Enchanted Germany," which is about "Brazil and Germany coming together: colours, cultures, and capabilities," the Tagesspiegel newspaper. It was a mammoth show, involving eight floats, built on buses, with various Germanic features - including outsized Playmobil figures, the moon (to represent Germany pioneering rocket scientists, e.g. Wernher von Braun), and figures from ancient Germanic mythology, including thunder god Thor. Artistic director Paulo Barros, who has already choreographed two winning Sambadrome performances, packed Germany into five acts, beginning with Germanic gods and assorted mythic creatures. There follows Goethe's Faust, Bertolt Brecht's outcast characters, Fritz Lang robots, and a depiction of Marlene Dietrich as the Blue Angel. Meanwhile, the "Universe of Children" section is dedicated to German fairytales and toys. The whole spectacle was broadcasted in its entirety on Brazilian TV station Globo-TV, with an audience of more than 190 million viewers.[14]
Brazilians of German descent (excerpt)
List of German Brazilian models
- Gisele Bündchen
- Ana Claudia Michels
- Ana Hickmann
- Mariana Weickert
- Letícia Birkheuer
- Raquel Zimmermann
- Cintia Dicker
- Solange Wilvert
- Monique Olsen
- Carol Trentini
- Jeísa Chiminazzo
- Shirley Mallmann
- Bruna Erhardt
- Vera Fischer
- Mariza Sommer
- Ingrid Budag
- Eveline Schroeter
- Maria Carolina Portella Otto
- Leila Cristine Schuster
- Thaisa Thomsen
- Carina Beduschi
- Rafaela Zanella
- Jakeline Lemke
- Priscilla Riker
- Liandra Schmidt
- Sabrina Rhoden
- Manoella Heiderscheidt
- Aline Weber
See also
- Germans
- Ethnic German
- German American
- German Canadian
- German Argentine
- German Mexican
- Riograndenser Hunsrückisch
External links
- German Brazilian people
- YouTube: Blumenau by a Local | The Most German City in Brazil | Oktoberfest in Brazil
- German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (archive)
References
- ↑ The mutually comprehensible German-based dialects spoken by German Brazilians together form a significant minority language in Brazil. They are particularly strong in the country's South and Southeast Regions. Brazilian German is strongly influenced by Portuguese and to a lesser extent by Italian dialects and indigenous languages
- ↑ Decreto-Lei 406, May 4th, 1938, article 85
- ↑ Decreto-Lei 406, May 4th, 1938, article 87
- ↑ Decreto-Lei 1.545, August 25, 1938, article 15
- ↑ Decreto-Lei 1.545, August 25, 1938, article 16
- ↑ Um processo cultural forçado
- ↑ Experiência dos campos de concentração na vida dos imigrantes do Paraná
- ↑ Histзria da Imigraусo Alemс no Sul ... - Felipe Kuhn Braun - Google Livros. Books.google.com.br. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ↑ As Mudanças nos Nomes de Família - Família MEURER. Sites.google.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ↑ As tradições e o abrasileiramento
- ↑ http://ww2.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/arquivos/subprefeituras/sppa/parelheirosgrajau.pdf
- ↑ Fundação de Cultura e Turismo Petrópolis - FCTP. Fctp.petropolis.rj.gov.br. Retrieved on 2011-09-19.
- ↑ Christ the Redeemer Monument in Rio de Janeiro illuminated in black-red-gold
- ↑ Rio gives Carnival a Teutonic touch
