German Argentines (, ) are Argentines of German ancestry as well as German citizens living in Argentina. They are descendants of Germans who immigrated to Argentina from Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Some German Argentines originally settled in Brazil, then later immigrated to Argentina. Although Germany as a political entity was founded in 1871, the German language and culture have traditionally been more important than the country of origin, as the basis of the ethnic and national consciousness of Germans. Today, German Argentines make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in Argentina, with over two million citizens of Volga German descent alone.
German Argentines have founded German schools such as the Hölters Schule and German-language newspapers such as the Argentinisches Tageblatt ("Argentine Daily"). German descendants even make up the majority of the population in several localities in the interior of the country.
German immigration to Argentina
Between 1885 and World War I the population of Argentina doubled due to an influx of millions of European immigrants during the Great European immigration wave to the country. German communities developed in some specific provinces, such as in the center and South of Buenos Aires Province (around towns such as Coronel Suárez, Olavarría, Tornquist, etc.), in Entre Ríos Province, in the East of La Pampa Province, in Misiones Province, in Córdoba Province, in some localities of the Chaco Province, etc. Meanwhile, the urban German population settled in the city of Buenos Aires also developed their own German schools, hospitals, shops, theaters, sports clubs, and banks. Many of those who immigrated directly from Germany and settled in cities were assimilated into the upper-middle class of Buenos Aires, but maintained strong ties to German culture, providing their children with a German education so they would not be at a disadvantage if they returned to Germany.
German immigration to Argentina occurred during five main time periods: pre–1870, 1870–1914, 1918–1933, 1933–1940 and post–1945. In the first period numbers were generally low; of note are the colonias alemanas, first founded in the province of Buenos Aires in 1827. During the second period, Argentina experienced a boom in immigration due to massive economic expansion in the port of Buenos Aires and the wheat and beef producing Pampas. German immigrants began establishing themselves and developing newspapers, schools, and social clubs. A new, Germanic-Argentine identity gradually developed among the population.
During the third period, after a pause due to World War I, immigration to Argentina resumed and Germans came in their largest numbers. This can be attributed to increased immigration restrictions in the United States and Brazil as well as the deteriorating conditions in post-World War I Europe. The two largest years of German immigration to Argentina were 1923 and 1924, with approximately 10,000 each year. This period is of particular interest because the older groups of German speakers began to feel a sense of cultural crisis due to the assimilation policies of the Argentine state, while the newcomers gave renewed life to German cultural institutions and created new ones. Between 1905 and 1933, the number of German schools rose from 59 to 176. Though found throughout Argentina, over 80% of these were located in Buenos Aires Province, Misiones, or Entre Ríos in 1933. Further, attendance at German schools rose from 3,300 in 1905 to 12,900 in 1933.
During the penultimate period, from 1933 to 1940, Argentina experienced another surge in German immigration. The majority were Jews from Germany although German opponents of Nazism also arrived. Half of the 45,000 German speakers who immigrated at this time settled in the city of Buenos Aires. They comprised 28% of total immigration to the country, as mass migration to Argentina was slowing. Two studies have been done on these arrivals' impact on the newspaper Das Argentinische Tageblatt and how it was used by anti-Nazi immigrants to contribute to the debate about fascism.
The final period of German immigration to Argentina occurred between 1946 and 1950, when President Juan Perón ordered the creation of a ratline for prominent Nazis, collaborators and other fascists from Europe. During this period, Argentine diplomats and intelligence officers, on Perón's instructions, favored the settlement of former German political leaders.