German Uruguayan

The German community in Uruguay is small but significant; it numbers ca. 10,000 German expatriates and 40,000 people of German descent.^[1] Most of them live in the Montevideo area, although there are German minorities in Paysandú, Río Negro, San José and Canelones.

History

One of the first Germans to come to the region was Ulrich Schmidl (known locally as Ulrico Smidel), who arrived at the oriental shores of the River Plate in the early 16th century and described the Charrúas.^[2]

The German presence in Uruguay was always small, relatively discrete. However, there are important German names closely linked to the political landscape:

• Carlos Fischer (Colorado; President of the National Council of Government, 1958-1959)
• Héctor Grauert (Colorado; representative, minister, and member of the NCG)
• his brother Julio César Grauert (Colorado hero, opposer to the Dictatorship of Terra)
• Tabaré Hackenbruch (Colorado, three-term mayor of Canelones Department)
• Alberto Heber (Blanco; President of the National Council of Government, 1966-1967)
• his brother Mario Heber (Blanco; representative and senator)
• his son Luis Alberto Heber (Blanco; senator since 1995; president of the party)
• Ernesto Kroch, German-born syndicalist

Sport is another field where several German Uruguayans stand out:

• Carlos Grossmüller, footballer
• Gary Kagelmacher, footballer
• Martín Kutscher, swimmer
• Paul Kutscher, swimmer
• Sergio Orteman, footballer
• Gerardo Vonder Pütten, footballer

Other important German-Uruguayan people are:

• Elio García-Austt, neuroscientist
• Carlos Ott, architect
• Carlos Rehermann, novelist and playwright
• Siegbert Rippe, commercial jurist
• Erwin Schrott, opera singer
• Rodolfo Wirz, Roman Catholic bishop of Maldonado and Punta del Este

Religion

Local Germans practise different Christian religions:

• Roman Catholic: the Pallottine Fathers
• German Evangelical Church
• Mennonite: there are four Mennonite settlements in Colonia Nicolich, El Ombú, Gartental, and Colonia Delta.

There is also an important presence of German Jews.

Institutions

German immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others:

• German School Montevideo (German: Deutsche Schule Montevideo, established 1857)^[3]
• German Evangelical Community(German: Deutsch-Evangelische Gemeinde Montevideo)^[4]
• German Cultural and Social Work (German: Deutsches Kultur- und Hilfswerk)^[5]
• German Club (German: Deutscher Klub, established 1866)^[6]
• Uruguayan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (German: Deutsch-Uruguayische Industrie- und Handelskammer, established 1916)^[7]
• German Rowing Club Montevideo (German: Deutscher Ruderverein Montevideo, established 1922)^[8]
• German Male Choir (German: Deutscher Männerchor)^[5]
• Alpine Club Montevideo (German: Alpenländer Verein Montevideo, established 1934)^[9]
• Bertolt Brecht House (German: Bertolt-Brecht-Haus, established 1964)^[10]
• German-Uruguayan Cultural Association (German: Deutsch-Uruguayische Kulturvereinigung)^[5]
• German Cultural Association Paysandú (German: Deutsche Kulturvereinigung Paysandú)^[5]
• German-Uruguayan Friendship Circle^[5]

There are also local offices of German institutions:

• Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Uruguay^[11]
• Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Uruguay^[12]
• the Goethe-Institut offers courses on German language and culture^[13]

See also

• German people
• German diaspora
• Germany-Uruguay relations
• Mennonites in Uruguay

References

External links

• German presence in Uruguay (Spanish)

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