For almost 100 years Germans settled in the Romanian Dobruja, which initially belonged to the Ottoman Empire and, after the Berlin Congress, to Romania. From the 1840s until the National Socialist “resettlement” in the fall of 1940, these German-speaking settlers, most of whom had immigrated from the Russian Empire, made up about three percent of the regional population. They were predominantly active in agriculture and lived in a linguistically, ethnically and religiously multicultural context that left a lasting impression on them. A project by the Institute for German Culture and History in South-Eastern Europe (IKGS) researches the complex cultural and migration history of the Dobruja region.
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Around 1840, Germans began to settle in the villages and towns of the 
Dobruja
deu. Dobrudscha, ron. Dobrogea, bul. Добруджа, deu. Trans-Danubien, eng. Dobrudja, bul. Dobrudža

Dobruja (rum. Dobrogea, bulg. Добруджа) is a historical landscape in the border area between southeastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria. Dobrogea is situated on the Danube and the Black Sea.

 (in Romanian: Dobrogea, in Bulgarian: Добруджа/Dobrudža), which originally belonged to the Ottoman Empire and today is divided between Romania and 
Bulgaria
bul. Bŭlgariya, bul. България, deu. Bulgarien

Bulgaria is a South-Eastern European country and is inhabited by about 7 million people. Sofia is the capital of the republic and the largest city in the country. Bulgaria is situated on the Black Sea in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The largest rivers in the country include the Danube and Maritsa.

. Secondary migrations from the 
Russian Empire
rus. Росси́йская импе́рия, rus. Rossijskaja imperija, deu. Russisches Kaiserreich, deu. Russländisches Reich, deu. Russländisches Kaiserreich

The Russian Empire (also Russian Empire or Empire of Russia) was a state that existed from 1721 to 1917 in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North America. The country was the largest contiguous empire in modern history in the mid-19th century. It was dissolved after the February Revolution in 1917. The state was regarded as autocratically ruled and was inhabited by about 181 million people.

  and migration from Central Europe brought Germans of different regional, denominational, dialectal and social origins to the Black Sea region, where they encountered a differentiated ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. With their Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Tatar and other neighbors, they entered into a complex network of relationships. The Germans in the Dobruja became objects of National Socialist “folklore policy” in 1940, when they were supposedly resettled “home to the Reich”, but were in fact resettled in occupied 
Poland
deu. Polen, pol. Polska

Poland is a state in Central Eastern Europe and is home to approximately 38 million people. The country is the sixth largest member state of the European Union. The capital and biggest city of Poland is Warsaw. Poland is made up of 16 voivodships. The largest river in the country is the Vistula (Polish: Wisła).

 or in the “Protectorate of 
Bohemia
deu. Böhmen, lat. Bohemia, ces. Čechy

Bohemia is a historical landscape in present-day Czech Republic. Together with Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia, the landscape forms the present territory of the Czech Republic. Nowadays, almost 6.5 million people live in the region. The capital of Bohemia is Prague.

 and 
Moravia
deu. Mähren, lat. Moravia, slk. Morava, ces. Morava

Moravia is one of the three historical landscapes of the Czech Republic. Together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia, Moravia constitutes the state territory of the Czech Republic. Moravia is located in the southeast of the country and shares borders with Slovakia, Poland and Austria. Today, almost 3.1 million people live in Moravia. The most important cities in Moravia are Brno, Ostrava and Olomouc.

”. From there they had to flee again in 1945 or were expelled. Some Germans from the Dobruja returned to the region in 1945, where they met the remaining compatriots who had not been resettled, while others emigrated overseas. However, most of the descendants now live in the Federal Republic of Germany. 
The complex cultural and migration history of the Dobruja requires transnational as well as micro-historical research methods. The project includes analysis of historical reports, state and church administrative records, research literature, press releases, eyewitness accounts, visual sources in German, Romanian and American archives and libraries, and material traces of the German presence in the region.
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Siehe auch