Portuguese in Germany (German: Portugiesen in Deutschland) are citizens and residents of Germany who are of
Portuguese descent.
Portuguese in Germany (also known as Portuguese Germans/ German Portuguese Community or, in
Portuguese, known as Portugueses na Alemanha / Comunidade portuguesa na Alemanha / Luso-alemães) are the citizens or residents of Germany whose ethnic origins lie in
Portugal.
Portuguese Germans are Portuguese-born citizens with
German citizenship or German-born citizens of Portuguese ancestry or
citizenship.
There are about 245,000 Portuguese people living in Germany as of 2021. They represent 0.29% of the
country's population.[2][3]
Portuguese in Germany have been known since the 16th century. They are now part of the Portuguese diaspora scattered around the world and are generally considered low profile and well integrated.[4]
The initial larger Portuguese community in Germany emerged during the 16th century in the
Hanseatic city of
Hamburg, when
Sephardic Jews sought refuge here from the
Inquisition.[5]
The Portuguese Armando Rodrigues de Sá was officially welcomed in 1964 as the millionth "guest worker" in Germany and was given a certificate of honor and a two-seater Zündapp Sport Combinette – Mokick.[12]
Due to growing
xenophobia and an increase in unemployment among
foreign workers, the German government passed a law in October 1983 to finance the voluntary return of foreign workers to their countries of origin. Foreign workers who were legally recruited and residing in the country individually received a reimbursement of 10,500
Deutsche Marks – approximately the amount they had contributed to the
German social security system (
retirement fund).[16][17][18][19][20]
This program was only applicable to foreigners leaving Germany before 30 June 1984. According to Zimmermann et al. (1998: 1–7), 20 thousand Portuguese workers participated in the program. As a result, the Portuguese population in Germany decreased to 69 thousand by 1987.[21][22][23][24][25]
However, with the economic crisis in Portugal after the
2007 financial crisis, emigration from Portugal to Germany increased once again.
Nowadays, the immigrants are mostly
well-educated, often holding
academic qualifications. In recent years,
Berlin has become particularly attractive to Portuguese
academics, specialists, and students, even surpassing Hamburg as the city with the largest Portuguese community.[26][27]
Demographics
The largest Portuguese community is located in
Hamburg, where about 25,000 people with Portuguese heritage live. There is also a Portugiesenviertel (Portuguese quarter) in Hamburg near the
Port of Hamburg and between the subway stations of
Landungsbrücken and
Baumwall where many Portuguese restaurants and cafes are located there.[28][29][30][31]
In Germany there are 145 Portuguese associations.[32] The Portuguese associations are found all over Germany and are often related to
sports centers,
language centers or community centers.[33][34] Despite the widespread presence of Portuguese centers, there is a higher concentration in
Nordrhein-Westphalen (North Rhine-Westphalia),
Baden-Württemberg and
Hessen: despite hosting around 42% of
Germany's population, these states (Länder) host around 60% of the Portuguese community.[35]
Portuguese in Germany tend to have settled long time ago, and they have generally spent more than 20 years in the country.[38]
Remittances
The two countries enjoy friendly relationships and mutual trust, witnessing increasing trade as well.[32][39][40][41]
The Portuguese community in Germany retains strong ties with its homeland and, between 2000 and 2021, it has sent approximately 4.5
billioneuros (
€) to Portugal in
remittances. In the same timeframe,
Germans in Portugal (numbering around 20,500 individuals)[42] have sent approximately 136.4 million
euros (
€) to Germany.[43]
Portuguese language
In several
German cities, one can find associations dedicated to Portuguese culture, parishes where
Portuguese is spoken, and classes specifically tailored for native Portuguese speakers, which are also available in mainstream schools. For instance, at the Max Planck High School in
Dortmund, Portuguese is offered up to the
Abitur level.[44]
The Portuguese cultural associations are predominantly organized under the Federal Association FAPA (Federal Association of Portuguese Associations in Germany). Additionally, the Portuguese cultural institute,
Instituto Camões, operates a language center in
Hamburg and a cultural center in Berlin, along with various partnerships and
lectureships.[45][46]
Portugal Post, a Portuguese-language newspaper, has been published throughout Germany since 1993, with its headquarters located in Dortmund. Since 2018, its base of operations has shifted to Berlin.[47]
Nowadays, Portuguese is not only a heritage language for migrants coming from countries such as Portugal or Brazil, but it is also studied by German people with interest towards Lusophone culture.[48][49][50][51]
Julia Löhr [
de] (1877-1927): She was the archetype of the fictional character Ines Institoris in Thomas Mann's novel
Doctor Faustus
Carla Mann [
pt] (1881-1910): German actress. Thomas Mann's sister
Aquilino Ribeiro (1885-1963): Portuguese writer and diplomat. He is generally considered to be one of the great
Portuguesenovelists of the 20th century and in 1960, he was nominated for the
Nobel Literature Prize. He traveled to Germany several times in the 1920s and wrote a book about it (including Berlin, Hildesheim, Hamburg)
Viktor Mann [
de] (1890-1949): German writer. Thomas Mann's brother
Arthur Duarte (1895-1982): Portuguese actor and director
Fernando Ribeiro (Hrsg.): Alemanha: Portugal. Edições Humus, Ribeirão 2014,
ISBN978-989-755-025-6
Entre o Cais e o Sonho – 50 Jahre Portugiesen in Deutschland – 50 Jahre Millionster Gastarbeiter,documentation of the symposium "Looking back to shape the future" (Cologne, 13 September 2014),
Portugal-Post-Verlag 2014