Number of Croats in Germany and their immigration
Croats started settling in Germany as early as the 19th century. The sudden industrial development after WWII caused a labour shortage. So, Croats started immigrating again to the West European countries.
Croats emigrated for political, but also economic reasons in the early sixties and seventies. According to the data of the Federal Statistical Office in Germany on 31 December 2019 there were 414.890 Croatian citizens living in Germany ( not including the people having dual citizenship).
Status of Croats in Germany
Federal Republic of Germany does not require from EU citizens to renounce their citizenship in order to acquire German citizenship. This is valid for Croatian citizens as of 1 July, 2013.
Croats are considered an integrated population in Germany. Croatian citizens are well respected in their working and living environment – from the first generation of „gastarbeiter“until today. There are many distinguished Croatian citizens and German citizens of Croatian origin in various aspects of business, political, cultural, sports and/or public life. Likewise, there are many others who distinguished themselves in their professional fields (medicine, law etc) but they are not so well-known.
Croatian Associations and Catholic Missions
There are numerous Croatian cultural (folklore, choirs), sports and political associations across Germany. The oldest association is Matica Hrvatska whose aim is to inform the Croats and their children about their history and culture, and to develop and raise their national awareness. Some other associations should be mentioned: “Society of Croatian Intellectuals” from Munich, “Croatian World Congress for Germany”, “Croatian Cultural Society”, “AMAC”- Society of former students and friends of the Croatian Universities and Association of football clubs of Middle Germany”.
Along with the arrival of the first immigrants to Germany Catholic church established many Missions in the early 60s, in the places where many Croatian Catholics settled. Croatian Catholic Missions were not only centers of spiritual guidance but also places where Croats gathered, centres of their social life and places of sharing Croatian spirit. Catholic Missions contributed to maintenance and preservation of the language, cultural and national identity and as such - they have a significant role among Croats. There are 85 Croatian Catholic Missions in Germany (mostly on the territory of former Western Germany).
Croatian classes and courses of the Croatian language
Supplementary education for Croats is organized in two ways. The first is within the competence of the Republic of Croatia (Baden – Wurtemberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg) and the teachers are assigned and financed by the Ministry of Science and Education. There are 45 teachers working at more than 167 locations. The other mode of teaching is within the competence of other Federal states of Germany and the teachers work in compliance with German labour law.
Independent courses of the Croatian language (not within the competence of the Ministry):
Institut für Fremdsprachenphilologien- Oldenburg, Georg-August Universität- Göttingen, Johann W. Göthe Universität- Frankfurt am Main, Albert Ludwigs Universität- Freiburg, Otto-Friedrich Universität- Bamberg, Johannes Gutenberg Universität-Mainz, Humboldt Universität-Berlin, Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität-Bonn, Friedrich-Alexander Universität-Erlangen, Universität Tübingen-Tübingen, Universität Mannheim-Mannheim i Westfalische Wilhelms Universität-Münster
Publishing and Media
Croatian Associations and Catholic Missions publish the following newspapers in Croatian language:
Croats in Germany also have their websites among which we single out the following: