Germans of Croatia

In Croatia, there are still around 2,800 people who consider themselves German, most of these Danube Swabians. Germans and Austrians are officially recognized as a minority in Croatia and therefore have their own permanent seat in the Croatian Parliament. They are mainly concentrated in the area around Osijek (German "Esseg"). There is a German culture centre in Osijek and a small number of German schools.

Outside of the main Germanic region of Syrmia (Croatian: Srijem, German: Symrien), other areas formerly settled by Germans include:

* Darda (Darda)
* Jagodnjak (Katschfeld)
* Josipovac-Kravice (Oberjosefsdorf-Krawitz)
* Kula (Kula-Josefsfeld)
* Osijek (Esseg)
* Sarvas (Sarwasch-Hirschfeld)
* Satnica Đakovačka (Satnitz)
* Slavonski Brod (Brod)

The Croatian German population reached a peak number of 85,781 in the 1900 census, while this number plummeted after the German exodus in the aftermath of World War II. [ [http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/31818 Emigration of Italians and Germans from Croatia during and immediately after the Second World War] ] Today, they are organized into the Association of Germans and Austrians of Croatia. [ [http://www.hrt.hr/index.php?id=135&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=281&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=134&cHash=b2aa6fea8d Austrians in Croatia] , Croatian Radiotelevision]

References