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History of immigration to Germany. Pre-unification. The Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries led large numbers of Protestants to settle in Protestant — or at least religiously tolerant — principalities and cities of the Holy Roman Empire, much of which would later become Germany.
The ancestors of today's German Americans who immigrated prior to 1871 came from nation-states in the German-speaking regions of Western Europe, such as Brandenburg (Prussia), Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland, and Bavaria.
From the 1820s onwards, about 7m Germans migrated to the US. In particular during the 19th century, German culture remained a distinctive element of US public life: German settlements, schools, associations, and churches existed alongside those of other migrant communities.
On October 6, 1683, the first significant group of German immigrants arrived in the New World. Their first settlement, Germantown in Pennsylvania, began a long history of profound but often overlooked German influence in America.
Once in the USA, the Germans initially established themselves as a respected immigrant group, classic “hyphen-Americans” with dual identity. Countless communities developed with schools, churches and clubs, in which the German language and culture was preserved and cultivated.
Emigration and Immigration Records. In 1763 Catherine the Great of Russia offered free land, no taxes for thirty years, freedom of religion, and other incentives to encourage Germans to settle her vast, sparsely populated domain. Dozens of German colonies were established and grew until World War I.
From the 1820s onwards, about 7m Germans migrated to the US. In particular during the 19th century, German culture remained a distinctive element of US public life: German settlements, schools,...
