Americans in Germany

"American Germans" redirects here. For American people of German ancestry, see German Americans.

Americans in Germany or American Germans (German: Amerikanische Deutsche or Amerika-Deutsche^[3]) refers to the American population in Germany and their German-born descendants. According to Destatis, 300,000 - 400,000 Americans live in Germany. 200,000 of them in Rhineland-Palatinate.^[4]

Americans in Germany

Distribution of US American citizens in Germany (2021)
Total population
324,000 (with American ancestry) [1] 111,529 (American citizens)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Kaiserslautern, Berlin, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Rosenheim
Languages
American English, German and Spanish
Religion
Christianity · Irreligion

At the same time, more than 40,000 members of the US military and 15,000 civilian employees of American citizenship are permanently in Germany, with a strong presence in Kaiserslautern, which in the 1950s became the largest US military community outside of the United States.^[5] In addition, there are significant numbers of American expatriates in Germany, especially professionals sent abroad by their companies and an increasing number of college students and graduates (also due to the affordable higher education system and the favorable quality of life). As of December 2013, the largest American diasporas in Germany were in Rhineland-Palatinate with over 50,000 people, Berlin with over 16,000 people, and the area around Darmstadt with about 13,000 people.^[6]

Military backgrounds

American Zone in Germany after 8 June 1947. Mainly today's state areas of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate were affected, as well as city states Berlin (West Berlin) and Bremen.

A large portion of the American-German population has a military background. Great numbers of American soldiers were stationed in Germany after World War II. The Occupation statute of 1949 set regulations for the post-war time within Allied-occupied Germany. Numerous American military installations were established during this time, and eventually hundreds were in place, mainly in Southern Germany. At the time of German Reunification in 1990, there were still about 200,000 US soldiers in Germany. By 2014, the number had been steadily reduced to 42,450 stationed in 38 facilities.^[7]

During World War II General Dwight D. Eisenhower and the American War Department enforced a strict non-fraternization policy regarding contact between American military personnel and German citizens. After the war this prohibition was mitigated in several steps and finally abandoned in Austria and Germany in September 1945.^[8] In the earliest stages of the Allied occupation US soldiers were not allowed to pay maintenance for a child they admitted having fathered, since to do so was considered as "aiding the enemy". Marriages between white American soldiers and German women were not permitted until December 1946.^[9]

Demographics

Number of Americans in larger cities
#	City	People
1.	Kaiserslautern	50,000
2.	Berlin	22,694
3.	Munich	6,705
4.	Hamburg	3,880
5.	Frankfurt	3,147
6.	Bonn	1,823
7.	Dusseldorf	1,732
8.	Heidelberg	1,670
9.	Wiesbaden	1,346
10.	Nuremberg	1,327

Notable American-Germans

• Baldur von Schirach, head of the Hitler Youth.
• Manfred Curry, Olympic sailor, yacht designer and medical practitioner
• Kirsten Dunst, American actress of German descent, holds German citizenship.
• David Garrett, pop artist and violinist.
• Ernst Hanfstaengl, ex-Nazi and intelligence worker for the Americans during World War II.
• Emil Jannings, actor.
• Carlos Kleiber, German-born Austrian conductor.
• Boris Kodjoe, Austrian-born American actor. Ghanaian father and German mother.
• Dee Dee Ramone, American-born bassist and songwriter (Ramones).
• Bruce Willis, actor.

In sports

• Terrence Boyd, football player (SV Waldhof Mannheim)
• John Brooks, football player (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)
• Lamont Bryan, German-born Jamaican rugby player (London Skolars)
• Timothy Chandler, football player (Eintracht Frankfurt)
• Royal-Dominique Fennell, football player (SGV Freiberg)
• Julian Green, American-born football player (Greuther Fürth)
• Demond Greene, American-born former basketball player
• Elias Harris, basketball player (Bayern Munich)
• Jimmy Hartwig, retired football player
• Jermaine Jones, retired football player
• Chris Kaman, retired basketball player
• Jerome Kiesewetter, football player
• Donald Lutz, American-born retired baseball player
• Felix Magath, manager and retired football player
• Alfredo Morales, football player (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Danny Williams, football player
• Del-Angelo Williams, football player (VfB Marburg)
• Andrew Wooten, football player (VfR Mannheim)
• David Yelldell, retired football player
• José Holebas, retired football player
• Alex King, retired basketball player
• Fabian Johnson, retired football player

Organizations of Americans in Germany

• Democrats Abroad have an associated department in Germany.^[10]

See also

• Germany–United States relations
• Emigration from the United States
• German American for Americans of German descent
• Immigration to Germany

References

1. "BiB - Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung - Pressemitteilungen - Zuwanderung aus außereuropäischen Ländern fast verdoppelt". Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
2. publisher. "Pressemitteilungen - Ausländische Bevölkerung - Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)". www.destatis.de.
3. Barack Obama gilt als Favorit der Amerika-Deutschen, Westdeutsche Zeitung, 4 November 2012
5. "158 700 US citizens vote for their President". Märkische Online Zeitung. 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
6. Europe Online Magazine, 25 June 2014
7. "Bundestag" (PDF).
8. Varns, Nicola (December 2005). "It Started With a Kiss. Happy and tragic German-American love stories after World War II". The Atlantic Times. Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
9. Biddiscombe, Perry (2001). "Dangerous Liaisons: The Anti-Fraternization Movement in the U.S. Occupation Zones of Germany and Austria, 1945-1948". Journal of Social History. 34 (3): 611–647. doi:10.1353/jsh.2001.0002. JSTOR 3789820. S2CID 145470893.
10. PenrodApril 01, Susan; Team, 2006 Global IT. "Welcome to Democrats Abroad Germany". Democrats Abroad. Retrieved 2024-01-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)