a german community in brazil from the 19th until the 20th century

A GERMAN COMMUNITY IN BRAZIL FROM THE 19TH UNTIL THE 20TH CENTURY
Combining demographic analysis with family history can lead to a better understanding of the set of
social relationships that develop in communities. Drawing on the resources of historical demography,
Alain Bideau and Sergio Odilon Nadalin, authors of Une communauté allemande au Brésil: De
l’immigration aux contacts culturels, XIXè-XX siècle [A German community in Brazil: from immigration
to cultural contact, 19th-20th century] present and analyse the unfolding of a particular process of
integration and immigration.
The main source for their book, based on more than 10,000 family information files, is accounts of how families of
German origin came to settle in the Brazilian province of Paraná and its capital, Curitiba. The book shows the
process by which these German immigrants and their descendants, organized around the Lutheran faith and their
parish, gradually became “Brazilians.”
The story unfolds over two main periods, both of which involved Figure 1. Brazil and Paranà State
considerable geopolitical agitation.
• The first, 1866-1945, saw the forming of a “Germanic Brazilian”
group distinct from both German immigrants and Brazilians;
• The second, from 1945 to the present, is defined by the Second
World War and the fundamental changes it brought about.
One task was to determine the principles on which a mission of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil might be founded, to
develop a theology that might be independent of the particular
immigrant origin. This undertaking has its origins in the traumatic
experience of the 1930-1945 period.
The theoretical framework of this study encompasses components
of migration history, urbanization history, political history and
institutional history. The fact that four historical perspectives are
relevant for interpreting this development reflects the complexity
of the cultural and institutional context underlying contacts
between this group and its settlement society.
Three theoretical and methodological approaches were enlisted:
• first, classic fertility analysis;
• second, relating fertility to marital and sexual behaviour; here, the
family reconstitution method widely used in historical
demography brought to light indicators that in turn made it possible to analyse the phenomenon of illegitimacy;
• third, an approach in terms of culture mix, itself developing through urbanization processes. It was in an urbanizing
environment that social relations developed among the individuals making up the community. The intensification of
interactions characteristic of the modern, urban world is what brought ethnic identities into relief. This analysis of a
continuous, long-term migration process also shows how these rural “Germans” became active participants in the
urbanization process in Brazil.
The study shows that since the behaviours of the Germans differ from that of the Brazilian population at large while
persisting and retaining their originality within it—most of these people still have European last names and speak a
highly characteristic German—this group may be said to have experienced a specific type of integration.
SOURCES
Odilon Nadalin Sergio, Bideau Alain, 2011, Une communauté allemande au Brésil, Ined,
Classiques de l’Économie et de la Population, 200 pages.
Institut national d’études démographiques • 133, bld Davout 75 980 Paris cedex 20 • www.ined.fr