That is the name with which the descendants of those Germans refer to themselves who settled since the late 12th century in the area of what is today Estonia and Latvia. Up to the so-called resettlement of 1939, the Baltic Germans exerted significant influence on the economic, political and cultural situation of the region.
Estonians and Latvians were dominated by the German nobility and the upper middle classes, to whom later sovereigns granted important privileges. Thus, the Baltic Germans were able to maintain their leading social position, although they never made up more than 10 percent of the total population.
After unrest, revolution and expropriation, many emigrated to the German Reich from 1905 onwards. As a result of the Hitler-Stalin Pact, most of the Baltic Germans were resettled in occupied Poland in 1939/41, above all in the Nazi German Reichsgau Wartheland. This marked the end of the more than 700-year history of the Germans in the Baltic States.
Today, the Baltic Germans stay in frequent contact with Estonia and Latvia and their institutions participate in the cultural and ecclesiastical activities as well as organising youth exchanges with the two countries.
Illustrations:
Heinz Erhardt (1909-1979), famous comedian, actor, poet and entertainer.
Photo: © Heinz Erhardt private archive
Werner Bergengruen (1892-1964), writer. Photo: Werner Bergengruen Archive
Adam Johann von Krusenstern (1770-1846), admiral of the Russian fleet, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the world. The portrait is by an unknown artist from the collections of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, first half of the 19th century.
Elisa von der Recke (1754-1833), poet and writer, here in a portrait by Josef Friedrich August Darbes, Berlin, 1784. Photo: © Stadtmuseum Berlin Foundation, reproduction Oliver Ziebe, Berlin