How German Immigration shaped Brazil's History

On July 25, 1824, 39 German emigrants arrived in São Leopoldo, southern Brazil, establishing their own colony. Two centuries later, DW reporter Guilherme Becker, whose ancestors emigrated to Rio Grande do Sul, embarks on a personal quest to uncover their story.

Guilherme explores why many Germans, including his grandparents, left their homeland in the 19th and 20th centuries. He learns about the Brazilian government's motivations for encouraging immigration, its connection to the end of slavery, and the impact on the Afro-Brazilian population. In São Paulo, he visits a museum preserving the history of these settlers, and in Pomerode, he meets descendants maintaining their ancestors' lifestyle and language.

In Blumenau, founded in 1850 by Hermann Blumenau, Guilherme discovers the town’s rich German heritage, symbolized by its annual Oktoberfest, and visits an indigenous community affected by colonial land seizure. He also delves into his family's loss of the German language and the role of Nazism. Guilherme visits the Jewish Museum in São Paulo to learn about Jewish exiles helped after the Nazis' rise to power.

Back in Berlin, Guilherme meets Brazilian nurse Thaiana Santos at Charité University Hospital, highlighting the modern parallels of immigration and recruitment.

Join Guilherme on this journey through history, family, and the enduring impacts of immigration in Brazil.

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