German-Chilean relations are foreign relations between Germany and Chile. During the last 150 years, many Germans have settled in Chile, for several different reasons. Thousands of Chileans sought refuge in Germany during Pinochet's dictatorship.
In 1810, when Chile became independent from Spain, Hamburg traded with Valparaiso. From 1848, as Chile encouraged Germans to emigrate, more and more German settlers arrived in Chile.
The origin of the massive immigration of Germans (includes Poles due to Partitions of Poland) to Chile is found in the so-called "Law of Selective Immigration" of 1845. The "law's" objective was to bring middle and upper-class people to colonize regions in the south of Chile, between Valdivia and Puerto Montt. More than 6,000 families arrived in Chile during this period alone.[1]
The German immigrants succeeded in creating vigorous villages and communities in virtually uninhabited regions, completely changing the landscape of the southern zones. In 1851, Carlos Anwandter, a leader of these early German immigrants, expressed the colonists' goals to the Chilean diplomat who invited them, Vicente Pérez Rosales:
We will be Chileans, as honorable and hardworking as ever there were, we will defend our adopted country united in the ranks of our new compatriots, against all foreign oppression and with the resolve and fortitude of the man that defends his country, his family, and his interests.[2]
The prestige of Germany and German culture in Chile remained high after the First World War but did not return to its pre-war levels.[3][4] Indeed in Chile, the war bought an end to a period of scientific and cultural influence which writer Eduardo de la Barra scornfully called "the German bewitchment" (Spanish: el embrujamiento alemán).[5]
Today, the current Chilean migration is made up by students who attend German universities, Chileans whose partners live in Germany, and a temporary migration of professionals who work for German companies.[6]
Culture
German values have influenced Chilean culture and economic development and vice versa. For example,
Migration of ethnic Germans into Chile from Argentina in the early 20th century.[citation needed]
The Chilean Army uses the Stahlhelm for ceremonial purposes, while the Chilean Military School still uses the Pickelhaube as part of the ceremonial uniform.
Chilean medicine was influenced by Dr. Max Westenhöfer (1871–1957), a German scientist, physician and pathologist from the University of Berlin who is considered the founder of anatomic pathology in Chile. Prof. Westenhöfer established permanently in Chile as faculty member of the University of Chile, becoming an important figure in the intellectual Chilean environment.[7]
Trade
Germany is Chile’s principal trading partner within the European Union and continues to rank fifth worldwide among suppliers of Chilean imports. In 2013, Germany exported $3.2bn to Chile and Chile exported $2.1bn in goods to Germany and it is expected that the trade between both nations will continue to increase.[8]
↑ Haring, Clarence Henry (1920). The Germans in South America: A Contribution to the Economic History of the World War. Oxford University Press (American Branch). p.121.
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