GERMAN TRACES İN THE CAUCASUS AZERBAİJAN GERMANS

In: Zeitschrift für die Welt der Türken: ZfWT = Journal of world of Turks, Band 14, Heft 1, S. 199-214

Abstract

In the 18th century, Germany also participated in the competition between the European States that started colonization activities and did not want to lag behind other states on the way to complete their union. Germany, which has existed as independent statelets since the 1800s, wanted to have a say in Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus geographies after establishing its union in 1871. Although the immigration policy of the German colonists started to work after this date, it is seen that the colonization activities in the Caucasus geography took place in previous dates and in a different way. The turning point regarding the German migrations to Russia is the Russian Tsarina II. It is in the time of Catherine. Tsarina II, who is of German origin. After Katherina came to the throne of Russia (1762), she wanted settlers from Germany to migrate to Russia. Its purpose is the agricultural development of the Russian lands. II. Upon Katherina's call, the Germans began to migrate to Russia and the Caucasus. The first German immigration to Azerbaijan took place in 1818. The Germans first established the villages called "Helenendorf" (Göygöl) and "Annenfeld" (Şamkir) in the territory of Azerbaijan. Later on, 6 more villages were established, namely Grünfeld (Vurguna), Traubenfeld (Tovuz), Jelisawetinka (Agstafa), Georgsfeld (Çınarlı), Alexejewka (Gasamba) and Eigenfeld (Irmaşlı). Thus, 8 villages were built in Azerbaijan by the Germans. It is known that the German population living in these villages and also present in Baku contributes to the economy of Azerbaijan and the development of the country in terms of architecture. From the dates they migrated II. Until the World War II, they had no trouble living and reflecting their own culture in Azerbaijan, but at the same time, they managed to convey their experiences with great skill. II. The fact that Germany was at war with Russia during World War II created a trust problem against the German population in Russia and the majority of the German population was immigrated to Siberia and Kazakhstan by Stalin. In this study, the living conditions and livelihoods of the German settlers in Azerbaijan will be mentioned, and their contributions to the region in architecture and other economic fields will be examined. Keywords: Azerbaijan, German Traces in the Caucasus, German colonies, Helenendorf, Annenfeld.