Traditional Ethnic and Cultural Markers of Crimean Germans

Abstract

The paper presents an overview of the traditional markers of the German ethnic population in Crimea that came to the peninsula in the 1800s, was forced to emigrate in 1941 and has been partially coming back since 1991. The aim is to describe the potentially relevant markers distinguishing the German population from other ethnicities of the Crimea. Methods: A review of the literary sources available in the scientific library of I. Franko and the library of the Crimean Federal University is conducted. Results: the traditional ethnic and cultural markers of Crimean Germans include German language, the influence of Protestantism and Catholicism, an authentic lifestyle, progressive housekeeping, densely populated communities settling predominantly in the rural areas near the first colonies; successfully conducted trade, craft and socio-cultural activity in the urban areas. The alteration of the above mentioned markers was strongly influenced by the historical events.