What is Germany to you?

[Rethel]

Danke, ich wollte nun auch nicht um jeden einzelnen Schritt einer Erklärung betteln.

You not have to, I just thought my statement is clear — 3/4 and 3/5
of Germans don't live in FRG or in any german state in the second case.

Saying Germans, I mean BRD, Austrians, Swiss
but also Dutch and Flamands and their diasporas.
I based these numbers on polish Wiki, which is much
more reliable in the case of any diaspora, than english
or german versions, but I combind them too (what gave
for example a high result for Dutch).

I count with highest amounts:

170 mln for Germans at all
38 mln for Dutch,
9 mln for Austrians,
6 mln for german Swiss
7 mln for Flemish
----------------------
230 mln for all.
In FRG live not 80, but 60 mln
In all german countries some 94 mln
(even with germanized Slavs and Romans)

So it gives:
60/230=26% i.e. 3/4 does not live in BRD.
94/230=40% i.e. 3/5 does not live in any german country.

Even if you reject Duch and Flemish, then still 2/3 of Germans
do not live in BRD, and >3/5 don't live in any german state.

It is about formal numbers. They do not include for example milions of polonized or
hungarized Germans and also do not exclude millions of germanized Slavs and Romans.
Also these numbers do not exclude non-Indoeuropeans. So, it's pure formal statistic.

[cakmir7y]

For last more than 10 years it's my "Heimat". I live in the Ost (former DDR) and I am quite happy here. Feels almost like at home.

[Hialt]

Germany, to me:
1. Fellow germanics who have to deal with being a part of Continental Europe more often than the more fortunate "isled (island-ed) ones."
2. A people whose historical journeys across Europe and North Africa (Vandals, Visigoths, migration period, etc) date back about 1500 years, and yet they have somehow persisted as a "people" ever since, to the present day.
3. Might have an ancient Neanderthal ancestor to account for the "ways of the German," in terms of mental illness/schizophrenia/suicide (books have been written about suicide and Scandinavia)
4. Has a middle class.
etc, etc.
5. Suffered the same outcome as my homeland, Dixie, which was their defeat in war (in WWII, particularly). They had to pick up the pieces and go home.

[rothaer]

For last more than 10 years it's my "Heimat". I live in the Ost (former DDR) and I am quite happy here. Feels almost like at home.

If you consider a pre WWII ethnicity map, Czechs were close to insular within Germans. So the given proximity is no conundrum. I consider Dutch and Czechs abt. equal close to Germans (genetically).

[cakmir7y]

If you consider a pre WWII ethnicity map, Czechs were close to insular within Germans. So the given proximity is no conundrum. I consider Dutch and Czechs abt. equal close to Germans (genetically).

According to 1930 census, there was almost 3,5 mil. Germans out of almost 15 mil. people in Czechoslovakia. Most of them were, of course, located around the border with Germany and Austria at the time (Sudetenlands).

In re genetic proximity: Dutch must be closer to Germans compared to Czechs. Dutch are of germaincs origin, just look at various PCA plots how those two cluster.

[rothaer]

In re genetic proximity: Dutch must be closer to Germans compared to Czechs. Dutch are of germaincs origin, just look at various PCA plots how those two cluster.

I'm Eastern German and for me Czechs are geneteically even far much closer than Dutch. This is my genetic similarity (can be magnified):

https://imgur.com/jgpDcRG

You see my elevated similarity is not with all Slavs in general. As a Czech you share a partly Germanic and a partly Slavic ancestry with all Germans east of the Elbe-Saale line including Franconia and Eastern part of Austria.

[cakmir7y]

I'm Eastern German and for me Czechs are geneteically even far much closer than Dutch. This is my genetic similarity (can be magnified):

https://imgur.com/jgpDcRG

Interesting. I suppose this map is specifically for you, not generic for eastern Germans, right? Would it be so for the whole "Ost"?
BTW. how do you measure the similarity on the map?

You see my elevated similarity is not with all Slavs in general. As a Czech you share a partly Germanic and a partly Slavic ancestry with all Germans east of the Elbe-Saale line including Franconia and Eastern part of Austria.

Yes, I know that till the 12. century, the whole former DDR was basically slavic. Me personally, I am from south-eastern part of CZ, so maybe I am bit more east shifted
than czech from, e.g. western Bohemia.

[rothaer]

Interesting. I suppose this map is specifically for you, not generic for eastern Germans, right? Would it be so for the whole "Ost"?
BTW. how do you measure the similarity on the map?


Yes, I know that till the 12. century, the whole former DDR was basically slavic. Me personally, I am from south-eastern part of CZ, so maybe I am bit more east shifted
than czech from, e.g. western Bohemia.

Specifically for me, yes. But as you correctly considered this applies rougly in general also for all those Germans that are in the area, where there is indicated an elevated similarity with me. The similarity is determined based on what I do get in the Eurogenes K36 calculator compared to what the different reference pops do get in the same calculator. The map is a part of the "K36 report" by LM Genetics. Beside the similarity with Czechs you can see this similarity ends to the east where there is no notable Germanic contribution anymore, i. e. there is no such big similarity with Poles and Ukrainians etc. because of that.

Here is a pre WWII ethnicity map and I've marked in white the western border of medieval Slavic settlement.

https://imgur.com/sKhCnT8

So this kind of similarity with Czechs does apply to Germans east of that line. And you can see this concerns a huge part of German people emerging area.

[butterburger]

Germans are excellent in the field of science I think and is a very first-world country in its development.. I love the language too; it's what I'm currently trying to learn atm

[Ayetooey]

A country with lots of historical achievements + great geography, architecture and food. Germans also have a good work ethnic and are generally agreeable/polite people. In 2021, the antichrist politically.