The "Nueva Germania" colony was founded in Paraguay in 1888; though regarded as a failure, it still exists despite being abandoned by many of its founders in the 1890s.
There are large communities of German descendants living in the department of Guairá, in a town called (Colonia Independencia), the department of Itapúa, mainly in the Departmental Capital, Encarnación and the German towns of Obligado, Bella Vista and Hohenau.
[2] Notable Paraguayans of German descent include the former president of Paraguay Alfredo Stroessner.
The Paraguayan Mennonite community left Russia in two waves: the first in the 19th century when their exemption from military service ended, and the second to avoid Stalin's collectivization programs.
Russian Mennonites are different from another German-Russian group, the Volga Germans, through religion, ethnicity, and reasons for immigrating to Russia.