19th century

German clergy and technical mining personnel arrived in colonial Mexico in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.^[1] One of the first contacts between Germany and Mexico was via the scientific expedition of Prussian aristocrat Alexander von Humboldt, who arrived in Mexico in 1803 and remained for a year mapping Mexican topography, examining its mining sector, and studying its culture and history.

In the 19th century, Mexico had established diplomatic relations with a few German States and as early as 1826, Prussia had established a trade representative in Mexico. In 1833, Mexico and assigned an ambassador in Berlin to Prussia.^[2] Diplomatic relations between Mexico and a unified Germany were established on 23 January 1879.^[2]

During the Second Mexican Empire and the reign of Maximilian I of Mexico, Germans were brought to Mexico to settle in Mexico's southern states, primarily in Yucatán.^[3] In 1890, Mexican President Porfirio Díaz and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck collaborated to bring 450 German families to the Mexican state of Chiapas where they settled in the town of Soconusco to develop the region's agriculture industry.^[4] Several German migrants would immigrate to primarily northern Mexico and helped develop several towns such as the port of Mazatlán and Mexico's brewing industry.^[5]

20th century

During World War I (1914-1918) Mexico remained neutral. During this time, Mexico was preoccupied with its revolution (1910-1920) which took place the same time as World War I. In January 1917, British agents intercepted a telegram sent to German Ambassador to Mexico Heinrich von Eckardt by Arthur Zimmermann, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire. In the telegram, Germany proposed to Mexico that if the United States were to join the war, Mexico should join and side with the Central Powers. In appreciation, and if the Central Powers were to win, Mexico would recuperate the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, which Mexico had lost in its war against the United States during the Mexican–American War in 1848. The telegram, known as the Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted when the telegram was being wired to the German embassy in Washington, DC, to be rerouted to Mexico City. Mexico eventually rejected the telegram and continued to remain neutral during the war.^[6]

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Mexico and Germany supported opposing sides of the conflict, with Mexico supporting the Republicans and Germany supporting the Nationalists. That put Mexico and Germany against each other and ultimately caused a largely-negative interaction between them.

On 22 May 1942, Mexico declared war on Germany during World War II. The decision for war was made by Mexican President Manuel Ávila Camacho after German U-boats had destroyed two Mexican oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico; the SS Potrero del Llano and SS Faja de Oro, both of which were carrying crude oil to the United States. Mexico is one of only two Latin American nations to contribute soldiers during the war (the other nation being Brazil). Mexican troops fought in the Philippines rather than in Europe.^[7]

After World War II, Mexico maintained diplomatic relations with both the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Mexico established an embassy in Berlin for East Germany in 1976 and an embassy in Cologne for West Germany in 1952, before transferring the embassy to Bonn in 1979.^[8][9] In 1963, Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos became the first Mexican head-of-State to visit Germany (West Germany). In 1966, West German President Heinrich Lübke became the first German President to visit Mexico.^[2]

After the reunification of Germany in 1990, Mexico established relations with the Federal Republic of Germany and in the year 2000, Mexico moved its embassy to its current location in Berlin.^[8]

21st century

There have been several high-level visits between leaders of both nations. In June 2017, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made an official visit to Mexico, and met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Both leaders reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral relationship, which is based on shared values such as democracy and the promotion of free trade. Both nations all focused on the joint collaboration in the defense of multilateralism, cooperation for sustainable development, attention to the migration phenomenon and the fight against climate change, among other issues.^[10]

In September 2022, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a visit to Mexico and met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. During the visit, Steinmeier urged the Mexican government to stand with Europe in opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[11]