GEORGE TOWN, July 6 -- On the streets of George Town, it is easy to spot the cultural legacies left by Chinese merchants, Indian Muslim and Malay traders and British colonial administrators.

Among these remnants of colonial and Peranakan architecture in the heritage city, there are German influences that are lesser known.

The Germans first arrived in Penang more than 200 years ago, sometime in 1801, according to Malaysian German Society committee member Clement Liang.

By the late 19th century, Germans had become the second-largest European community in Penang after the British, establishing businesses, practising different professions and helping shape the rapidly growing port city.

Their story, however, came to an abrupt halt with th...