Adalbert Goertz: FAQ-D:Deutschland (Germany)

Adalbert Goertz's Regional German FAQs

Deutschland (Germany) FAQ, Feb. 2000

By Adalbert Goertz, Colorado Springs, CO
Please send any correction and suggestions to Adalbert Goertz

Back to Regions

Contents:

Q1: What and where was Germany?
Q2: What were the administrative areas of Germany in 1895?
Q3: Where do I write for birth certificate for someone born in Germany?
Q4: How do I find locations and maps for Germany?
Q5: When were civil registers introduced in Germany?
Q6: Where can I get more information on Germany?
Q7: Are there emigration records available?
Q8: How can I find information on ships and immigrants?
Q9: What are the German dialects?
Q10: Where did Germans live outside Germany in 1937?
Q11: Are there genealogical publishers in Germany?
Q12: How do I send money to Germany?
Q13: How do I handle Umlaute in computer messages?
Q14: How do I get German census records?
Q15: What are the present 16 German states?
Q16: How can I get news on Germany in German or English on the net today?
Q17: Where can I find military records?
Q18: Can you describe the German school system before WWII?

Q1: What and where was Germany?

A1: The answer depends on the time frame:

If Germany is merely a geographic region, then this term is ageless.
If you mean a political country with definite boundaries, then we
have to divide recent German history for genealogical purposes into
three periods:

1) pre-1806 2) 1806-1871 3) 1871-1918 and later.

=== 1) The Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, as the medieval
Germany was called, had its capital in more recent periods in Wien
(Vienna) and perceived itself as the successor of the Imperium
Romanum of ancient Rome. Its link to Rome for a long time in the
middle ages was the Pope who claimed for himself the right to
crown and approve the Caesars (Kaisers). This resulted in a power
struggle between Pope and Kaiser about who was lord of whom. The
Kaiser perceived himself also as the head of "the" church who was
to uphold and preserve the true doctrine and reserved for himself
the right to approve the appointments of bishops (and of the pope).
The last great struggle in Germany between Catholicism and the new
wave of change was the 30-Years-War (1618-1648) which was a disaster
for all Germany. For practical purposes, genealogy starts after
1648 due to the destruction of most records during this unfortunate
war. By that time the title of Kaiser had been vested firmly in
the Catholic Habsburg dynasty of Austria who was elected by the
collegium of Kurfürsten (electors). In 1800 the electors (of
the Kaiser) were the 3 archbishops of Köln (Cologne), Mainz
and Trier and the 4 secular electors of Rhine-Pfalz, Brandenburg,
Sachsen(Saxony), and Böhmen(Bohemia).
The Kaiser was also German King and Elector of Böhmen.

The boundaries of Germany as an empire were as follows:
(I suggest that you consult the Encyclopedia Britanica historic maps
for details)
In the East -Austria including Bohemia,Moravia excluding Hungary,Galicia;
Pommern,Schlesien,Brandenburg excluding the later East and West Prussia;
In the South-Triest,Tirol, excluding Switzerland
In the West-some areas in today's France,Belgium excluding the Netherlands.
(The Western boudaries were constantly challenged by France)
In the North- Holstein excluding Schleswig and Denmark.

=== 2) In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Europe and abolished the
German empire and the title of Kaiser for Germany (capital:Wien or Vienna).
The Kaiser in Wien-Vienna was demoted to Kaiser of Austria with no power
in the rest of Germany. After Napoleon's final defeat, the Wiener Kongress
(Congress of Vienna) in 1815 redrew the maps of Europe. The title of
German Kaiser was not restored. Austria with Böhmen and Mähren
remained outside the German states. The big loser was the Catholic church
which had lost her wordly possessions and vast land holdings in the
secularisation of 1803 (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss). The big land grab
and exchange and reshuffle at that time involved many of these Catholic
lands. The German kingdoms, grandduchies, duchies and various
principalities were loosely united by various federations with no capital
of Germany. Terms like German government or German army have no meaning
for this time period until 1871.

=== 3) In 1871 Germany as an empire with a Kaiser was restored with
Berlin as the capital of Germany and Prussia and with the Prussian king
also having the title of German Kaiser. Austria remained excluded from
Germany.
The three Kaisers were:
Wilhelm I (1871-1888)
Friedrich III (99 days emperor of 1888, who died of cancer)
Wilhelm II (1888-1918).
All monarchies in Germany were abolished in 1918, Prussia was declared
defunct in 1945 by the Allied victors.
Democratic ideals which should have called for a referendum in the
eastern areas of Germany after World War I before handing them over
to the new Poland were even more violated after World War II:
Eastern Germany was cleansed of its ethnic German population and given
to Poland and Russia.
The Western powers were silent on the ethnic cleansing of original
Prussia and Eastern Germany resulting in 12 millions of German refugees.
The only countries which notably agreed to a referendum after World
War II was France who tried to claim the Saarland and Denmark who tried
to claim more of Schleswig.

Q2: What were the administrative areas of Germany in 1895?

A2: In 1895 Germany consisted of

the kingdoms of
Preussen (Prussia)-see faq.preussen capital:Berlin
Bayern (Bavaria) capital:München
Sachsen (Saxony) -not the Prussian province capital:Dresden
Württemberg capital:Stuttgart

the grandduchies of
Baden -see faq.baden capital:Karlsruhe
Hessen -not the Prussian province capital:Darmstadt
Mecklenburg-Schwerin capital:Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Strelitz capital:Neu-Strelitz
Oldenburg capital:Oldenburg
Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (in Thüringen *) capital:Weimar

the duchies of
Braunschweig (Brunswick) capital:Braunschweig
Sachsen-Meiningen (in Thüringen *) capital:Meiningen
Sachsen-Altenburg (in Thüringen *) capital:Altenburg
Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (in Thüringen *) capital:Coburg
Anhalt capital:Dessau

the principalities of
Schwarzburg-Rudolfstadt (in Thüringen *) capital:Rudolfstadt
Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen (in Thüringen *) capital:Sonderhausen
Waldeck capital:Arolsen
Reuss older lineage (in Thüringen *) capital:Greiz
Reuss younger lineage (in Thüringen *) capital:Gera
Schaumburg-Lippe capital:Bückeburg
Lippe capital:Detmold

the free Hanseatic cities of
Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg

and the Reichsland of
Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) capital:Strassburg

NOTE: * Thüringen was a geographical, NOT a political region.

In 1890 the population figures were for
Germany: 49 millions, and
Preussen: 31 millions, amounting to about 63% of the total German population.

Q3: Where do I write for birth certificate for someone born in Germany?

A3: If I ask you: where do I write for birth certificate for someone
born in the USA in 1772 or 1840 or 1895, what would you answer?
If all you know is Germany as a birth "place", nobody would be able to
help you.

Q4: How do I find locations and maps for Germany?

A4: An atlas is usually not the best tool to locate small towns or
villages. Maps of scales 1:25,000 (Messtischblatt) or 1:100,000
(Karte des Deutschen Reiches and Kreiskarten) and gazetteers
(Ortsverzeichnis) are.

The best German gazetteer is
Meyers Orts- and Verkehrslexikon des Deutschen Reiches,1912 edition,
which is available on microfiche in the LDS Family History Centers.
It lists the places and the jurisdictions of the churches,and
courts (A.G = Amtsgericht).

There is LDS microfilm #068814 available of
Karte des Deutschen Reiches, scale 1:100000, 1km = 1cm
which may be loaned thru the LDS Family History Centers.
It covers Germany for 1914-1917.

Topographical Maps (Messtischblätter 1:25000) may also be
purchased from
Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie
Stauffenbergstr.13
10785 Berlin, Germany

E-mail: kart@ifag.de

http://www.ifag.de/Kartographie/Kartenverzeichnis/I_alte_K.h tm

or from some regional institutes.

One US source of maps is
the American Geographical Society Collection
of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library
P.O. Box 399
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Telephone: 414-229-6282
WATS: 800-558-8993
FAX: 414-229-3624

If you are not able to visit the library yourself, they will photocopy maps
in their collection for a minimum fee.

http://www.calle.com/world/germany/index.html

Maps of 83342 towns and cities in Germany:
http://www.augusta.de/~jb/Daten/index.html

Ortssippenbücher are books on certain and few places in Germany
which contain historical listings of families of these places:

http://www2.genealogy.net/gene/misc/ofb/ofind.html
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/faqs/ortsbuch

Q5: When were civil registers introduced in Germany?

A5: Civil registers of births,marriages,deaths were introduced in
1876. The Civil registry office is called Standesamt.

In some areas civil registers were introduced by the French before 1876:
Elsass-Lothringen and Rheinland in 1792, Hessen and Hessen-Nassau in
1803, Westfalen in 1808, Hannover in 1809,Oldenburg in 1811.
Anhalt introduced them in 1850, Prussia in October 1874, Bayern,
Sachsen, Lippe,Mecklenburg,Württemberg and the Thüringen
mini-states in 1876. Other genealogical sources are church records
which list births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials.

One source which is widely overlooked are court records at the Amtsgericht.
Of special interest are the land deed records with no published survey
known. Other court records are Erbrezesse, Erbvergleiche (probates),
Pupillenakten (or
A remarriage of a widower/widow was always documented in the Amtsgericht
stating in detail the estate rights of surviving children as well as
rights and duties of parents and step parents. This is a source at the
Amtsgericht which is widely unknown and untapped (and unfilmed by the LDS).
If you are looking for records which describe the life and tribulations
of your ancestors, you cannot miss looking at the court records.

See Georg K.Schweitzer:German Genealogical Research, 1992
p.154-156: Andere Gerichtsakten.

Q6: Where can I get more information on Germany?

A6: Do not overlook the obvious place to do your homework:
A general encyclopedia in your local library. The Encyclopedia Britannica
may just do fine for general questions and maps.

Try some of the web sites like

http://www.genealogienetz.de
http://www.adnc.com/web3/lynnd/gfaq.html
http://www.CyndisList.com/germany.htm
http://home.t-online.de/home/thomas.scharnowski/germanzp.gif
http://www.jura.uni-sb.de/laenderberichte/
http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/edatbase.htm
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/german/mformger.html

For diseases in church books:
http://home.t-online.de/home/naujocks/krank.htm

For keyword searches in soc.genealogy.german:
http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/searches/

For German postal codes and locations consult:

http://plz.postconsult.de/Suche/DPLZzuO.HTM
http://www.orte.de/orte/index.htm
http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/plz/plzrequest.uk.html
http://www.nads.de/WWW/PLZ.html

For listing of Archives, Nobility Archives, and Special Archives try:

http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/
http://www.uni-marburg.de/archivschule/deuarch1.html
http://www.fh-potsdam.de/%7EABD/links/deutsc.htm
http://www.archivnet.de/nogr/nogrlinks.htm
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~german/research/archives.html
http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/earchive.htm

Bundesarchiv:
http://www.bundesarchiv.de/bestaende/index.html

For search of missing persons after WWII, contact:

DRK-Suchdienst
Chiemgaustr. 109
81549 München
Ph: 089 6807730
Fax: 089 68074592
Internet: http://www.rotkreuz.de/suchdienst/
email: DRK-Suchdienst-Muenchen@t-online.de

Zentralstelle der Heimatortskarteien, Kirchlicher Suchdienst,
Lessingstr. 3, D - 80336 München

The best web search engine for German genealogy is:

http://google.stanford.edu/

If you have no access to the Web (www), you can direct web files to
your email box by sending a request to

www4mail@unganisha.idrc.ca

www4mail@web.bellanet.org

with the message HELP or
get http://.....

Consult also
Germanic Genealogy (by Edward R.Brandt et alii), 2nd edition.
1997, St.Paul MN, 517 pp.,1st edition, 1995.

published by Germanic Genealogy Society, PO Box 16312
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55116-0312

http://www.mtn.org/mgs/german/

If you are looking for a certain family names in Germany, consult the
International Genealogical Index (IGI) for Germany at your local
LDS Family History Center. This will give you some idea of the past
geographical distribution of family names in Germany.

A good way to ask fellow researchers for information is to subscribe to
(free)
Send the message LISTS (in the body) to

majordomo@retsys.eics.com

or to

majordomo@genealogy.net

and you will get a listing of what is available.

For mailing lists see also:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/
http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/europe/index.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/europe/index.html#germany

Q7: Are there emigration records available?

A7: The state archives have many emigration records which were
filmed by the LDS FHL.

For details see:
Learned, Marion Dexter, 1857-1917:
Guide to the manuscript materials relating to American history
in the German state archives, Washington, D.C.,
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Publication no. 150,1912,352 p.:
-also Kraus reprints NY 1965-
(there are a number of updates in two volumes done by the LOC
Manuscript Division,call no.L173.L4 Suppl. 1929-1932).

Most of the material listed by M.Learned relates to Prussian and Bavarian archives. I am listing the archives which M.Learned tried to evaluate as to emigration records:

PRUSSIA:
Berlin
Breslau
Danzig
Düsseldorf
Hannover
Koblenz
Königsberg
Magdeburg
Münster
Osnabrück
Posen
Schleswig
Sigmaringen
Stettin
Wetzlar
Wiesbaden

BAVARIA
München-Munich
Amberg
Bamberg
Landshut
Neuburg
Nürnberg
Speyer
Würzburg

ALSACE-LORRAINE
Colmar
Metz
Strassburg

ANHALT-ZERBST
Ducal House and State Archives

BADEN
Karlsruhe

BREMEN
State Archives

BRAUNSCHWEIG
Wolfenbüttel

HAMBURG
State Archives
Hauptmeldeamt der Polizei

HESSEN-DARMSTADT
House and State Archives

LIPPE-DETMOLD
House and State Archives

LÜBECK
State Archives

MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN
Privy and Central Archives

MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ
Central Archives

OLDENBURG
House and Central Archives

REUSS-GREITZ (Elder Line)
State Archives

REUSS-GERA (Younger Line)
State Archives

SACHSEN-ALTENBURG
Ducal Archives

SACHSEN-COBURG-GOTHA
House and State Archives

SACHSEN-MEININGEN
State Archives

SACHSEN-WEIMAR-EISENACH
State Archives

SACHSEN
Central State Archives in Dresden

SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE
Ministerial Archives in Bückeburg

SCHWARZBURG-RUDOLFSTADT
Archives of the Principality

SCHWARZBURG-SONDERHAUSEN
Archives of the Principality

WALDECK
Archives in Arolsen

WÜRTTEMBERG
Archives in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg

CITY AND LOCAL ARCHIVES
Köln-Cologne
Frankfurt am Main
Herrnhut
Karlsruhe
Mannheim
Neuwied

The 19th century saw three periods of emigration from Germany:

1852-1854 caused by the gold rushes (100,000 annually);
1866-1873 caused by the post-wars of 1866 and 1870-1871 (100,000 annually)
1880-1881 caused by a depression with 220,000 German emigrants via the
ports of Antwerp,Rotterdam and LeHavre.
1880-1884 saw figures of 160,000 German emigrants annually.
1886 saw a minimum of 83,000 emigrants.
The cholera outbreak of 1892 reduced the numbers slightly.

Here are some figures of emigrants from Germany via German,Belgian,
Dutch, and French ports:

Year to USA to Brazil to Canada
-----------------------------------------------------------
1885 102,224 1,713 692
1886 75,591 2,045 330
1887 95,976 1,152 270
1888 84,424 2,412 88
1890 85,112 4,096 307
1891 108,611 3,710 976
1892 107,803 779 1,577

During the same period the breakdown according to ports were

French ports (mostly LeHavre): 32,491
Bremen: 417,438
Hamburg: 216,622
Antwerp: 118,016
other German ports, (mostly Stettin): 13,880 (1,735)

The South German areas had more emigrants of trained tradesmen than
Prussia and notably Mecklenburg.

The number of non-German migrants, notably from Russia and
Austria-Hungary, via German ports is considerable:

1891: Germans non-Germans
Bremen 59,673 80,148
Hamburg 31,581 112,658
Stettin 1,891 3,271
total 93,145 196,080

1892:
Bremen 59,897 69,521
Hamburg 28,072 80,676
Stettin 2,214 1,215
total 90,183 151,412

(Ref.:Meyers Konversations=Lexikon, 5th ed.,vol.4,Leipzig-Wien 1897,
pages 856,867-868)

Prior to the 1830's, most German immigrants went to LeHavre, Antwerp,
Rotterdam, or Amsterdam as embarkation points. However, this changed
in the 1830's when the senates of the strategically located port
cities of Bremen (1832) and Hamburg (1836) passed laws organizing the
"emigrant trade," making the trip quicker and safer and generating
a profit at the same time. Consequently, these two ports dominated
emigration traffic for the subsequent era of mass emigration after the
1830's.

Other suggested records for research in Germany are: applications for
release of citizenship and the actual releases from citizenship,
various kinds of passports, applications for consens (permission) to
emigrate, police permits, settlement of estate and tax matters
including expropriation of property for debt payment and lists of
debts that emigrants had incurred, records of emigrant property was
sold at auction, and payment of departure taxes (up to 10% of property
in Prussia). Also records of expulsion and the church records
(Kirchenbücher). Records of minor children who were transported at
public expense. And many newspapers at the time also printed extensive
passenger lists as well as samples of immigrant correspondence and
search notices for relatives who had immigrated earlier and had since
been lost.

See also

TITLE(s): Germans to America : lists of passengers arriving at U.S.
ports / edited by Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby.
Wilmington, Del. : Scholarly Resources, c1988-
v. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Vols. 1-9 include dates "1850-1855" in subtitle.
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
ISBN: 0842023151 (vol. 1)

The series contains abstracts from passenger arrival lists for the five
major U.S. ports of arrival: Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York,
and Philadelphia. It does not include arrival records for any Canadian
ports, although it may contain the names of some Germans who entered
through one of the U.S. ports covered, and who later settled in Canada.

Partial cont.:
v. 1. January 1850-May 1851 --
v. 2. May 1851-June 1852 --
v. 3. June 1852-September 1852 --
v. 4. September 1852-May 1853 --
v. 5. May 1853-October 1853 --
v. 6. October 1853-May 1854 --
v. 7. May 1854-August 1854 --
v. 8. August 1854-December 1854 --
v. 9. December 1854-December 1855 --
v. 10. January 1856-April 1857 - -
v. 11. April 1857-November 1857 --
v. 12. November 1857-July 1859 --
v. 13. August 1859-December 1860 --
v. 14. January 1861- May 1863 --
v. 15. June 1863-October 1864 --
v. 16. November 1864-November 1865 --
v. 17. Nov. 1865-June 1866 --
v. 18. June 1866-Dec. 1866 --
v. 19. Jan. 1867-Aug 1867 --
v. 20. Aug. 1867-May 1868 --
v. 21. May 1868-Sept. 1868 --
v. 22. Oct. 1868-May 1869 --
v. 23. June 1869- December 1869 --
v. 24. January 1870-December 1870 --
v. 25. January 1871-September 1871 --
v. 26. October 1871-April 1872 --
v. 27. May 1872-July 1872 --
v. 28. August 1872-December 1872 --
v. 29. January 1873-May 1873 --
v. 30. June 1873-November 1873 --
v. 31. December 1873- December 1874 --
v. 32. January 1875-Septe er 1876 --
v. 33. October 1876-September 1878 --
v. 34. October 1878-December 1879 --
v. 35. January 1880-June 1880 --
v. 36. July 1880-November 1880 --
v. 37. December 1880-April 1881 --
v. 38. April 1881-May 1881 --
v. 39. June 1881-Aug. 1881 --
v. 40. Aug. 1881-Oct. 1881 - -
v. 41. November 1881-March 1882 --
v. 42. March 1882-May 1882.
v. 43. May 1882-August 1882 --
v. 44. August 1882-November 1882 --
v. 45. November 1882-April 1883 --
v. 46. April 1883-June 1883 --
v. 47. July 1883-October 1883 --
v. 48. November 1883-April 1884 --
v. 49. April 1884-June 1884 --
v. 50. July 1884-November 1884 --
v. 51. December 1884-June 1885 --
v. 52. July 1885-April 1886 --
v. 53. May 1886-January 1887 --
v. 54. January 1887-June 1887 --
v. 55. July 1887-April 1888 --
v. 56. May 1888-November 1888 --
v. 57. December 1888-June 1889 --
v. 58. July 1889-April 1890.
v. 59 May 1890 - November 1890.(ISBN 0-8420-2667-3)
v. 60 Dec 1890 - May 1891
v. 61 Jun 1891 - October 1891 (ISBN 0-8420-2670-3)
v. 62 Nov 1891 - May 1892 (ISBN 0-8420-2671-1)
v. 63 Jun 1892 - December 1892 (ISBN 0-8420-2737-8)
v. 64 Jan 1893 - July 1893 (ISBN 0-8420-2738-6)
(to be continued)

SUBJECT(s): German Americans Genealogy.
Ships United States Passenger lists.
Immigrants United States Registers.
United States Emigration and immigration.
Germany Emigration and immigration.
OTHER ENTRIES: Glazier, Ira A.
Filby, P. William, 1911-
Call #: 929.273 G3735

For US list of holding libraries of the "Germans to America " series see

http://www.genealogy.net/gene/www/emig/gta-holdings.html

-----------------------
Walker, Mack.: Germany and the emigration, 1816-1885.
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1964.
284 p. 21 cm.
Harvard historical monographs, 56
Bibliography: p. [253]-275.

OTHER ENTRIES: Germany--Emigration and immigration.
Harvard historical monographs, v. 56.
CALL #: JV8014.W25 1964

ISTG :
Transcriptions of passenger lists for 404 ships have been uploaded
by the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild as of 16 February 1999.
Approximately 500 volunteers continue to transcribe lists that will
be uploaded as they are completed.

Q9: What are the German dialects?

A9: A brief summary of the German tribes and dialect groups
as of 1937:

Niederdeutsche (low German or platt speaking):

Franken (in Niederfranken)
Niedersachsen (in Schleswig-Holstein, Niedersachsen, Ostfalen, Westfalen)
Mecklenburger
Pommern
Brandenburger
Altpreussen (in Ostpreussen, Westpreussen)
Baltendeutsche (in Latvia, Estonia)
Friesen (in North and East Friesland)

Mitteldeutsche (Middle high German speaking)

Franken (in Rhineland, Lorraine, Luxemburg, Pfalz-Palatinate, Hungary,
Yugoslavia, Siebenbürgen-Transsylvania)
Hessen
Thüringer
Obersachsen
Schlesier (in Silesia)
Sudetendeutsche (in Bohemia, Moravia)
Zipser (in Slovakia)

Oberdeutsche (Upper high German speaking)

Franken (in Ostfranken-Bavaria)
Alemannen (in Schwaben, Elsass-Alsace, Schweiz-Switzerland, Vorarlberg)
Bavarians-Austrians (in Oberpfalz, Niederbayern Oberbayern, Tirol,
Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Carinthia, Styria, Heinzen)

Q10: Where did Germans live outside Germany in 1937?

A10: A summary for 1937 lists the following statistics in 1,000:

Austria 6800
South Tirol 225
Liechtenstein 10
Switzerland 2950
Alsace and Lorraine 1580
Luxemburg 286
Eupen,Malmedy,Belgium 100
Netherlands 100
North Schleswig 35

Canada 400
USA 5200
Mexico 13
Brazil 900
Argentina 230
Chile 40
Paraguay 15
Other Latin America 25
Australia 77
Asia 21
Southern Africa 51

Eastern Europe (expelled by Stalin's policy of ethnic cleansing
after WWII and sanctioned by the Western powers at Yalta)
Estonia 23
Latvia 70
Lithuania 40
Memelland area 80
Danzig 379
Posen and West Prussia 325
East Upper Silesia 300
Teschen-Silesia 40
Central Poland 350
Galicia 60
Volhynia 65
Ukraine 395
Crimea-Krim 45
Volga German ASSR 392
Siberia 120
Caucasus 75
Bessarabia-Moldavia 90
Dobrudsha 25
Bukovina 96
Old Rumania (pre-WWI) 93
Sathmar 40
Siebenbürgen-Transsylvania 230 (many were not expelled)
Banat and Batshka 790
Croatia, Slovenia 160
Bosnia 16
South Styria, Crain 70
Hungary 505
Carpato-Russia 15
Slovakia (Zips) 150
Sudetenland (Bohemia,Moravia) 3100

There have been some calls recently for books in English on
the German exodus and ethnic cleansing in East Germany and
Eastern Europe:

Thorwald, Jurgen: Es begann an der Weichsel. 1951
Das Ende an der Elbe. 1952.
English: Flight in the winter;
[New York] Pantheon [1951] 318 p. 22 cm.
CALL #: 940.542 T52F

De Zayas, Alfred M.
Anmerkungen zur Vertreibung der Deutschen aus dem Osten.
English: The German expellees : victims in war and peace /
Alfred-Maurice De Zayas ; [original German version
translated by John A. Koehler].
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1993.
xlii, 177 p., [24] p. of plates : ill., map ; 22 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [161]-169) and
index. CALL #: DJK 28.G4D413 1993

De Zayas, Alfred M.
Anmerkungen zur Vertreibung der Deutschen aus dem Osten.
English: A terrible revenge : the "ethnic cleansing" of the east
European Germans, 1944-1950 / Alfred-Maurice de Zayas ;
[original German version translated by John A. Koehler].
1st pbk. ed. with additions.
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1994.
xlii, 179 p. : ill., maps ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-171) and
index. CALL #: DJK 28.G4D413 1994

OTHER ENTRIES: Germans Europe, Eastern History 20th century.
World War, 1939-1945 Refugees.
World War, 1939-1945 Atrocities.
Population transfers Germans.

The Federal archives in Bayreuth has compiled the most detailed
documentation on the German ethnic cleansing from Eastern Germany
and Easteren Europe.

Address:
Bundesarchiv Bayreuth
Postfach 5025
95424 Bayreuth
Ph.: 0921-57087

The following material is available for research and copying:

1. Gemeindeseelenlisten (name lists), incl. village maps comprising
15568 population lists for 12083 towns and villages, 7745 village
maps for 6750 communities.

2. Ost-Dokumentation
- Fragebogenberichte (Gemeindeschicksalsberichte) zur
Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus
Ostmitteleuropa und aus den deutschen Siedlungsgebieten
in Südosteuropa (Questionaires on ethnic cleansing)
- Erlebnisberichte zur Dokumentation der Vertreibung der
Deutschen aus Ostmittel- und Südeuropa
(First hand reports on ethnic cleansing)
- Erhebungsbögen (Auswertungsbögen) der Dokumentation
der Vertreibungsverbrechen (Evaluation on crimes against refugees)
- Unterlagen der Flucht über die Ostsee (Flight via the Baltic sea)
- Dokumentation über das Leben deutscher Flüchtlinge in Dänem
(Refugee life in Denmark)
- Berichte über das Leben der deutschen Volksgruppen
jenseits der östlichen und südöstlichen Reichsgrenzen
(Reports on life in German communities outside Germany)
- Berichte von Persönlichkeiten des Öffentlichen Lebens
aus den Gebieten östlich von Oder und Neisse zum
Zeitgeschehen 1919-1945 (Reports by public figures from areas
east of Oder and Neisse on life during 1919-1945)
- Berichte über Verwaltung und Wirtschaft in den Gebieten
östlich von Oder und Neisse sowie in Böhmen und Mähren
(Reports on administration and business in the areas east of Oder
and Neisse as well as Bohemia and Moravia).

Q11: Are there genealogical publishers in Germany?

A11: The two best known publishers are

C.A.Starke-Verlag in D-65549 Limburg/Lahn (refugees from Schlesien)
best known for
Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (for noble families only,
many volumes since 1951 in series of gräfliche, freiherrliche,
adlige Häuser, available in major libraries)
seeks to update the Almanach de Gotha (1764-1944) as well
as Gothaischer Hofkalender (1765-1942)
and
Deutsches Geschlechterbuch - Genealogisches Handbuch
Bürgerlicher Familein (for non-noble families),
with regional and general volumes
(many volumes since 1889, available in major libraries)

http://www.edition-digital.com/starkeverlag
E-mail: starkeverlag@t-online.de

and

Verlag Degener & Co, D-91403 Neustadt/Aisch
best known for
Deutsches Familien-Archiv (noble and non-noble families)
(many volumes since 1952, available in major libraries)

All these serials contain concise family histories written by
individual family historians and published according to uniform
guidelines set by the two publishing houses, published as complete
volumes as well as individual single prints.
If you seek to publish your family history with good public exposure,
this may be the way for you to go. Both houses also publish a variety
of genealogical periodicals.

http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/verlag01.htm

In the USA:

German Genealogical Digest - GGD - HOMEPAGE
http://www.feefhs.org/pub/frg-ggdp.html

Q12: How do I send money to Germany?

A12: For reimbursing simple postage, buy 2 international reply coupons
(IRC) at your local post office.
There are high bank fees in Germany for US$ denominated cheques.
If you have a VISA or other credit card which issues credit card
cheques, you can send DM denominated cheques which are credited
with the full amount.

You may also send DM cheque thru

RUESCH Intl.
700 Eleventh St, NW
Washington D.C. 20001-4507
1-800-424-2923
(charge is US$ 3.00)

Q13: How do I handle Umlaute in computer messages?

A13: Many computer users are tempted to use built-in umlaut features
(extended character sets) that come with various PC or MAC softwares.
They are intended for your home printer use and NOT for internet posting.
My suggestion is that umlaute be written as "a or ae, "o or oe, "u or ue.
Internet messages should be sent in text (ASCII) format and not in
PC(Windows) or MAC specific format since other computers would read
umlaut garbled. You may miss out on responses to your messages, if you
neglect this suggestion. It is bad netiquette to assume that only
Window-based umlaut character sets are acceptable.

Q14: How do I get German census records?

A14: German census records generally have not survived the wars.
The results were published in various volumes of "Statistik des
Deutschen Reiches" since 1871 and give population numbers only, no names.
Prior to 1871 the various local governments compiled census records
and mostly published numbers only. Census records with names have
survived in a few isolated cases only, after the numbers were extracted
and sent. The German term for census is Volkszählung, and that
is exactly what was done: Counting heads.

Q15: What are the present 16 German states?

A15: Present Germany is a federal republic consisting of
16 states:

Land (State): Capital: Postal areas (PLZ):
--------------------------------------------------
Berlin Berlin 1
Brandenburg Potsdam 0,1
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Schwerin 1,2
Sachsen Dresden 0,2,3
Sachsen-Anhalt Magdeburg 0,2,3
Thüringen Erfurt 0,3,9
Schleswig-Holstein Kiel 2
Hamburg Hamburg 2
Bremen Bremen 2
Niedersachsen Hannover 2,3,4
Nordrhein-Westfalen Düsseldorf 3,4,5
Hessen Wiesbaden 3,6
Rheinland-Pfalz Mainz 5,6
Baden-Württemberg Stuttgart 6,7,8
Bayern München 8,9
Saarland Saarbrücken 6

Q16: How can I get news on Germany in German or English on the net today?

A16: Deutsche Welle Radio broadcasts international news in German on
the hour every hour. As a special service DW offers news by free e-mail.
Mailing lists will bring you news broadcasts automatically.

The texts for all German news broadcasts can be found on the World Wide
Web at: "http://www.dwelle.de/today/nrdeu.htm"

To subscribe to free mailing lists,
send an e-mail to "majordomo@dwelle.de"

In the body just write command
"subscribe nachrichten." (daily news in German)
"subscribe newsline" (daily news in English)
"subscribe markt" (daily market news in German)
"help" (if you want info on other services)

If you have another address where you'd rather get the mail, just
include it in the text as well, behind the command!

Q17: Where can I find military records?

A17: Military records:
In 1867 the armies of all but four German states were integrated
into the armies of Prussia. From that time on, soldiers of any German
state (except Bayern, Sachsen, Baden, Württemberg) were only recorded
in the military records of Prussia. Unfortunately, most Prussian military
records of the Heeresarchiv were completely destroyed by British planes in
1945. For Prussian military information, one has to rely on pre-1945
publications. There are, however, military church books maintained by
the military chaplains for individual regiments which have been filmed
by the LDS FHL.
The military archives of the Saxon, Bavarian, Baden, Württemberg armies
have survived and are deposited, respectively, at

Staatsarchiv, Archivstr. 14, 01097 Dresden;
Bayrisches Hauoptstaatsarchiv, Postfach, 80501 München;
Generallandesarchiv,Nördliche Hildapromenade 2, 76133 Karlsruhe;
Hauptstaatsarchiv, Konrad-Adenauer Strasse 4, 70173 Stuttgart

Of special interest may be military court records of desertions involving
emigrants which need to be researched.

For Wehrmacht WWII soldiers contact:
* Deutsche Dienststelle (ehemals Wehrmachtsauskunftsstelle),
Eichborndamm 167, D - 13403 Berlin
http://www.com-de.pair.com/wast/
E-mail: wast@com-de.com

Q18: Can you describe the German school system before WWII?

A18: Between WWI and WWII most schools were gender segregated.
Everyone started at primary or Volksschule, grades 1-4 (age 6-10)
At age 10, grades were split:
1) continue Volksschule, grades 5-8 (ages 11-14) followed by a
Berufsschule and Lehre of 2 years to learn a trade (ages 15-16)
2) OR continue secondary school (Ober-Realschule, Oberschule or
classic Gymnasium, Oberlycaeum for girls) after passing an entrance
exam. Grades were called Sexta (5), Quinta (6), Quarta (7), Unter-
Tertia (8), Ober-Tertia (9), Unter-Sekunda (10), Ober-Sekunda (11),
Unter-Prima (12), Ober-Prima (13). Students were called Sextaner,
...,Ober-Primaner.
After passing the final exam (Reifeprüfung), you had earned the
Abitur and qualified for university admission and military officer
training.
3) OR continue secondary school (Realschule, Mittelschule, Lycaeum
for girls) for 6 grades giving you Realschulreife, Sekundareife,
Mittelschulreife or "das Einjährige" which was required for higher
schools of learning below university level and reduced military
service ("einjährig Freiwillige")
Oberschule usually offered foreign languages English (starting in grade 5),
Fr Gymnasium offered Latin (starting in grade 5,grosses Latinum), Greek (7),
English or French (9). Grosses Latinum was required for students planning
to major in theology, history
Latin courses whenever Grosses Latinum was required. Language studies
continued to final graduation, not just for a semester or a year.
Realschule usually offered foreign languages English (5) and French (7).
Old report cards or transcripts (Schulzeugnis) are often still available
at the schools or state archives (under Schulsachen back to the 1800s).
Write to Schulverwaltung, city, Germany and be as specific as possible.
In Prussia the Schulsachen would be deposited under the Regierung records.
Universities have their own archives where records on faculty and students
may be deposited.

Suggestions for improvements are appreciated. Adalbert Goertz (goertz@cyberspace.org)

Sponsored by the VU German Study Group Page

Go to Top

Regions, Adalbert Goertz's German FAQs
German Study Group Contents Page
General Genealogy Resources ~ Maps & History ~ Databases
Tools ~ Immigration ~ Other Internet ~ Books ~ German Words
German/English Form Letters ~ FAQ ~ Documents