FAQ deutschland (Germany)
December 2000
Please send any corrections or suggestions to goertz@cyberspace.org
CONTENTS:
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
Kurfuersten (electors). In 1800 the electors (of the Kaiser) were the
3 archbishops of Koeln (Cologne), Mainz and Trier and the
4 secular electors of Rhine-Pfalz, Brandenburg, Sachsen(Saxony), and
Boehmen(Bohemia).
The Kaiser was also elector and king of Boehmen.
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 Boehmen and
Maehren 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:Muenchen
Sachsen (Saxony) -not the Prussian province capital:Dresden
Wuerttemberg 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 Thueringen *) capital:Weimar
the duchies of
Braunschweig (Brunswick) capital:Braunschweig
Sachsen-Meiningen (in Thueringen *) capital:Meiningen
Sachsen-Altenburg (in Thueringen *) capital:Altenburg
Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (in Thueringen *) capital:Coburg
Anhalt capital:Dessau
the principalities of
Schwarzburg-Rudolfstadt (in Thueringen *) capital:Rudolfstadt
Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen (in Thueringen *) capital:Sonderhausen
Waldeck capital:Arolsen
Reuss older lineage (in Thueringen *) capital:Greiz
Reuss younger lineage (in Thueringen *) capital:Gera
Schaumburg-Lippe capital:Bueckeburg
Lippe capital:Detmold
the free Hanseatic cities of
Luebeck, Bremen and Hamburg
and the Reichsland of
Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) capital:Strassburg
NOTE: * Thueringen 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 (Messtischblaetter 1:25000) may also be
purchased from
Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und Geodaesie
Stauffenbergstr.13
10785 Berlin, Germany
E-mail: kart@ifag.de
http://www.ifag.de/Kartographie/Kartenverzeichnis/I_alte_K.htm
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
Ortssippenbuecher 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,Wuerttemberg and the Thueringen 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://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/reg/rindex.htm
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
http://www.genealogylinks.net
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.plz-suche.de/
http://www.plz-suche.de/plz_suche.dpag/engl/index.html
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 Muenchen
Telefon: 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 Muenchen
The best web search engines for German genealogy are:
http://meta.rrzn.uni-hannover.de
http://www.google.com
http://www.alltheweb.com
http://www.northernlight.com
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
OR
www4mail@web.bellanet.org
OR
www4mail@wm.ictp.trieste.it
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
The best email address finder for Germany is
http://mesa.rrzn.uni-hannover.de
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 (Kirchenbuecher).
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:
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/immigration/immigrat.html
Q8: How can I find information on ships and immigrants?
A8: Lists of passengers arriving at U.S. ports have been
maintained by the Federal government since 1820. U.S. Passenger
Arrival Lists generally provide the name, age, and country of
origin for each arriving person. Relatively few U.S. lists prior
to 1890 show the town or city of origin; later lists provide the
specific place of last residence and/or birthplace, and much
more.
Passenger lists are arranged by port, and then chronologically
by date of arrival. The National Archives in Washington (see Q#8
above) has custody of these lists, which have been microfilmed.
Indexes to most ports were prepared by the WPA, but they are not
complete. The following chart shows the five major U.S. ports of
entry on the Atlantic coast:
Port Passengers Lists Indexes
New York 24.0 M 1820-1957 1820-1846, 1897-1948
Boston 2.0 M 1820-1943 1848-1891, 1902-1920
Baltimore 1.5 M 1820-1948 1820-1952
Philadelphia 1.2 M 1800-1945 1800-1948
New Orleans 0.7 M 1820-1945 1853-1952
The second column shows the number of passengers, in millions,
that arrived at each port between 1820 and 1920. There are also
lists for several minor ports, as well as the Canadian border.
British passenger ship records for transatlantic departures only,
and only beginning about 1895, are in the Public Record Office in Kew.
They are on paper, in boxes organized by port of departure, and (roughly)
by date of departure. They have not been microfilmed. The only way to see them
The lists themselves contain less information than the equivalent US
arrival lists.
http://www.pro.gov.uk
THESHIPSLIST-L -- is a mailing list for anyone
interested in the ships our ancestors migrated on. Subjects include
emigration/immigration, ports of entry, ports of departure, ship
descriptions and history, passenger lists and other related
information. To help with your questions, there are many regular
members of the list, with a wide range of expertise and resources, who
are ready and willing to assist and guide you on your search.
For a free subscription, send message
subscribe
to
theshipslist-l-request@rootsweb.com
There is a mailing list:
emigration-ships@listserv.northwest.com
_theshipslist-l_ THESHIPSLIST-L -- A mailing list for anyone
interested in the ships our ancestors migrated on. Subjects include
emigration/immigration, ports of entry, ports of departure, ship
descriptions and history, passenger lists and other related
information. To help with your questions, there are many regular
members of the list, with a wide range of expertise and resources, who
are ready and willing to assist and guide you on your search.
theshipslist-l to theshipslist-l-request@rootsweb.com
http://www.fortunecity.com/littleitaly/amalfi/13/ships.html
http://www.cimorelli.com/pie/emigrate/emigmenu.htm
http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/ships.htm
http://www.CyndisList.com/ships.htm
http://www.hamburg.de/LinkToYourRoots/welcome.htm
http://www.germanmigration.com
http://iigs.rootsweb.com/immships/index.html
http://www.genealogy.net/gene/www/emig/emigr.html
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
(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, Siebenbuergen-Transsylvania)
Hessen
Thueringer
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
Siebenbuergen-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.
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 graefliche, freiherrliche,
adlige Haeuser, 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
Buergerlicher 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)
http://www.ruesch.com .
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 garb
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 sen
The German term for census is Volkszaehlung, 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
Thueringen Erfurt 0,3,9
Schleswig-Holstein Kiel 2
Hamburg Hamburg 2
Bremen Bremen 2
Niedersachsen Hannover 2,3,4
Nordrhein-Westfalen Duesseldorf 3,4,5
Hessen Wiesbaden 3,6
Rheinland-Pfalz Mainz 5,6
Baden-Wuerttemberg Stuttgart 6,7,8
Bayern Muenchen 8,9
Saarland Saarbruecken 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, Wuerttemberg) were only recorded
in the military records of Prussia. Unfortunately, most Prussian military
records of the Heeresarchiv in Potsdam were completely destroyed
by British planes in April 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, Wuerttemberg armies
have survived and are deposited, respectively, at
Staatsarchiv, Archivstr. 14, 01097 Dresden;
Bayrisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Postfach, 80501 Muenchen;
Generallandesarchiv,Noerdliche 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
The "Volksbund" Organization collected data on over 2 Million German
soldiers who died or were missing in action during World War I and
World War II :
http://www.volksbund.de
http://www.volksbund.de/VuTDB/vut_suche.asp
E-mail: volksbund.kassel@t-online.de
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 (Reifepruefung), 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 Einjaehrige" which was required for higher
schools of learning below university level and reduced military
service ("einjaehrig 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, histor
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.
Updated December 31, 2000