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One of the early Germanic colonies was in the Hungarian province of Transylvania (now west central Romania), where immigrants were invited in by the Hungarian king in the mid-1100s. In 1211 the Teutonic Knights founded a series of towns in Transylvania; these Transylvania Saxons still retain their German language and many customs. | One of the early Germanic colonies was in the Hungarian province of Transylvania (now west central Romania), where immigrants were invited in by the Hungarian king in the mid-1100s. In 1211 the Teutonic Knights founded a series of towns in Transylvania; these Transylvania Saxons still retain their German language and many customs. | ||
Also in Romania are a number of towns founded after 1700 by many different nationalities, including Czechs, Slovaks, Alsatians, Flemish, and French speakers. The Germans are known as Danube Swabians: Swabians because many came from Swabia in southern Germany and Danube because many of the re-settled towns were along the Danube. German parish registers in the Transylvania Saxon and Danube Swabian areas have been microfilmed and are available at the | Also in Romania are a number of towns founded after 1700 by many different nationalities, including Czechs, Slovaks, Alsatians, Flemish, and French speakers. The Germans are known as Danube Swabians: Swabians because many came from Swabia in southern Germany and Danube because many of the re-settled towns were along the Danube. German parish registers in the Transylvania Saxon and Danube Swabian areas have been microfilmed and are available at the FamilySearch Library (see the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]). | ||
Access to other Romanian records remains difficult as of 1995. Other German settlement areas in Romania (dating to the 1800s) are the Bukovina (in the northeast), Dobrudscha (Romanian Dobrogea, on the Black Sea), and Bessarabia (the easternmost strip of Romania part of what is now in Ukraine). | Access to other Romanian records remains difficult as of 1995. Other German settlement areas in Romania (dating to the 1800s) are the Bukovina (in the northeast), Dobrudscha (Romanian Dobrogea, on the Black Sea), and Bessarabia (the easternmost strip of Romania part of what is now in Ukraine). | ||
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Many German settlements were begun in the 1100s and succeeding centuries. These earlier settlements were joined by the Danube Swabian communities of the 1700s and 1800s. | Many German settlements were begun in the 1100s and succeeding centuries. These earlier settlements were joined by the Danube Swabian communities of the 1700s and 1800s. | ||
Hungarian parish registers are all available on microfilm at the | Hungarian parish registers are all available on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library (see the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]). Civil registers, from 1895 to 1980, have been digitized and are available on the FamilySearch Catalog (see [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1452460 Hungary civil registration, 1895-1980]) and so are many church and land records. Hungary has the most easily accessible genealogical records than all other eastern European countries. | ||
Microfilms of Danube Swabian parish registers in Hungary were made by the Germans during World War II. Most only extend to about 1850. A complete set of these can be found on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. | Microfilms of Danube Swabian parish registers in Hungary were made by the Germans during World War II. Most only extend to about 1850. A complete set of these can be found on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. | ||
=== Former Yugoslavia === | === Former Yugoslavia === | ||
What was formerly Yugoslavia also had a good number of Danube Swabian towns. Access to parish registers is through microfilm at the | What was formerly Yugoslavia also had a good number of Danube Swabian towns. Access to parish registers is through microfilm at the FamilySearch Library and individual town halls. The ''matri ar'' (civil records offices) have collected most of the earlier church records. The records are accessible by correspondence or personal visit. Some other parish registers, particularly those ofnow defunct German villages, are in archives. | ||
Microfilms of Danube Swabian parish registers in former Yugoslavia were made by the Germans during World War II. Most only extend to about 1850. A complete set of these can be found on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. | Microfilms of Danube Swabian parish registers in former Yugoslavia were made by the Germans during World War II. Most only extend to about 1850. A complete set of these can be found on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. | ||
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The area that made up the German Empire was originally established by Germanic and Slavic tribes. For a list of those tribes, see [[Media:German and Slavic Tribes.pdf|German and Slavic Tribes]]. | The area that made up the German Empire was originally established by Germanic and Slavic tribes. For a list of those tribes, see [[Media:German and Slavic Tribes.pdf|German and Slavic Tribes]]. | ||
The | The FamilySearch Library has microfilmed and digitized many parish registers from Germany (see the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]). | ||
=== Russia === | === Russia === | ||
Germans have long been settled in areas which later came under the rule of Poland and Russia. Although Germans settled in the Russian Empire as artisans and craftsmen, military officers, and merchants as early as the 1500s, there was no significant pattern of colonization until the end of the 1700s. In 1762, Catherine the Great issued statements inviting Germans to settle in new areas of the Russian Empire. The first colonies were established along the Volga River in 1764. Other colonies followed. German colonies were established along the Black Sea and Bessarabia. As these colonies matured, the children of the original settlers established new daughter colonies. By the 1850s, there were hundreds of German colonies in various areas of the Empire. hese colonies generally bore German names, even though the official names may have been Russian or Polish. Germans settled in a number of areas in the former Russian Empire; Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had sizable German minorities. | Germans have long been settled in areas which later came under the rule of Poland and Russia. Although Germans settled in the Russian Empire as artisans and craftsmen, military officers, and merchants as early as the 1500s, there was no significant pattern of colonization until the end of the 1700s. In 1762, Catherine the Great issued statements inviting Germans to settle in new areas of the Russian Empire. The first colonies were established along the Volga River in 1764. Other colonies followed. German colonies were established along the Black Sea and Bessarabia. As these colonies matured, the children of the original settlers established new daughter colonies. By the 1850s, there were hundreds of German colonies in various areas of the Empire. hese colonies generally bore German names, even though the official names may have been Russian or Polish. Germans settled in a number of areas in the former Russian Empire; Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had sizable German minorities. | ||
The | The FamilySearch Library has microfilmed and digitized many parish registers in these locations (see the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]). A number of genealogical agencies now offer research services as well in these areas. | ||
See [[Germans from Russia]] for more information. | See [[Germans from Russia]] for more information. | ||
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=== How to Access the Records === | === How to Access the Records === | ||
==== Online Records ==== | ==== Online Records ==== | ||
Some church and civil registration records are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search | Some church and civil registration records are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Library]. The FS Library has microfilm copies of church records and their civil transcripts from German communities in all areas of Poland. Records have also been acquired from areas in former Galicia, Austria, and what is now Poland and Ukraine. Privacy restrictions have prevented the microfilming of records more recent than the late 1800s. Most of the church records in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog] have been digitized and are available on the website. The records can be found by searching for: | ||
POLAND, [PROVINCE], [TOWN]. The records will be under the "Church records" heading. Some civil registration records from the Prussia area, beginning in 1874, are available on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog], but they usually go no later than 1880. The records can be found by searching for POLAND, [PROVINCE], [TOWN]. The records will be under the "Civil registration" heading. The FS Library has also acquired many church records from archives in Russia (including St. Petersburg) and Ukraine. Additionally, there are a few records from Bessarabia and Volhynia in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. Most have been digitized and are available online. If the records needed have no been microfilmed yet, information can still be obtained through writing to, visiting, or hiring a researcher to visit the record repositories in Poland and Russia. | POLAND, [PROVINCE], [TOWN]. The records will be under the "Church records" heading. Some civil registration records from the Prussia area, beginning in 1874, are available on the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog], but they usually go no later than 1880. The records can be found by searching for POLAND, [PROVINCE], [TOWN]. The records will be under the "Civil registration" heading. The FS Library has also acquired many church records from archives in Russia (including St. Petersburg) and Ukraine. Additionally, there are a few records from Bessarabia and Volhynia in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Catalog]. Most have been digitized and are available online. If the records needed have no been microfilmed yet, information can still be obtained through writing to, visiting, or hiring a researcher to visit the record repositories in Poland and Russia. | ||
==== Original Records ==== | ==== Original Records ==== | ||
The original civil registration records and civil transcripts of church records are stored at local civil registration offices. They are stored at these offices [called ''urzady stanu cywilnego''] for 100 years and then turned over to the Polish State Archives. In some cases, church records are also kept at these offices. This is especially true with Protestant records when the local Protestant church is no longer functioning. Many of the records at the State Archives have been microfilmed and are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search | The original civil registration records and civil transcripts of church records are stored at local civil registration offices. They are stored at these offices [called ''urzady stanu cywilnego''] for 100 years and then turned over to the Polish State Archives. In some cases, church records are also kept at these offices. This is especially true with Protestant records when the local Protestant church is no longer functioning. Many of the records at the State Archives have been microfilmed and are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Library]. Because of privacy laws, nothing less than 100 years old was microfilmed, meaning most of the microfilmed records end in the 1860s and 1870s. It is possible to write in English to the Polish State Archives for information regarding the records which have not yet been microfilmed. They will forward your request for information to the local civil registration office if they determine that the records you need are there. The address:<br> | ||
::Naczelna Dyrekcja | ::Naczelna Dyrekcja | ||
::Archiwow Panstwowych | ::Archiwow Panstwowych | ||
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::Poland<br> | ::Poland<br> | ||
The original church records are mainly kept in local parish offices or in church archives. For Roman Catholic records, most records less than 100 years old are usually kept at the local parish. Older records are usually kept at the diocese. However, while some dioceses have gathered all pre-1900 church records, some have only gathered all pre-1800 records. Some of the records kept at the diocese have been microfilmed and are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search | The original church records are mainly kept in local parish offices or in church archives. For Roman Catholic records, most records less than 100 years old are usually kept at the local parish. Older records are usually kept at the diocese. However, while some dioceses have gathered all pre-1900 church records, some have only gathered all pre-1800 records. Some of the records kept at the diocese have been microfilmed and are available at the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Library]. Additionally, records from one parish may have been consolidated with another one.Original Catholic parish registers can often be accessed by writing directly to the priest of the local Catholic parish. These letters should be in their native language. For Protestant records, parish registers can be found in multiple places because most Protestant churches no longer function. These records may be located: at a local civil registration office, in a state archive, at an existing Protestant parish, in a privately maintained Protestant church archive, carried away and deposited in an archive in Germany, misplaced and forgotten in some obscure storage place, or destroyed.<ref>Schlyter, Daniel M. "German Genealogical Research in Polish and Russian Areas". 1999. Copy in possession of Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.</ref> | ||
=== Finding Former German Localities === | === Finding Former German Localities === | ||
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The areas now known as Poland was the homeland to Slavs, Germans, and other people. Various kingdoms and peoples fought over this land over the centuries. For an in depth history of the area known today as Prussia, see Raymond S. Wright III's article "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland" (''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7). | The areas now known as Poland was the homeland to Slavs, Germans, and other people. Various kingdoms and peoples fought over this land over the centuries. For an in depth history of the area known today as Prussia, see Raymond S. Wright III's article "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland" (''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7). | ||
Finding records of German ancestors from areas now in Poland requires knowledge of the German and Polish spellings of ancestral home towns and the location of these communities on current and historical maps. Because of the name changes communities underwent in former German ruled areas of modern Poland, many government and private publishers produced bi-lingual gazetteers and geographical dictionaries. Keep in mind that these gazetteers and dictionaries were based upon boundaries at the time of publication. Some of these publications are available at the | Finding records of German ancestors from areas now in Poland requires knowledge of the German and Polish spellings of ancestral home towns and the location of these communities on current and historical maps. Because of the name changes communities underwent in former German ruled areas of modern Poland, many government and private publishers produced bi-lingual gazetteers and geographical dictionaries. Keep in mind that these gazetteers and dictionaries were based upon boundaries at the time of publication. Some of these publications are available at the FamilySearch Library, other smaller libraries, or online. | ||
There are a few important reference works for research in former German areas of central or eastern Europe: | There are a few important reference works for research in former German areas of central or eastern Europe: | ||
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*''Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Deutschen Ostgebiete unter fremder Verwaltung nach dem Gebietsstand am 1.9. 1939'', 3rd ed, 3 volumes. (Remagen, Germany: Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, 1955). This work provides the German and foreign language names of most localities that were part of Germany on September 1, 1939, but after 1945 became part of Poland or the Soviet Union. | *''Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Deutschen Ostgebiete unter fremder Verwaltung nach dem Gebietsstand am 1.9. 1939'', 3rd ed, 3 volumes. (Remagen, Germany: Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, 1955). This work provides the German and foreign language names of most localities that were part of Germany on September 1, 1939, but after 1945 became part of Poland or the Soviet Union. | ||
*Kredel, Otto and Franz Thierfelder, eds. ''Deutsch-fremdsprachiges (fremdsprachig-deutsches) Ortsnamenverzeichnis''. (Berlin: Deutsche Verlagsgeselschaft, 1931). Multi-lingual gazetteer that covered German localities that became parts of other nations as a result of Germany's and Austria's defeat in World War I. | *Kredel, Otto and Franz Thierfelder, eds. ''Deutsch-fremdsprachiges (fremdsprachig-deutsches) Ortsnamenverzeichnis''. (Berlin: Deutsche Verlagsgeselschaft, 1931). Multi-lingual gazetteer that covered German localities that became parts of other nations as a result of Germany's and Austria's defeat in World War I. | ||
*The [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search | *The [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/search FamilySearch Library] has a Place Search that is another resource containing both German and Polish place names from German areas in Poland. Sources from former German localities in Poland can be found in the catalog under either the German or the Polish name. The complete catalog entry for each record listed for the locality will contain both the Polish and German names. | ||
For more information about what these references include, see Raymond S. Wright III's article "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland" (''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7).<ref>Wright, Raymond S. III. "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland." ''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7.</ref> | For more information about what these references include, see Raymond S. Wright III's article "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland" (''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7).<ref>Wright, Raymond S. III. "Finding Former German Localities Now in Poland." ''FEEFHS Quarterly'' VI no. 1-4 (1998): 3-7.</ref> | ||
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== Gazetteers == | == Gazetteers == | ||
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary with information on place names and jurisdictions. The following is a list of some of the best gazetteers of Eastern Europe. Some of these gazetteers are available in public libraries, but all can be found at the | A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary with information on place names and jurisdictions. The following is a list of some of the best gazetteers of Eastern Europe. Some of these gazetteers are available in public libraries, but all can be found at the FamilySearch Library. | ||
*Uetrecht, E., comp. ''Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs'' [Meyer's gazetteer and directory of the German Empire]. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912. (FS Library call no. [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/325694 943 E5mo supp. 1]) - digital copy available online. | *Uetrecht, E., comp. ''Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs'' [Meyer's gazetteer and directory of the German Empire]. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912. (FS Library call no. [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/325694 943 E5mo supp. 1]) - digital copy available online. | ||
::Towns are listed alphabetically. Written in old Gothic script. Gives 1871-1918 political jurisdictions and indicates whether locality had its own parish or synagogue. Abbreviations: Evangelical parish - EvPfk; Catholic parish - KPfk; Jewish synagogue - Syn. | ::Towns are listed alphabetically. Written in old Gothic script. Gives 1871-1918 political jurisdictions and indicates whether locality had its own parish or synagogue. Abbreviations: Evangelical parish - EvPfk; Catholic parish - KPfk; Jewish synagogue - Syn. | ||
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