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| {{breadcrumb | | {{CountrySidebar |
| | |Country=Germany |
| | |Name=Germany |
| | |Type=Country |
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| {{Germany-sidebar}}
| | Guide to '''Germany ancestry, family history and genealogy''': parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records. |
| | | <p style="color:Red">'''''NOTE: If researching before 1945, see [[German Empire Genealogy|German Empire]].'''''</p> |
| Guide to '''German ancestry, family history, and genealogy:''' birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records. | |
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| __TOC__
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| {|
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| |<div id="fsButtons"><span class="online_records_button">[[Germany Online Genealogy Records]]</span>
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| |<div id="fsButtons"><span class="online_records_button">[[Online Germany Genealogy Records by State|German States Online Genealogy Records]]</span>
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| |<span class="community_button">[https://community.familysearch.org/en/group/88-germany-genealogy-research Ask the FamilySearch Community]</span></div>
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| |}
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| ==Country Information== | | ==Country Information== |
| Germany is a vibrant country with a rich history and heritage. As with many countries of Europe, Germany has seen dramatic changes to its borders and even its internal regions. Over the centuries, Germany consisted of numerous independent kingdoms, duchies, principalities, and states. Then in 1871, all German-speaking states except the Austrian states were consolidated into the German Empire. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Germany," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany, accessed 23 March 2016.</ref> | | Germany is a vibrant country with a rich history and heritage. As with many countries of Europe, Germany has seen dramatic changes to its borders and even its internal regions. Over the centuries, Germany consisted of numerous independent kingdoms, duchies, principalities, and states. Then in 1871, all German-speaking states except the Austrian states were consolidated into the German Empire. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Germany," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany, accessed 23 March 2016.</ref> |
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| ==Getting Started ==
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| <h3>Getting Started with Germany Research</h3>
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| Links to articles on getting started with German research:
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| *[[Germany How to Guides|"How to" Guides]]
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| *[[Germany Finding Town of Origin]]
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/german-church-and-civil-records German Church and Civil Records]
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| *[[Germany Online Classes and Tutorials]]
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| * [http://is.byu.edu/courses/pe/999022071006/public/start.htm German Research], BYU Independent Study, no cost.
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| :[[Germany Genealogy#More Germany Research Strategies and Tools|'''''See More Research Strategies''''']]
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| <h3>Germany Research Tools</h3>
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| Links to tools and websites that assist in German research:
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| *[http://www.meyersgaz.org Meyers Gaz Online Gazetteer]
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| *[http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/databaseuwe.asp Kartenmeister]
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| *[[German Word List|German Genealogical Word List]]
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| *[[Latin Genealogical Word List|Latin Genealogical Word List]]
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| *Latin [[Latin Language|Language]]
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| *[[French Genealogical Word List]]
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/german-paleography-seminar-introduction German Paleography Seminar]
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-part-1 German Handwriting Course]
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| *[https://script.byu.edu/Pages/the-german-documents-pages/the-german-documents(english) BYU Script German Tutorial]
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| *[[German Letter Writing Guide]]
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| :[[Germany Genealogy#More Germany Research Strategies and Tools|'''''See More Research Tools''''']]
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| |}
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| ==Finding Your Ancestors' Town of Origin in Germany ==
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| Records are kept on the local level. You must first identify the name of the town in Germany where your ancestors lived. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
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| *Use [[Germany Finding Town of Origin|'''Germany Finding Town of Origin''']] as a guide in exhausting every possible record to find what you need.<br>
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| ==The German Empire 1871, Gazetteers, and FamilySearch Records==
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| *Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. The German Empire consisted of 26 states, most of them ruled by royal families. They included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies (six before 1876), seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory.
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| *An important gazetteer, [http://www.meyersgaz.org '''''Meyers Orts- und Verkehrslexikon des deutschen Reichs''], "Meyer's Gazetteer" for short''', details the place names of villages, towns. counties (kreise), and higher jurisdictions used at that time. As FamilySearch began microfilming the records of Germany, those records were organized in the Card Catalog using those place names. That system is still in use today in the FamilySearch Catalog and FamilySearch Historical Records. <br>
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| *At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. For the provinces of East Prussia (Ostpreussen), Posen, Pomerania (Pommern), Silesia (Schlesien), parts of Brandenburg, and West Prussia (Westpreussen), areas which no longer belong to Germany, the online gazetteer [http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/databaseuwe.asp '''Kartenmeister'''] most efficiently tells you parish information:
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| **Class: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland
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| *Eventually, after re-unification in 1990, the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of archives and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.<br>
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| ==Finding Your Town's Province, Kingdom, or Duchy in 1871==
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| Once you know the town where your ancestors lived, consult a gazetteer for more details. You will need to identify the jurisdictions it belonged to in 1871, especially the province or duchy. Also, you might need to identify nearby towns where they attended church and where they registered births, marriages, and deaths with a civil registrar. Use [http://www.meyersgaz.org '''Meyer's Gazetteer'''] or a [[Online German Gazetteers and Parish Register Inventories|'''regional online gazetteer''']].''' For help, see [[Finding Aids For German Records|'''Finding Aids For German Records.''']]
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| ==Finding Research Instructions and Links to Records==
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| '''For each province or duchy, this wiki provides a detailed set of articles teaching you how to carry out your research project, including links to online records. ''' These clickable maps and jurisdiction lists will link you to the instructions for your locality. Use the first map if you are looking for ancestors who lived before 1945. Use the second map if you are looking for records after 1945. <br>
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| ==Provinces, Kingdoms, and Duchies of the German Empire: English (German, if different)==
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| '''Click on the names of the province or duchy to find detailed instructions for family history research for that locality.'''<br>
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| '''Independent From Prussia'''<br>
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| *[[Anhalt, German Empire Genealogy|Anhalt]]
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| *[[Baden, German Empire Genealogy|Baden]]
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| *[[Bavaria (Bayern), German Empire Genealogy|Bavaria (Bayern)]]
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| *[[Brunswick (Braunschweig), German Empire Genealogy|Brunswick (Braunschweig)]]
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| *[[Elsass-Lothringen, German Empire Genealogy|Elsass-Lothringen]]
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| *[[Hesse (Hessen), German Empire Genealogy|Hesse (Hessen)]]
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| *[[Lippe, German Empire Genealogy|Lippe]]
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| *[[Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Empire Genealogy|Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]
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| *[[Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German Empire Genealogy|Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
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| *[[Oldenburg, German Empire Genealogy|Oldenburg]]
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| *[[Saarland, Germany Genealogy|The Saar Region (Saarland)]]
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| *[[Saxony (Sachsen), German Empire Genealogy|Saxony (Sachsen)]]
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| *[[Schaumburg-Lippe, German Empire Genealogy|Schaumburg-Lippe]]
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| *[[Waldeck and Pyrmont, German Empire Genealogy|Waldeck]]
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| *[[Württemberg, German Empire Genealogy|Württemberg]]
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| '''Prussia (Preussen)'''<br>
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| *[[Brandenburg, German Empire Genealogy|Brandenburg]]
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| **[[The Neumark (region), Brandenburg, German Empire Genealogy|The Neumark, Brandenburg]]
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| **[[Berlin, Germany Genealogy|Berlin, Brandenburg]]
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| *[[East Prussia (Ostpreussen), German Empire Genealogy|East Prussia (Ostpreussen)]]
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| *[[Hanover (Hannover), German Empire Genealogy|Hanover (Hannover)]]
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| *[[Hesse-Nassau (Hessen-Nassau), German Empire Genealogy|Hesse-Nassau (Hessen-Nassau)]]
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| *[[Hohenzollern, German Empire Genealogy|Hohenzollern]]
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| *[[Pomerania (Pommern), German Empire Genealogy|Pomerania (Pommern)]]
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| **[[Vorpommern (region), Pomerania (Pommern), German Empire Genealogy|Vorpommern (Western Pomerania)]]
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| *[[Posen, German Empire Genealogy|Posen]]
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| *[[Province of Saxony (Provinz Sachsen), German Empire Genealogy|Province of Saxony (Provinz Sachsen)]]
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| *[[Rhineland (Rheinland), German Empire Genealogy|Rhineland (Rheinland)]]
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| **[[Palatinate (Pfalz), Germany Genealogy|The Palatinate (The Pfalz)]]
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| *[[Silesia (Schlesien), German Empire Genealogy|Silesia (Schlesien)]]
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| *[[Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Genealogy|Schleswig-Holstein]]
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| *[[Westphalia (Westfalen), German Empire Genealogy|Westphalia (Westfalen)]]
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| *[[West Prussia (Westpreussen), German Empire Genealogy|West Prussia (Westpreussen)]]
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| '''Thuringia (Thüringen)'''<br>
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| *[[Reuss Younger Line (jüngere Linie), German Empire Genealogy|Reuss Younger Line (jüngere Linie)]]
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| *[[Reuss Elder Line (ältere Linie), German Empire Genealogy|Reuss Elder Line (ältere Linie)]]
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| *[[Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg), German Empire Genealogy|Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg)]]
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| *[[Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha), German Empire Genealogy|Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha)]]
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| *[[Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen), German Empire Genealogy|Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen)]]
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| *[[Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach), German Empire Genealogy|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach)]]
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| *[[Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German Empire Genealogy|Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt]]
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| *[[Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, German Empire Genealogy|Schwarzburg-Sondershausen]]
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| '''City-States'''<br>
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| *[[Bremen, German Empire Genealogy|Bremen]]
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| *[[Hamburg, German Empire Genealogy|Hamburg]]
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| *[[Lübeck, German Empire Genealogy|Lübeck]]
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| <br>
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| |}
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| ==Clickable Maps: The German Empire, 1871-1918==
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| '''Click on the names of the province or duchy to find detailed instructions for family history research for that locality.'''<br>
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| {| | | {| |
| |- | | |<div id="fsButtons"><span class="online_records_button">[[Germany Online Genealogy Records]]</span> |
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| | |<span class="community_button">[[Online Research Help|Online<br>Research Help]]</span> |
| <p style="font-size:22px; color:MediumSlateBlue">'''Map 1: German areas<br> independent of Prussia'''</p> | | |<div id="fsButtons"><span class="red_online_button">[[Germany Getting Started|Getting<Br>Started]]</span> |
| {{Germany non-Prussian imagemap}}
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| <p style="font-size:22px; color:MediumSlateBlue">'''Map 2: Prussia (Preussen)'''</p><br> | |
| {{Prussia image map}}
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| <p style="font-size:22px; color:MediumSlateBlue">'''Map 3: City-States'''<p> | |
| <center>{{German city-states imagemap|}}</center>
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| [[File:Screen Shot 2019-05-08 at 3.09.22 PM.png|400px]]
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| <p style="font-size:22px; color:MediumSlateBlue">'''Map 4: Thuringian States'''</p>
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| <br>
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| <br>
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| {{Thuringia imagemap}}
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| |} | | |} |
| <br>
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| <br>
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| ==Clickable Map: Modern Germany (1945-Present)== | | ==Germany Map== |
| '''Clicking on one of these states will take you an article explaining family history research ''after 1945'', when these states were created.'''
| | The map below covers Germany jurisdictions from 1945 onward. Click on the location on the image below for more information.<br> |
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| '''Modern States of Germany'''<br> | | <u>'''Modern States of Germany'''</u><br> |
| '''English (German, if different)'''
| | ''English (German, if different)''<br> |
| *[[Baden-Württemberg, Germany Genealogy|Baden-Württemberg]] | | *[[Baden-Württemberg, Germany Genealogy|Baden-Württemberg]] |
| *[[Bavaria, Germany Genealogy|Bavaria (Bayern)]] | | *[[Bavaria, Germany Genealogy|Bavaria (Bayern)]] |
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| *[[Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Genealogy|Schleswig-Holstein]] | | *[[Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Genealogy|Schleswig-Holstein]] |
| *[[Thuringia (Thüringen), Germany Genealogy|Thuringia (Thüringen)]] | | *[[Thuringia (Thüringen), Germany Genealogy|Thuringia (Thüringen)]] |
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| |} | | |} |
| |} | | |} |
| ==Map of Territory Changes Between 1918-1946==
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| '''Because of the treaties at the end of World War I and II, portions of German territory were granted to other countries. This map summarizes the changes.'''<br>
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| [[File:1920px-German territorial losses 1919 and 1945.svg-1.png|500px]]
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| ==More Germany Research Strategies and Tools== | | ===Territory Changes Between 1918-1946=== |
| *[[Germany Historic and Current States|Germany Historic and Current States]]--maps
| | Due to the treaties at the end of World War I and II, portions of German territory were granted to other countries. This map summarizes the changes. |
| *[[Finding Aids for German Records|Finding Aids for German Records]]
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| *[[German Research Troubleshooting Strategies]]
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| *[http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Main_Page The German Genealogy Wiki (GenWiki)] - English Version
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| *[http://genwiki.genealogy.net/Hauptseite GenWiki] - German Version
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| *[http://feefhs.org/ Germany Genealogy Resources from Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS)]
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| *[[German Research Websites|German Research Websites]]
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| *[http://meta.genealogy.net/ German Genealogy MetaSearch]
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| *[[Germany Research Tips and Strategies|Research Tips and Strategies]]
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| *[[Germany Resources|German Resources]]
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/calendar-changes-in-france-germany-switzerland-and-the-low-countries Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Low Countries]
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| *[http://altdeutsche-schrift.de/adsschreiben.php#schrifftfeld Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften):] See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.<br>
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| *[http://is.byu.edu/courses/pe/999022071006/public/start.htm German Research], BYU Independent Study, no cost.
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| *These printable handouts can be used for ready reference when reading German Handwriting.<br>
| | [[File:1920px-German territorial losses 1919 and 1945.svg-1.png|500px]] |
| :''Letters:''<br>
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| :*[[Media:Kurrent Letters.pdf|Kurrent Letters handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Kurrent Font Help Wiki.pdf|Additional Kurrent Letters handout]]
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| :''Vocabulary found on Specific Records:''<br>
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| :*[[Media:Birth Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Birth Records Vocabulary handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Marriage Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Marriage Records Vocabulary handout]]
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| :*[[Media:German marriage handout templated jan 2017.pdf|Overview of Marriage Laws and Customs (handout)]]
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| :*[[Media:Death Record Vocabulary-Kurrent german.pdf|Death Records Vocabulary handout]]
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| :''Dates, Numbers, Abbreviations:''<br>
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| :*[[Media:Days and Months Vocabulary-Kurrent-German.pdf|Days and Months handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Numbers Vocabulary.pdf|Numbers Vocabulary handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Kurrent Script Dates, Numbers, etc.pdf|Script Dates and Numbers handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Common Abbreviations-Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Abbreviations handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Common Symbols - Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Symbols handout]]
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| :''Miscellaneous Vocabulary:''<br>
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| :*[[Media:German Occupations Vocabulary.pdf|German Occupations Vocabulary handout]]
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| :*[[Media:Illnesses Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Illnesses Vocabulary handout]]
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| :''Fraktur:''<br>
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| :*[[Media:Fraktur Font help - Wiki.pdf|Fraktur Font]] -- Many forms and books are printed in this font.
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| :''German Given Names:''
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| :*[https://script.byu.edu/Plugins/FileManager/Files/Documents/List_of_Names_-_German.pdf List of Names in Old German Script] -- A comprehensive list of German given names, written in old script, with possible variations.
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| ==FamilySearch Resources==
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| Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
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| *[[Genealogy Help on Facebook|Facebook Communities]] - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
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| *[[Germany Online Classes and Tutorials|Germany Classes and Tutorials]] - Germany Online genealogy courses in the Learning Center
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/location/1927074?region=Germany Historical Records] - Germany Locality Page
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| *[https://www.familysearch.org/centers/locations/?c=germany FamilySearch Center locator map]
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| == References ==
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| <references />
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| __NOTOC__
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| | ==References== |
| | {{reflist}} |
| [[Category:Germany]] | | [[Category:Germany]] |
| |}
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