German Research Websites

Germany

German Research Websites

Archives

• German Archive portal
• Archive School Marburg
• Association of Protestant Church Archives
• EZAB - Berlin Evangelical Central Archive Holdings
• Oberlausitz Evangelical Archive
• EZAB portal page
• Geheimes Archiv - Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz
• GHI Links to German Archives
• Libraries in Germany (Lib-web)
• Directory of Libraries in Germany
• Monasterium.net - Medieval to early modern era documents
• Niedersachsen Archives - Aida online
  
• PDF Archive Inventory Part 1 of 2: Church records in Archives" - an inventory of localities and the location or archive where the records should be found.
• The list of archives with addresses which correspond to the localities list, can be found at this link Archive Addresses Please note that in the second column, with the heading of "key" matches the Archive "number" in the first link which contains the database.

Biography

• Deutsche Biographie - Search page

Calendars

• French Republican Calendar (Research outline)
• Grotefend calendar book online
• Calendar converter (German)
• GenTools 6 Software tools for genealogists , includes Protestant and Catholic feastday calendars ( works with Windows 7 and earlier versions)
• The Calendar Zone - software links
• The Liturgical Year
• Information on many calendar systems around the world

Churches

• Alt-Katholiken - Germany
• Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) ($)
• Evangelical Church in Germany
• IGI Batch Number Index
• Bibliography - Books of Pastors (arranged by modern German state)
• Roman Catholic church in Germany

Colonies

• German Colonies

Concentration Camps

• Holocaust Victims killed in Czech Concentration Camps - in Czech, English version incomplete
• International Tracing Service
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - includes links to a Holocaust victims and survivors database

Culture

• Village celebration (in German)

Databases

• Emigration from Southwest Germany
  
• Historische Adressbuecher - Eine Sekundärquelle fuer die Familienforschung
• IGI batch number search
• Poznan Project - marriage records from Posen, 1800-1899
  
• Wehdem Parish Records online
  
• German War Gravesite database
• Metasearch searches data in GedBas, Datenbank Historischer Adressbücher, Foko,Forschungsdatenbanken der Vereine, Online Ortsfamilienbücher, Familienanzeigen, and Volkszahlregister Schleswig Holstein

Digital Libraries

• Retro-bib - digitized 19th Century reference works, including Meyers Konversationslexikon and the Brockhaus lexikon
• Digibib - Digital Library on Genealogy.net in various categories, includes links to other digital libraries
  • Szczecin State Archives online records in Pommerania, civil and church records included
• Links to online records for Wroclaw/Breslau Standesamt 1
• Links to online records for Wroclaw/Breslau Standesamt 1 (Another jumping off point)
• Link to Breslau Standesamt III This covers 1891-1911. This Standesamt (civil registration office) existed from 1891-1945.

Directories

• German Online Telephone Book
• historic address books

Emigration and Immigration

• Emigration from Southwest Germany
• Emigration via Bremen - in German
• Galveston-Bremen Project www.genealogy.net/vereine/wggf/
• Westfalen emigrants (in German)
• Lower Saxony State Archives Emigrant Search
• Palatines to America
• German Roots Internet portal
• German Emigrant Lists
• Roots in Germany portal
• Internet Resources for Finding Origins of German 19th Century Emigrants
• Pre-1820 Emigration from Germany
  

Category: Germany

Gazetteers - general

• Using Meyer's Gazetteer
• Meyers Gazetteer online part 1 A-K, FamilySearch Digital Library; part 2 L-Z , FamilySearch Digital Library
• Orbis Latinus
• Kartenmeister

Genealogy

• Ahnenforschung.net - German genealogical forum and link list
• Cyndi's List - Germany / Deutschland - 1,200 links for Germany research
• DigiBib - Digital Library on genealogy.net
• German Association of Professional Genealogists
• GenWiki

General Information

• Wikipedia
• Deutschland auf einen Blick! - links to maps of modern German states with tourist information, especially hotels
• Currency Converter
• Deutsche Post
• Language Tools - Google
• [http://www.meinestadt.de/ Meine Stadt.de
• German missing persons search site (from WWII)

Handwriting

• Reading old German Handwriting , a series of three classes ( go to "Reading Handwritten Records Series")
• German Script tutorial
• German-type fonts to download (free)

Historical Geography

• German Town Name Meanings
• Kartenmeister

Jewish

• Jewish Genealogy FamilySearch Wiki article
• List of Ashkenazic Synagogues
• Avotaynu website Jewish Genealogy Roots, Research, History, Names, Surnames, Jewish Family Trees
• Auschwitz webpage

Language helps and guides

• Orbis Latinus Latin Place names
• German Genealogical Word List FamilySearch Wiki article
• Latin Genealogical Word List
• archaic medical terms (in English)
• Old terms for illnesses (in German)
• German occupations (on Jewishgen.org)
• historic German professions
• Google language tools
• Grimm's Dictionary of the German Language
• Latinized Given names
• German-English dictionary
• Gothic Handwriting Resource Guide
• Translation of Phrases

Maps

• Ravenstein Atlas of the German Empire - can be downloaded, with accompanying gazetteer
• Historical outline maps of Germany
• Interactive map of modern Germany
• Kartenmeister - for formerly German areas now in Eastern countries, especially Poland
• Karte der RBD Berlin 1943
• Stadtplan Berlin und Vororte 1907
• Pfalz 1789 map and other Pfalz area maps

Military Records

• Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) - has information about WWI and WWII soldiers who were killed or missing in action
• Glossary of German military terms.

Names - personal

• Geogen - maps surnames by frequency, using the German online telphone directory

Newspapers

Although a digital archive of US newspapers, these can also be useful in searching for German ancestors.

Occupations

• German Society for the historical mills of Germany
• Register of Pastors of Sachsen

Research Guides

• Genealogy.net/genealogy - English home page of Genealogy.net, the German Internet portal
• Research helps for Hessen
• Book: The German Research Companion , (link to publisher)
• German Roots: Resources for German Genealogy on the Internet
• BYU PDF Research Outlines
• Book: Researching in Germany ,a handbook for your visit to the homeland of your ancestors (link to publisher)
• English-language Gen-Wiki:the German States of 1871 (links to pages)
• German Church Record helpful hints

Social History

• Distribution of Property in Pommerania and the Island of Ruegen (in German), includes a discussion of Leibeigenschaft (feudal serfdom) in this area
• Kleiderordnung(dress code), a Wikipedia article that discusses the rules designed to clarify what clothing and jewelry can be worn by members of the various social classes (in German)
• Kleidung im Mittelalter (clothing in the Middle Ages (in German), Wikipedia article
• Der Kampf um das Taegliche Brot (The Fight for the Daily Bread- in German), food protests in the 19th Century, an exhibit by the German Historical Museum
• Staendeordnung- (order of social classes), in German (Wikipedia)

Societies and other Resources

• Leipzig Genealogical Society
• Palatines to America Society
• Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE)
• Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America
• American Historical Society of Germans from Russia
• Germans from Russia Heritage Society
• Sacramento German Genealogical Society
• Germanic Genealogy Society (in Minnesota)
• The German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society
• Immigrant Genealogical Society
• Orangeburgh Swiss-German Genealogical Society
• Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society
• Southwest Florida Germanic Genealogy Society
• German genealogy resources at the Max-Kade Institute

Town Lineage Books

• Town genealogies on genealogy.net
• Bibliography of printed town genealogies
• bibliography of published town genealogies (Weiss)
• Baden Ortssippenbücher - list of published and available books
• Village lineage books for Schlesien - a bibliography