Germans from Russia Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:44, 9 March 2020

Germans from Russia Wiki Topics
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Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm. This Wiki page describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for researching Germans from Russia.

Although the records you need may be in a foreign archive or library, the Family History Library may have a digital or microfilm copy of them. Check the FamilySearch Catalog before writing to or visiting archives in Russia, Ukraine, former Soviet countries, or Germany. You may also want to check the holdings of major genealogical societies such as the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR), the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS), or the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE). For more information about these societies, refer to the Germans from Russia Societies page on the Wiki.

Archives can generally be contacted via email or letter correspondence. To learn more about writing to an archive see the section Writing to an Archive. Occasionally archives do not have the funding to respond to correspondences. In these cases, researchers must either visit the archives personally or hire an agent to do research for them. If you plan to visit one of these repositories, check their website, or contact the organization and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, fees, and whether they allow visitors. For tips on visiting archives in Russia, Ukraine, and the Former Soviet Union, please see the section Visiting an Archive.

Archives in Russia, Ukraine, and the Former Soviet Union[edit | edit source]

It's a common misconception that the Soviets systematically destroyed all genealogical records from the Russian Empire. In fact, the Soviet government did quite the opposite - metrical books, revision lists and other records were gathered, collected and preserved in state historical archives throughout the Soviet period. For example, the State Archive of the Saratov Oblast, an archive that holds many important Germans from Russia genealogical records, was established during the Soviet period.

Arrangement of Russian Archive Records:

Russian archive material is organized by фонд/fond (ф.), опись/opis (o.), and дело/delo (д). The fond, opis, and delo are similar to a library call number and are necessary for locating a specific record in an archive.

Фонд/Fond

The records in a фонд/fond are simply the records of a specific organization, portion of an organization, or an individual. An institution creates records for its own purpose and use. When the administrative or personal value of the records expires, they are transferred to an archive. Church records are often grouped together in one fond - for example, Lutheran church records may be grouped together in one fond, while Catholic records may be found in another.

Archives may also create collections as opposed to fonds. These collections contain records of differing authorship and are filed together on some logical or thematic basis. In some archives, therefore, vital records may be found in collections rather than fonds. These collections usually include records of more than one religious denomination.

Fonds and collections are often described in путеводители/putevoditeli. Путеводители/putevoditeli are essentially guides or findings aids to archival holdings. They help the reader understand what kind of materials and/or year ranges are contained within the fond or collection. Some putevoditeli are available only at the archive while others have been published online. When available, online putevoditeli have been linked to the corresponding archives in this Wiki page.

Дело/Delo

The individual item in a fond is a дело/delo, which can be translated as a file or volume. Each delo is given a title or number based upon the record type and contents. For example, church records from a specific parish could be considered as one delo. Within the delo, contents may be numbered with a page number, often referred to as the лист/list, or the page, sheet or leaf number. Items are usually filed chronologically by the earliest year of information found in that item.

Oпись/Opis

The inventory of files in a fond or collection is known as an опись/opis. While a fond is a statement of authorship, opis is a statement of content. An archive may have an established fond or collection, but as time goes on, more records that would fall under the fond or collection are added to the archive. The opis is an inventory of the documents submitted to the archive at one time. They are essentially an index or inventory of individual delo, or packets of documents. As such, the opis is the key to finding records in a fond and is considered the most significant finding aid used by researchers. Some opis are available only at the archive, while others have been published online. When available, online opis have been linked to the corresponding fonds and archives in this Wiki page.

A fond may have more than one opis. These sometimes reflect different types of material or blocks of material accession by the archives. The decision as to what to include in an opis is in the hands of the archival cataloger, and will vary significantly from archive to archive.

References to materials from Russian archives will generally follow a citation similar to this format:

Below you will find information about archives with documents and materials pertaining to Germans from Russia research. Most archives have an associated acronym which will be found in parentheses following the name of the archive. Each archive section contains contact information and in some cases, a description of records available at that archive. This Wiki page is still in process, so check back often to see if more information has been added.

Archives by Region
Volga	Black Sea	Caucasus	Volhynia	Siberia	Baltic States
State Archive of the Saratov Oblast	State Archives of the Saratov Oblast	State Archives of the Saratov Oblast	State Archive of the Zhytomyr Oblast	State Archive of the Orenburg Oblast	Central State Historical Archives of Belarus
State Historical Archive of the Volga Germans	St. Petersburg Central State Historical Archives	Central Historical Archive of the Republic of Georgia	Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw	State Archive of the Kemerovo Oblast
State Archive of the Volgograd Oblast	State Archive of the Odessa Oblast	State Archive of the Stavropol Krai	Polish National Archives	National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan
Central State Archive of the Samara Oblast	National Archive of the Republic of Moldova		St. Petersburg Central State Historical Archives

Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw[edit | edit source]

The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw has many records for Germans who lived in Volhynia. Many images are available for viewing online. To see if there are records for your ares, use this archive's website in conjunction with the resources available at https://sggee.org/research/parishes/church_parishes/LutheransInVolhyniaKievPodolia.html

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://agad.gov.pl/
Email Address:	sekretariat@agad.gov.pl
Address:	ul. Długa 7 00-263 Warszawa

Central Historical Archive of Moscow (SGAM)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	https://cgamos.ru/
Email Address:	cgam@archives.mos.ru
Address:	ул. Профсоюзная, д.80 Москва, 117393

Central Historical Archive of the Republic of Georgia [edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	https://archive.gov.ge/ge
Email Address:	info@archives.gov.ge
Address:	Vazha-Pshavela Avenue N1 Tbilisi 0160, Georgia

Central State Archive of the Samara Oblast (SGASO)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://www.regsamarh.ru/cgaso/
Email Address:	gaso@samtel.ru
Address:	ул. Мичурина, 58 Октябрьский район, г. Самара, 443096

Central State Historical Archives of Belarus (Branch in Minsk)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	https://niab.by/newsite/en (English) https://niab.by/newsite/ru (Russian) *More information may be available on the Russian site.
Email Address:	niab@niab.by
Address:	ul. Kropotkina, 55 Minsk, 220002, Belarus

The Central State Historical Archives of Belarus contains church books of the Lutheran Bishopric of Minsk, vital records of the Mogilev Roman Catholic Consistory, and revision list records for the Minsk gubernia. Explore the archival holdings at http://archives.gov.by/eng/.

State Archive of the Kemerovo Oblast (GAKO)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://arhiv42.ru
Email Address:	guko-gako@mail.ru
Address:	пр. Ленина, 3 «а» 650040 г. Кемерово

State Archive of the Saratov Oblast (GASO)[edit | edit source]

Contact Information
Website:	saratov.rusarchives.ru
Email Address:	regarc_saratov@mail.ru
Address:	ул. Московская, д. 72, стр. 1 г. Саратов, 410042

The State Archives of the Saratov Oblast contains records for both the Black Sea, Caucasus, and Volga areas. The following is a list of available record collections:

Title	Description	Record Coverage	Religion	Area	Fond Number
Tiraspol Roman Catholic Diocese	Church Records	1853-1918	Catholic	Black Sea, Caucasus, and Volga	637
Kherson Diocese and Mogilev Archdiocese	Church Records	1801-1853	Catholic	Black Sea, Caucasus, and Volga	637
Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mary of Saratov	Church Records	1763-1935	Lutheran	City of Saratov	637
A Collection of Metrical Books	Church Records	end of 19^th century-1918	Lutheran and Catholic	Volga	637

Finding aids for Lutheran and Catholic parish records in the Volga region (Nikolaevsk and Novouzensk uyezdi) are available online through the Saratov Archives. For instructions on how to use this resource, please see..........

State Archive of the Odessa Oblast[edit | edit source]

The State Archives of the Odessa Oblast was founded in 1921 and has documents from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Contact Information
Website:	http://archive.odessa.gov.ua/
Email Address:	archive@odessa.gov.ua
Address:	буд. 18, вул. Жуковського м. Одеса, 65026, Україна

The following table provides information regarding some of the records available at the State Archive of the Odessa Oblast.

State Archive of the Odessa Oblast Germans from Russia Fonds
Title	Description	Record Coverage	Religion	Area	Fond Number
Evangelical Lutheran Records	church records	1899-1916	Lutheran	Black Sea: Odessa, Kherson, Bessarabia, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida	894, find the opis or inventory here, then click on "МЕТРИКА"
Roman Catholic Records	church records	1814-1939	Catholic	Black Sea	628, 921, 925
Guardian Committee for Foreign Colonists	infrastructure and daily life of foreign colonists	1800-1871	n/a	Black Sea	6; 252
Notary of the Regional Court of Odessa	land records	1865-1920	n/a	Black Sea: Odessa	35, find the opis or inventory here, then click on the links following "Описи"

State Archive of the Orenburg Oblast (GAOO)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://www.orenarhiv.ru/gbugaoo/
Email Address:	genealogy.gaoo@yandex.ru
Address:	ул. Советская, 16 460014, г. Оренбург

National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan (GASRB)[edit | edit source]

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://www.gasrb.rgu
Email Address:	cgiarb@gasrb.ru
Address:	ul. Karla Marksa, 4 Ufa, 450000

State Archive of the Stavropol Krai (GASK)[edit | edit source]

The State Archive of the Stavropol Krai contains records for the North Caucasus region. German Evangelical Lutheran records are found in fond number 303. To learn more about these records and to see the opis, visit http://fonds.stavarhiv.ru/index.php?act=fund&fund=303. These records are not available online and can be obtained either by writing or visiting the archive.

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://stavarhiv.ru
Email Address:	gask@arh.stavregion.ru
Address:	ул.Ломоносова, 12 г.Ставрополь 355003

State Archive of the Volgograd Oblast (GAVO)[edit | edit source]

The State Archive of the Volgograd Oblast contains various Evangelical Lutheran and Catholic metrical books for settlements in the Volga region. These records range from the early nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century. The archive has published a putevoditel online. To access the putevoditel, visit https://gavo.volgograd.ru/documents/spravochniki/putevoditel.pdf. Information regarding church records begins on page forty-three.

Contact Information
Website:	http://gavo.volgograd.ru/
Email Address:	arhiv_gavo@volhanet.ru
Address:	ул. Коммунистическая, 30 г. Волгоград, 400066

State Archive of the Zhytomyr Oblast[edit | edit source]

The State Archive of the Zhytomyr Oblast, located in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, holds records for Germans living in the Volhynia area. A putevoditel is available online at http://www.archive.zt.gov.ua/left%20menu/vudav%20diyal/KMK_t1.pdf. Lists of archival holdings for Lutheran church records begin on page 94.

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://archive.zt.gov.ua/
Email Address:	archive_zt@arch.gov.ua
Address:	м. Житомир, 10003; вул. Охрiмова Гора, 2/20 (корп. 1), вул. Замкова, 3 (корп. 2),

State Historical Archive of the Volga Germans (also known as Engels Archive) (GIANP)[edit | edit source]

The Engels archive contains records and information regarding the Volga Germans from 1764-1941. The archive was created during the Soviet period under the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Volga Germans. It was a branch of the Saratov archives from 1945-2005, but is now an independent archive. The archive contains both Lutheran and Catholic church records as well as documents regarding colony affairs.

Contact Information
Website:	http://engels-archive.ru/
Email Address:	archive.engels@yandex.ru
Address:	г. Энгельс, пл. Ленина, 13 Саратов 413100

The Engels archive website has an English option; however, more information is available in the Russian version, so use Google Translate to help you navigate the Russian webpage. For a list of their available collections, select фонды from the menu bar. For a catalog of documents prior to 1917, select Список фондов периода до 1917 года. To see what kinds of post 1917 documents are available, click on Список фондов периода после 1917 года.

The Engels archive provides genealogical look ups for a fee. Contact the email address above to begin a research request. The following lists their research fees as of 2019. Keep in mind that fees may be subject to change.

-Metrical book (church record) lookup for one year, one person: 1300 rubles.

-Family list record lookup: 1300 rubles

-Citizen list record lookup: 1300 rubles

-Index of record: 73 rubles (per page)

-Electronic copy of record: 59 rubles

The archive will begin research after they have received the payment and information including the surname and name of the person you are looking for and their birth year. The archive does not accept payments in anything but rubles, so it will be necessary to contact a friend, relative or genealogical researcher/company in Russia to complete the payment for you. If NIL results are found, payment will not be returned. The archive generally replies to inquires within two weeks and returns research to clients within four months.

St. Petersburg Central State Historical Archives[edit | edit source]

This archive contains duplicate vital records from the St. Petersburg Evangelical-Lutheran Consistory (Primarily Black Sea and Volhynia areas). These records; however, are available through FamilySearch. See Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885 and the Germans from Russia: Locating Church Records "How to" guide for more information about these records.

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://spbarchives.ru
Email Address:	cgia@ak.gov.spb.ru
Reading Room Contact:	chitzal.cgia@ak.gov.spb.ru
Address:	Псковская ул., 18 Санкт-Петербург, Россия, 190121

National Archive of the Republic of Moldova[edit | edit source]

The National Archives of the Republic of Moldova has church books for many Germans-speaking Roman Catholic and Lutheran congregations of Bessarabia in fond 211, opis 22.

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://arhiva.gov.md/
Email Address:	arhiva.national@gmail.com secretariat@arhiva.gov.md
Address:	Gheorghe Asachi 67/B Chişinău 2028 Moldova

Polish National Archives[edit | edit source]

The website, Szukaj w Archiwach, is a record repository for various regional websites across Poland. Some records are available online as digital images, while others are only available at their respective archives. You may find records here for those that lived in the Volhynia region.

**Contact Information**
Website:	https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/ (new version) https://szukajwarchiwach.pl/ (old version)
Email Address:	n/a
Address:	n/a

German Archives[edit | edit source]

Researchers who identify the German, French, Swiss, or Austrian town of origin of their German-speaking ancestors who settled in Russia can find information about significant archives and how to contact them in the “Archives and Libraries” page of the Germany Wiki. Four German archives in particular are important for researching Germans from Russia:

East German Genealogical Study Group [Arbeitsgemeinschaft ostdeutscher Familienforscher (AGoFF)] specializes in ancestors east of the Oder-Neiße line and east European settlements such as Russia and Moldova. The study group requests inquiries be typed and in the German language whenever possible.

     Arbeitsgemeinschaft ostdeutscher Familienforscher
     Nachtigallenweg 14
     D-50997 Köln
     GERMANY

Archive, Library, and Museum in the House of Germans from Russia [Archiv, Bibliothek und Museum im Haus der Deutschen aus Rußland] is an active cultural preservation organization.

     Archiv, Bibliothek und Museum im Haus der Deutschen aus Rußland
     Raitelsbergstr. 49
     D-70188 Stuttgart
     GERMANY

Archives and Libraries in the United States[edit | edit source]

National Archives II[edit | edit source]

Family History Library[edit | edit source]

Germans from Russia Heritage Collection - University of North Dakota Library[edit | edit source]

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the University of North Dakota Library has many great resources for Germans from Russia research; however, their collection is not focused on original records, but rather published translations of records as well as scholarship regarding the history and culture of Germans from Russia. This collection is focused primarily on the Black Sea region, but there are resources for other regions as well.

**Contact Information**
Website:	http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/
Address:	Germans from Russia Heritage Collection North Dakota State University Dept 2080 PO Box 6050 Fargo, ND 58108-6050

American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Research Library[edit | edit source]

The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Library houses a large collection of published translations of records in edition to scholarship regarding the history and culture of Germans from Russia. The collection is focused primarily on Volga Germans, but there are resources available for other regions as well. The Library is typically open Monday-Friday, but appointments for Sundays can be made several weeks in advance. Visitors will be charged $15 for a half day of research or $30 for a full day of research.

Contact Information
Website:	http://ahsgr.org/page/Library
Email Address:	ahsgr@ahsgr.org
Address:	631 D St Lincoln, Nebraska 68502

Latvia[edit | edit source]

     State Archives of Latvia
     226007 Riga
     Ul. Bezdyeligu 1
     LATVIA

Lithuania[edit | edit source]

     State Archives of Lithuania
     232016 Vilnius
     Ul. Kareiviu 21
     LITHUANIA

United States[edit | edit source]

Many archives and libraries in the United States have information about Germans from Russia. For more information about these repositories see the Wiki article United States Archives and Libraries and the appropriate state Wiki pages. A significant library of German-Russian material is:

Family History Library
35 North West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400
USA
Telephone: 801-240-3433
Fax: 801-240-1925

The Family History Library has acquired German-Russian records from archives in Russia, Ukraine, and other sources. These include:

St. Petersburg Lutheran Consistory, including parishes near St. Petersburg, near the Black Sea, in Bessarabia, and Volhynia
Bessarabian Lutheran settlement church records
Volhynia Lutheran church records (see complete list at SGGEE )
Bukowina and Galicia (formerly Austria) some church records
Library of Congress collection of Berlin Document Center films

See the Germans from Russia “Church Records” Wiki page for details. The Family History Library has no records from the Volga region or the Caucasus.

The hours, holidays, catalog, collection, services, key resources, and how to prepare to visit the library are described in Library Services and Resources.

Writing to an Archive[edit | edit source]

Visiting an Archive[edit | edit source]

Inventories, Registers, Catalogs[edit | edit source]

Examples of books which describe the holdings of archives and libraries with significant German-Russia collections are:

Quester, Erich. Wegweiser für Forschungen nach Vorfahren . . . cited in “For Further Reading” near the end of this set of Wiki pages.

Miller, Michael M. Researching the Germans from Russia: Annotated Bibliography of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the North Dakota Institue for Regional Studies, North Dakota State University Library, with a Listing of the Library Materias at the Germans from Russia Heritage Society. Fargo, N.Dak.: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1987. (FHL book 978.4 F23n). Includes sections on Bessarabia and Black Sea Germans, Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Volhynian Germans, and Volga Germans. Contains two bibliographies of family histories.

Olson, Marie Miller. A Bibliography of the Germans from Russia: Material Found in the New York Public Library. Lincoln, Nebr.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1976. (FHL book 947 F2om; film 1181519 item 2.

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 Although the records you need may be in a foreign archive or library, the [[Family History Library|Family History Library may]] have a digital or microfilm copy of them. Check the ''[http://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog]'' before writing to or visiting archives in Russia, Ukraine, former Soviet countries, or Germany. You may also want to check the holdings of major genealogical societies such as the [https://www.ahsgr.org/ American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR)], the [https://www.grhs.org/pages/home Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS)], or the [https://sggee.org/ Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE).] For more information about these societies, refer to the [[Germans from Russia Societies]] page on the Wiki.
-Archives can generally be contacted via email or letter correspondence. To learn more about writing to an archive see............ Occasionally archives do not have the funding to respond to correspondences. In these cases, researchers must either visit the archives personally or hire an agent to do research for them. If you plan to visit one of these repositories, check their website, or contact the organization and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, fees, and whether they allow visitors. For tips on visiting archives in Russia, Ukraine, and the Former Soviet Union, please see..........
+Archives can generally be contacted via email or letter correspondence. To learn more about writing to an archive see the section '''Writing to an Archive'''. Occasionally archives do not have the funding to respond to correspondences. In these cases, researchers must either visit the archives personally or hire an agent to do research for them. If you plan to visit one of these repositories, check their website, or contact the organization and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, fees, and whether they allow visitors. For tips on visiting archives in Russia, Ukraine, and the Former Soviet Union, please see the section '''Visiting an Archive'''.
 |}
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 |State Archive of the Zhytomyr Oblast
 |State Archive of the Orenburg Oblast
-|
+|Central State Historical
+Archives of Belarus
 |-
 |State Historical Archive of the Volga Germans
@@ Line 78: / Line 80: @@
 |State Archive of the Volgograd Oblast
 |State Archive of the Odessa Oblast
-|
+|State Archive of the Stavropol Krai
 |Polish National Archives
-|
+|National Archive of the
+Republic of Bashkortostan
 |
 |-
@@ Line 92: / Line 96: @@
 ===Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw===
+The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw has many records for Germans who lived in Volhynia. Many images are available for viewing online. To see if there are records for your ares, use this archive's website in conjunction with the resources available at https://sggee.org/research/parishes/church_parishes/LutheransInVolhyniaKievPodolia.html
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+'''Contact Information'''
@@ Line 165: / Line 170: @@
 The Central State Historical Archives of Belarus contains church books of the Lutheran Bishopric of Minsk, vital records of the Mogilev Roman Catholic Consistory, and revision list records for the Minsk gubernia. Explore the archival holdings at http://archives.gov.by/eng/.
-=== State Archive of the Kemerovo Oblast (GAKO) ===
+===State Archive of the Kemerovo Oblast (GAKO)===
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+'''Contact Information'''
@@ Line 248: / Line 253: @@
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+
-State Archive of the Odessa Oblast Records
+State Archive of the Odessa Oblast Germans from Russia Fonds
 !Title
 !Description
@@ Line 296: / Line 301: @@
 |ул. Советская, 16
 , г. Оренбург
+|}
+=== National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan (GASRB) ===
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+'''Contact Information'''
+|'''Website:'''
+|http://www.gasrb.rgu
+|-
+|'''Email Address:'''
+|cgiarb@gasrb.ru
+|-
+|'''Address:'''
+|ul. Karla Marksa, 4
+Ufa, 450000
+|}
+=== State Archive of the Stavropol Krai (GASK) ===
+The State Archive of the Stavropol Krai contains records for the North Caucasus region. German Evangelical Lutheran records are found in fond number 303. To learn more about these records and to see the opis, visit http://fonds.stavarhiv.ru/index.php?act=fund&fund=303. These records are not available online and can be obtained either by writing or visiting the archive.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+'''Contact Information'''
+|'''Website:'''
+|http://stavarhiv.ru
+|-
+|'''Email Address:'''
+|gask@arh.stavregion.ru
+|-
+|'''Address:'''
+|ул.Ломоносова, 12
+г.Ставрополь 355003
 |}
@@ Line 380: / Line 414: @@
 ===National Archive of the Republic of Moldova===
-''National Archives of the Republic of Moldova'' has church books for many Germans-speaking Roman Catholic and Lutheran congregations of Bessarabia in fond 211, opis 22. Hiring a professional researcher may be the best way to access these archives.
+The National Archives of the Republic of Moldova has church books for many Germans-speaking Roman Catholic and Lutheran congregations of Bessarabia in fond 211, opis 22.
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+'''Contact Information'''
@@ Line 396: / Line 430: @@
 ===Polish National Archives===
+The website, Szukaj w Archiwach, is a record repository for various regional websites across Poland. Some records are available online as digital images, while others are only available at their respective archives. You may find records here for those that lived in the Volhynia region.
 {| class="wikitable"
 |+'''Contact Information'''
@@ Line 409: / Line 444: @@
 |}
-== German Archives ==
+==German Archives==
 Researchers who identify the German, French, Swiss, or Austrian town of origin of their German-speaking ancestors who settled in Russia can find information about significant archives and how to contact them in the “[[Germany Archives and Libraries|Archives and Libraries]]” page of the Germany Wiki. Four German archives in particular are important for researching Germans from Russia:
-'''''German Center for Genealogy''''' [[http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/wiki/German_Central_Office_for_Genealogy ''Zentralstelle für Genealogie'']] was founded as an archive for genealogical materials. It has an extensive collection of German church records from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, and other east European German-speaking settlements. The Family History Library has microfilms of these records, but if you need more information, you can contact the center. For a fee, employees of the center will try to find genealogical sources. But as a general rule, research must be done in Leipzig by the researcher. The address is:
+[[Image:Stuttgart Institut Auslandsbeziehungen.jpg|border|right|250px|Stuttgart Institut Auslandsbeziehungen.jpg]]
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Postfach 274<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D-04002 Leipzig<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GERMANY
-[[Image:Stuttgart Institut Auslandsbeziehungen.jpg|border|right|250px|Stuttgart Institut Auslandsbeziehungen.jpg]]'''''German Foreign Institute''''' [''Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart)''] between 1917 and 1945 created a parish register inventory, genealogies, biographies, and a dozen alphabetical index card files listing names of Germans from Russia, their settlements, and showing many of their places of origin. In 1987 this collection became part of the Federal Archive [Bundesarchiv] in Koblenz. The Family History Library has microfilms of these card files. They are described in the Author/Title Search of the ''FamilySearch Catalog'' under Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart). Many are also cited in the appropriate Germans from Russia Wiki pages. The archival material from this collection is now at:
-:Bundesarchiv<br>
-:Potsdamer Str. 1<br>
-:D-70173 Koblenz<br>
-:GERMANY
-A sixteen page inventory of this collection is:
-Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart).[https://familysearch.org/catalog-search&catSearchType=film_number ''Karteienverzeichnis: 1750-1945'' (Card Index Inventory, 1750-1945).] Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (FHL film 1340061 item 3).[https://familysearch.org/catalog-search&catSearchType=film_number Also FamilySearch.org]
 '''''East German Genealogical Study Group''''' [''Arbeitsgemeinschaft ostdeutscher Familienforscher (AGoFF)''] specializes in ancestors east of the Oder-Neiße line and east European settlements such as Russia and Moldova. The study group requests inquiries be typed and in the German language whenever possible.
@@ Line 435: / Line 457: @@
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Archiv, Bibliothek und Museum im Haus der Deutschen aus Rußland<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Raitelsbergstr. 49<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D-70188 Stuttgart<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;GERMANY
-==Other Archives and Libraries==
+==Archives and Libraries in the United States==
-===Latvia===
+=== National Archives II ===
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;State Archives of Latvia<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;226007 Riga<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ul. Bezdyeligu 1<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LATVIA
+=== Family History Library ===
-===Lithuania===
+=== Germans from Russia Heritage Collection - University of North Dakota Library ===
+The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the University of North Dakota Library has many great resources for Germans from Russia research; however, their collection is not focused on original records, but rather published translations of records as well as scholarship regarding the history and culture of Germans from Russia. This collection is focused primarily on the Black Sea region, but there are resources for other regions as well.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+'''Contact Information'''
+|'''Website:'''
+|http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/
+|-
+|'''Address:'''
+|'''Germans from Russia Heritage Collection'''
+North Dakota State University
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;State Archives of Lithuania<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;232016 Vilnius<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ul. Kareiviu 21<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LITHUANIA
+Dept 2080 PO Box 6050
-===Moldova===
+Fargo, ND 58108-6050
+|}
-''National Archives of the Republic of Moldova'' has church books for many Germans-speaking Roman Catholic and Lutheran congregations of Bessarabia in fond 211, opis 22. Hiring a professional researcher may be the best way to access these archives.
+=== American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Research Library ===
+The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Library houses a large collection of published translations of records in edition to scholarship regarding the history and culture of Germans from Russia. The collection is focused primarily on Volga Germans, but there are resources available for other regions as well. The Library is typically open Monday-Friday, but appointments for Sundays can be made several weeks in advance. Visitors will be charged $15 for a half day of research or $30 for a full day of research.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+Contact Information
+|'''Website:'''
+|http://ahsgr.org/page/Library
+|-
+|'''Email Address:'''
+|ahsgr@ahsgr.org
+|-
+|'''Address:'''
+|631 D St
+Lincoln, Nebraska 68502
+|}
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Национальный архив Республики Молдова. Имеется филиал<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;277028, Кишинев<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ул. Дзержинского, 67-б<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;MOLDOVA
+===Latvia===
-===Romania===
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;State Archives of Latvia<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;226007 Riga<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ul. Bezdyeligu 1<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LATVIA
-Researchers ''may'' be able to learn about ethnic German settlers in areas that are now part of Romania by correspondence with the State Archives of Romania:
+===Lithuania===
-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Archivelor Statului din România<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bucureşti, Sect. 5<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bdul Kogălniceanu 29<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ROMANIA
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;State Archives of Lithuania<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;232016 Vilnius<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ul. Kareiviu 21<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LITHUANIA
-The letter must be typed in Romanian to get a response. The staff at the Family History Library can provide a list of letter writing phrases to help compose a letter in Romanian.
 ===United States===
@@ Line 476: / Line 519: @@
 The hours, holidays, catalog, collection, services, key resources, and how to prepare to visit the library are described in [[Family History Library|Library Services and Resources]].
+== Writing to an Archive ==
+== Visiting an Archive ==
 ==Inventories, Registers, Catalogs==