Germany Military Records: Difference between revisions

Military records identify individuals who served in the military or who were eligible to serve. Germany had a large army and a small navy. Since most German states had conscription laws, most young men were required to register for military service. A young man who had not yet served had to get special permission before he could emigrate.  

This is usually difficult to find, making military records hard to use for genealogical research. Search the sources cited above to find your ancestor's regiment, ship, or commanding officer. Commanding officers can be identified with their units relatively easily. Photographs sometimes show insignia that identify a regiment or ship.  

Until 1918 there was no Reichsheer (army) but the Royal Prussian Army with which most states joined forces. Before, the Brandenburg-Prussian army existed and the states of Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg had their own armies.  

This article is available through [http://www.familysearch.org www.familysearch.org] Family History Library Catalog, International film number 1045463.  

The earliest German military records, which began around 1485, usually list only the names of the soldiers.  

*Regimental histories [Regimentsgeschichten] Foreign Military Service  

*Pensions for surving widows (Offizierswitwenkasse)

Germans frequently served with the armies of foreign countries.  

'''American Civil War''' About one in ten Union soldiers was born in Germany. Over 200,000 German immigrants to the United States were recruited by the Union, many as they stepped off the boat. Some were drafted. Some Germans served in the Confederate military. To find information about Germans who fought in the Civil War, see [[United States Military Records]].  

German military records can be of great genealogical value, but getting access to them is often a problem.  

Meyers Orts- und Verkehrslexikon has as a supplement listed all garrison towns of Germany. These towns can also be viewed on a map in the same lexicon.  

There is no central archive for German military records. German states each had their own system of keeping military records before 1867. These records are now stored in several German state archives. The following pamphlet lists the archives where existing military records for each state are found:  

In 1867 the armies of all but three German states were integrated into the armies of Preußen. From that time, soldiers of any German state (except Bayern, Sachsen, or Württemberg) were recorded only in the military records of Preußen. Unfortunately, the Preußen military records were almost completely destroyed in 1945.  

Only a few German military records are available at the Family History Library. They are mostly military parish registers, a few published officer rolls [Stammlisten and Ranglisten], and regimental histories. German military church records are usually listed in the Family History Library Catalog with other church records. For a listing see: [http://users.foxvalley.net/~goertz/mil.html http://users.foxvalley.net/~goertz/mil.html]   

For other German military records, see the Place Search of the catalog under:  

*'''1688-1697:''' Palatine Wars of Succession – destroyed mainly Southwestern Germany.

{{Place|Germany}}  

[[Category:Germany|Military Records]]