German Genealogical Research in Eastern Europe

Historical Background

By the end of the Middle Ages, ethnic Germans constituted a signficant minority of most Eastern European countries (the areas now known as Poland, the Baltics, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania). Russia's Germany minority arrived in later centuries and Bulgaria's German population was negligible.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the second wave of Germanic emigration into Eastern Europe and Russia occurred. Some of the reasons for this is that the 150 year Turkish occupation in Hungary gradually ended around 1700 and the Austrian emperors imported settlers of many nationalities to make empty villages productive again. Additionally, German expansion into Russia, outlying areas of Romania, and elsewhere occurred at the end of the 1700s and was the result of a general increase in European population.

The first emigration of Germanic speakers toward eastern Europe took place before and during the Crusades (beginning in 1095). Many of the emigrants were from northern Germany, where an agricultural revoltuion had taken place; the invention of a more effective plow and the adoption of the three-field method for crop rotation increased the food supply and generated a population explosion. This caused land in western Europe to be colonized and new towns founded, which was followed by Germanic colonization in eastern Europe where very fertile, and previously untilled, soil was available to satisfy the hunger for land. This emigration began in the mid-1100s.

At the end of World War II almost all these ethnic Germans were expelled from various eastern European countries. Other countries, such as Romania, kept a good number of its Germans. In addition to expelling the Germans, some of their churches were destroyed. Some expelled Germans founded homeland organizations with active publishing programs which include newspaper, quarterly periodicals, and "homeland" books (Heimatbuecher).

German Settlements in Eastern Europe

Romania

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 Family History Library (see the 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).

Microfilms of Danube Swabian parish registers in Romania 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 FamilySearch Catalog.

Hungary

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 Family History Library (see the FamilySearch Catalog). Civil registers, from 1895 to 1980, have been digitized and are available on the FamilySearch Catalog (see 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 FamilySearch Catalog.

Former Yugoslavia

What was formerly Yugoslavia also had a good number of Danube Swabian towns. Access to parish registers is through microfilm at the Family History 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 FamilySearch Catalog.

Poland

Germanic settlements date to the Teutonic Knights in the 1200s and continued into the next centuries. Present-day Poland contains a large chunk of territory which belonged to the German Empire before the peace settlements of 1919 and 1945.

Because of the territory shifts in 1919 and 1945, present-day Poland has parish registers (whether Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, or Protestant) of former territories of Germany, Russia, Austria, and pre-1921 Poland. The languages of these registers are Latin, Polish, Russian, and German. The ability to read old German script is generally required.

Many parish registers from all parts of Poland have been digitized and are available on the FamilySearch Catalog. However, there are still gaps. Some information is obtainable by writing to local parishes and various archives.

Czech Republic

The kingdom of Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman Empire and, although it was primarily a Slavic (Czech) speaking kingdom, German language was frequent in official documents. Czech was the official and predominant language of the administration until 1620, when the Hapsburgs took over the country and installed a German-speaking nobility. They remained in power until 1918.

The entire western and northern portions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia was German speaking. Before World War II, 30% of Bohemia's population was ethnic German. In 1945, these Germans were summarily expelled to West and East Germany and Austria.

In the 1950s, all parish registers were collected in the Czech and Moravian regional archives, of which there are seven. The language of the registers are Old Czech, Czech, Latin, and German. The pre-1850 registers are in the old script, whether German or Czech.

Many other sources of genealogical information are available: land records, urbaria, serfs' lists, estate records, etc. The archive administration does genealogical research for a fee.

Many parish registers and other records have been digitized and are available on the FamilySearch Catalog.

Slovakia

As early as 1150, Germans settled in the Zips (Spi county) in northeastern Slovakia. According to legend, they were part of the group of Saxons who went on to found the German-speaking colonies in Transylvania. By the 1300s, many towns and villages were predominantly German. Also at this time another settlement area, called Hauerland was founded in central Slovakia.

The Bratislava area already had many German speakers because it is just across the Danube from Austria Bratislava itself (which was essentially as German town before World War II). According to the 1930 census, there were about 38,000 Germans in the Zips, about 41,200 in Hauerland, and 50,000 in the Bratislava area. AFter the evacuation of 1945-1946, there were 24,000 ethnic Germans in Slovakia.

Parish registers, covering the period up to 1895 or so (when Hungarian civil records began), area in seven Slovak regional archives. Religious denomiations are: Roman Catholic, Reform, Lutheran, Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish. Languages are Latin, Hungarian, German, SLovak, and Russian (from 1850 to 1855 in Byzantine Catholic registers).

Some Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, and Reformed Church parish registers are available on the FamilySearch Catalog (see Slovakia church and synagogue books, 1592-1935 and Slovakia, church records : localities not verified, 1687-1897). The Slovak archive administration conducts genealgoical research in their parish registers for a fee.

Germany

The Family History Library has microfilmed and digitized many parish registers from Germany (see the FamilySearch Catalog).

Russia

Germans settled in a number of areas in the former Russian Empire. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had sizable German minorities. Colonies of Germans were established in the 19th century along the Volga River and the Black Sea. Beginning in the 1700s, a number of Germans settled in and around towns in Sub-Carpathia Rus' (now part of Ukraine). The Family History Library has microfilmed and digitized many parish registers in these locations (see the FamilySearch Catalog). A number of genealogical agencies now offer research services as well in these areas.