Germany Emigration and Immigration
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How to Find the Records[edit | edit source]
Online Sources[edit | edit source]
- Online German Emigration Records, Lists and Indexes a comprehensive list of links to various small local collections.
- Emigrants to and from Germany from the 18th to the 20th century
- Germans Immigrating to the United States. Index. ($)
- Deutsche Auswanderer-Datenbank (German Emigrants Database). Index.
- Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Germany under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
- Emigration Lists at Ahnenforschung/Genealogie
- Immigrant Ancestors Project
- Bavaria and Pfalz Emigration Database
- Register of German military men who remained in Canada after the American Revolution, e-book
- 1650-1800 Swiss emigrants to the Palatinate in Germany and to America, 1650-1800 and Huguenots to the Palatinate and Germany, e-books, 6 volumes.
- 1712-1933 U.S., German Immigrants, 1712-1933, Ancestry.com composite collection of several small sources, index ($)
- 1727-1776 A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776 : with a statement of the names of ships, whence they sailed, and the date of their arrival at Philadelphia, chronologically arranged, together with the necessary historical and other notes, also, an appendix containing lists of more than one thousand German and French names in New York prior to 1712, e-book
- 1850-1897 United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897
- 1850-1923Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 In German, includes ships coming to U.S., index only for 1850-1923. ($)
- 1899-2012 United States, Obituaries, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1899-2012, index.
- 1907-1939 Bremen, Germany, Passenger Lists Index, 1907-1939
- 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritge; index & images ($)
- 1920-1939 Bremen Passenger Lists, 1920-1939, indexed. With the exception of 3017 passenger lists for the years 1920 - 1939 all other lists were lost in World War II. Also at Ancestry.com, index ($)
- 1938-1939 UK, Selected Records Relating to Kindertransport (USHMM), ($). 1938-1939. Index and images. In German.
- 1938-1943 Palestine, Illegal Immigration from German-Occupied Europe, 1938-1945 (USHMM), ($), index
- 1943-1959 Index of Jewish Displaced Person and Refugee Cards, 1943-1959, index and images.
- 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.
Card Indexes[edit | edit source]
- 1750-1943 Auswandererkartei mit Familienangehörigen, 1750-1943 Koblenz Archives. Index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German emigrants and their family members. Provides information on nicknames, given names, and variant forms of surnames; ancestral home, earlier and later lands of allegiance, places and dates of birth and death, religious persuasion, date of emigration, earlier and later places of settlement, original occupation and later activity, name of spouse, places and dates of birth and death, place of marriage, occupation and later activity; names, places and dates of birth and death for children, places of residence, names of spouses.
- 1806-1920 Auswanderungsakten, 1806-1920, Stuttgart (Württemberg) Emigration from the district of Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany; includes internal migrations, emigration to European countries, the United States and elsewhere. Includes some indexes.
- 1817-1866 Registres des émigrés, 1817-1866, (Alsace emigration index) Card index to emigration records of Europeans traveling through the Alsace region of France.
- 1840-1930 Auswanderkartei, 1840-1930: Cards of emingrants from Bavaria most of whom are born during the time frame 1870 to 1900; however, there are some emigrant dates from the late 1600's and from the 1840's. The cards contain surnames, maiden names, given names, places of birth, and addresses in the country to which the people are moving.
- 1870-1945 Auswandererkartei von Rußlanddeutschen nach China und Nordamerika : 1870-1945 Index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German-speaking emigrants from Russia to China, North America, Argentina, elsewhere. Includes birthplaces and dates for both spouses and children, date of emigration and destination, place and date of marriage, children's names and documentary references.
- 1929-1930 Auswandererkartei der Rußlanddeutschen, 1929-1930 Index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German-speaking emigrants from Russia to Germany, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, etc.
- 1935-1945 Kartei von Deutschen Experten im Ausland, 1935-1945 Index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German professionals residing abroad. Includes land and street address, area of expertise, membership in professional organizations, participation in the German Foreign Institute, and biographical information (place and date of birth, education, marital status, professional activities, etc.).
Palatine Records[edit | edit source]
- 1700-1749 SHIPS TO PENNSYLVANIA 1700-1749
- 1704-1717 Swiss and German Mennonite immigrants from the Palatinate, 1704-1717, e-book
- 1709 Palatines from England to New York 1709
- 1710-1714 Palatine Children Apprenticed by Gov. Hunter in New York 1710-1714
- 1710 Palatine Arrivals in New York in 1710
- 1712, 1737, 1787 Emigrants from West-German Fuerstenberg Territories (Baden and the Palatinate) to America and Central Europe, ($). 1712, 1737, 1787 Index.
- 1724-1749List of Pfalz Immigrants to America, 1724-1749
- The Birkenhördt Project
- 1727-1808 Ships carrying Palatines from Germany to Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808
- 1727-1808 Pennsylvania German Pioneers Passenger Lists, Palatine German Immigrant Ships to Philadelphia 1727-1808
German Brazilians[edit | edit source]
- Brazilian Families of German Origin Martius-Staden Institute of Sciences, Letters and Brazilian-German Cultural Exchange genealogy online collection
- German Immigration Archive Martius-Staden Institute of Sciences, Letters and Brazilian-German Cultural Exchange German Immigration online collection
- 1815-1850 1815-1850 Emigrations to Poland, Brazil, the United States, etc. and internal migrations from Kusel, Bavaria Royal State Commissioner
- Coleção da Sociedade Histo-lógica Cruzeiro do Sul A collection of essays and works chiefly written in German which deal with German immigration to Brazil, see Film Notes for German localities and specific families covered.
- 1859 Lists of Germans immigrating to Brazil, 1859, in Portuguese.
- 1890-1901 Auswanderung nach Brasilien und Venezuela, 1890-1901 Civil records relating to the migration to Brazil and Venezuela of inhabitants of Bromberg, Posen, Germany
German Argentinians[edit | edit source]
- 1870-1945 Auswandererkartei von Rußlanddeutschen nach Argentinien, 1870-1945, images of index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German-speaking emigrants from Russia to Argentina. Provides information on place of origin, state of allegiance, birth and death date and place, religion, date of emigration, destination abroad, profession, full name of spouse, birth and death date and place, place and date of marriage; names, birth places and dates of children, their residences and spouses' names. Information often incomplete.
Emigration From Germany[edit | edit source]
Significant numbers of German emigrants can be found on every continent and in many countries around the world. Millions of people left Germany in several waves of migration. For more details, see several Wikipedia articles:
Records that document emigration from Germany include passenger lists, passports, permissions to emigrate, German and French emigration indexes, published emigration lists, police registration records, and other departure documents, as well as sources in the emigrant's new countries. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in Germany. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants' names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birth places. Sometimes they also show family groups.
Most emigrants left Germany during the following periods:
1683 to 1820. Emigrants left Germany and migrated to Southeastern Europe, North America, Russia, England, Scotland, and Ireland. This wave of emigration was caused by economic hardships and religious persecutions after the Thirty Years' War. Many of these emigrants were Protestants from Southwestern Germany, primarily the Rheinland, Westfalen, Hessen, Baden, Württemberg, and Elsaß-Lothringen. Read more about Pre-1820 Emigration from Germany
1820 to 1871. This wave of emigration was caused chiefly by economic hardships, including unemployment and crop failures. Many Germans also left to avoid wars and military service. In some cases, government entities encouraged poor citizens to emigrate. Helpful websites for 19th Century German Emigration
1871 to 1914. The number of emigrants increased dramatically during this time period. Emigration had become more affordable while political and economic problems continued. Emigrants came from all areas of Germany, including large numbers from the eastern provinces of Preußen (Prussia). Emigrants included not only ethnic Germans but also Poles and Jews. Helpful websites for 19th Century German Emigration.
1914 to 1945. Even though the quota system reduced German emigration to the U.S. significantly, it did not stop entirely. Emigrants included political dissenters, Jews, and others who were uncomfortable with post World War I developments.
Permission To Emigrate Records[edit | edit source]
Germans had to apply for permission to emigrate from most areas. The Family History Library has these application records for several states and cities, including Baden, Rheinland, the Pfalz, and Zwickau. For example, the library has microfilmed the emigration application records of Württemberg. They list the emigrant's birthplace, residence, assets, and indebtedness. Most Württemberg records consist of applications and accompanying documents that were collected by district offices. These records begin in the mid-1700s, with most from the 1800s. Most districts also have handwritten indexes for the mid-1800s. Six published volumes of indexes are available, which so far cover 35 of the 64 districts:
Schenk, Trudy, and Ruth Froelke. The Wuerttemberg Emigration Index. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Ancestry, 1986-. (FHL book Ref 943.47 W22st.) Available on: http://www.germanroots.com/emigration.html.
For Westfalen in the Minden area there is available at the Family History Library a book called "Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung." Call number 943.56 D2b v. 38-39.
For Bayern there is a periodical entitled Blätter des Bayrischen Landesvereines für Familienkunde. The call number is 943.3 B2b. The volumes which deal with emigration are V. 1, page 19 and 48, V. 2, page 103, V. 3, pages 9, 39, 73, 87, 102 V. 6-7, V. 9 pages 157, 417.
French Emigration Indexes[edit | edit source]
Many Germans either lived in Elsaß-Lothringen(Alsace-Lorraine) or passed through it to emigrate. The following sources help identify many of them.
Alsace Emigration Index. The Family History Library has compiled an index of persons who emigrated from or through Elsaß-Lothringen from 1817 to 1866. About half the names are from southern Germany. The alphabetical index gives the emigrant's name, age, occupation, place of origin, residence, destination, passport date, and source microfilm number. Not everyone who emigrated via Alsace is in this index. The index is easiest to find in the Author/Title Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under Alsace Emigration Index. It is also listed as:
France. Ministère de l'Intérieur. Registres des émigrés, 1817-1866 (Index of emigrants, 1817-1866). Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1977. (FHL film 1,125,0027.)
Alsace Emigration Books. Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler used the Alsace Emigration Index, other emigration records, passenger lists, genealogies, genealogy periodicals, and newspaper articles to compile the following index:
Schrader-Muggenthaler, Cornelia. The Alsace Emigration Book. Two Volumes. Apollo, Pennsylvania, USA: Closson Press, 1989-1991. (FHL book 944.38 W2s) This index has over 20,000 entries, mostly of 1817 to 1870 emigrants.
The following is also an excellent book on the subject:
Burgert, Annette Kunselman. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America. Camden, Maine, USA: Picton Press, 1992. (FHL book 974.8 B4pgp v. 26)
See also: Lorraine Emigration Records
Published Emigration Records[edit | edit source]
Lists of emigrants are often published. These usually focus on the emigrants from one town, principality, or state. An example is listed below:
Gruhne, Fritz. Auswandererlisten des ehemaligenHerzogtums Braunschweig 1846-1871 (List of emigrants from the former Duchy of Braunschweig, 1846-1871). Wolfenbüttel, Germany: Braunschweigischer Geschichtsverein, 1971. (FHL book 943.59 W29g; film 1,045,468 item 10.) This list does not include the city of Braunschweig and the district of Holzminden.
Links to various Lists of German emigrants, passenger lists, etc. are found at:
Dozens of other published emigrant lists are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under the town, state, or province from which the emigrants came. A partial bibliography of German emigration sources is in Smith's Encyclopedia of German-American Genealogical Research, pages 207 to 232.
Here are some published emigration lists online.
Police Lists or Registrations[edit | edit source]
German towns began keeping records of each person's residence in the 1840s. Citizens were required to tell the police or the Einwohnermeldeamt [resident registration office] when they moved. These records are discussed further in Germany Population.
Other Records of Departure[edit | edit source]
Several other records were usually created as emigrants left Germany.
Church Records (Annotations). Often the local pastor or priest noted peoples' departures in the parish registers next to birth or marriage entries. Sometimes these notes include the year of emigration and names of those who went with the person. Where family registers were kept, the departure was sometimes noted there. See Germany Church Records for more information.
Probate Records of Relatives Who Stayed. Wills or testaments of relatives who stayed in Germany occasionally mention their relatives in foreign lands. For more information, see Germany Probate Records.
Newspaper Announcements. Local newspapers often told of residents in their area moving to other lands. See Germany Newspapers for more information.
The Germanic Emigrants Register (1992 edition) indexes German emigrants listed in the Deutscher Reichsanzeiger newspaper from 1820 to 1914. This 277,000-name, 23-microfiche index shows name, event year, birth date, emigration date, destination, and last known residence. It does not give the place of origin.
One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse Links to free and $ online passenger lists
Records of German Emigrants in Their Destination Countries[edit | edit source]
Often the best sources for information about German emigrants are found in the country they immigrated to. (see http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/german-immigration.pdf) Records of German immigrants may list their towns of origin and other valuable information. To learn more about these records, see the research outline for the country where your ancestor settled and the research outline Tracing Immigrant Origins.
United States[edit | edit source]
Early German immigrants to the United States (1683-1820) settled mainly in Pennsylvania. Those in the second wave of migration (1820-1871) often settled in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, and Texas. During the third wave (1871-1914), many German immigrants settled in New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, or other large cities.
German immigrants from Pommern often went to Wisconsin. Large numbers also settled in Illinois, Minnesota, and other Midwest states. Immigrants from the Palatine area usually settled in Pennsylvania. The book below describes the history and process of migrating from Germany to the United States:
Wellauer, Maralyn Ann. German Immigration to America in the Nineteenth Century: A Genealogist's Guide. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA: Roots International, 1985. (FHL book 943 W2we.
To trace German origins in Pennsylvania can be a daunting task. There are efforts on the US as well as the German side to work together in tracing ancestors. Helpful sites to gain information might be Deutsch-Pennsylvanischer Arbeitskreis e.V. or pdc.wikipedia.org
Immigrant records available in the United States include the following:
Passenger Arrival Lists. Most German immigrants to the United States arrived at New York City. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the arrival records and indexes of this and other ports. See the United States Research Outline for more information about emigration and immigration records of the United States. Unfortunately, few United States arrival records give the immigrant's specific town of origin.
New York passenger lists, 1892-1924, are available online, indexes, at www.ellisisland.org; passenger lists for 1820-1957 are available on www.ancestry.com.
Ship passenger records for various decades may also be found at GermanImmigrants1850s.com, GermanImmigrants1860s.com, GermanImmigrants1870s.com, GermanImmigrants1880s.com, GermanImmigrants1890s.com.
Published Passenger Arrival Lists. The arrival records for many German immigrants to the United States are partially indexed. By mid-1994 there were 36 volumes covering the years 1850 to 1880.
Each volume is individually indexed:
Glazier, Ira A., and P. William Filby. Germans to America. On-going. Wilmington, Delaware, USA: Scholarly Resources, 1988-. (FHL book Ref973 W2ger.)
The following bibliography contains over 2,500 published lists of emigrants and immigrants:
Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigrations Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900. Second Edition. Detroit, Michigan, USA: Gale Research, 1988. (FHL book 973W33p 1988.)
More than 1,600 of these lists are indexed in P. William Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 12+ Volumes. (Detroit, Michigan, USA: Gale Research, 1981-; FHL book Ref 973 W33p). This does not index official U.S. arrival lists. Many of the names are from post-1820 published sources. Two of the hundreds of German immigration records indexed in Filby are listed below:
Jones, Henry Z, Jr. The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710. Universal City, California, USA: Jones, 1985. (FHL book 974.7 D2j.)
Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, and William John Hinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Two Volumes. Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934. Three Volumes. Reprint. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966. (FHL book 974.8 F2st 1966; 1934 edition on films 1,035,683 item 5 and 1,321,373 item 3; fiche 6,057,507-9.) Please note that published immigration lists are subject to errors and should be verified in original records.
Census Records. The 1920 United States census sometimes lists the province or city of birth for people (or their parents) born in Germany. Some state censuses, such as the 1925 New York census (which gives the date and place of naturalization), contain more information than federal censuses.
Military Records. Many German immigrants served in the United States military, especially in the American Civil War. Their military records may help identify their German hometowns. Records of German soldiers who served as British mercenaries in the American Revolution are described in Germany Military Records.
Newspapers. Arriving German immigrants are occasionally mentioned in newspapers, especially German-language newspapers. See Germany Newspapers for a bibliography of German-language newspapers.
More information - including maps showing the areas of heaviest German population is found here. The top six states for German population are: Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
Southeast Europe[edit | edit source]
Starting in 1722, the Austro-Hungarian monarchs encouraged Germans to settle their lands, especially along the devastated border with the Turks. Colonies developed in what later became Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Initially, twice as many Germans moved to this area as went to America. More references and research tools for locating Germans who emigrated to Southeast Europe are found on-line at:
Following World War II, most returned to Germany or Austria, but many also moved to the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and other countries.
Below are listed some indexes that can help you find Germans from Southeast Europe:
Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart). Auswandererkartei der Deutschen nach Ungarn und Rußland, 1750-1805 (Emigration index of Germans in Hungary and Russia, 1750-1805). Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (FHL films 1,340,060 item 5 to 1,340,061 item 2.)
Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart). Kartei der Auswanderer nach Ungarn, 1750-1945 (Index of emigrants to Hungary, 1750-1945). Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (FHL film 1,552,795 items 1-2.)
Deutsches Ausland-Institut (Stuttgart). Kartei der im Ausland lebenden Deutschen, 1940-1945 (Index of Germans in foreign countries, 1940-1945). Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (FHL films 1,340,0625, 1,197,320-23, 1,197,492-7.)
Brandt, Bruce. Where to look for hard-to-find German-speaking ancestors in Eastern Europe: index to 19,720 surnames in 13 books, with historical background on each. Second Edition. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Clearfield County, 1993. (FHL book 943 H22b.) This contains surnames only.
Russia[edit | edit source]
In 1763 Catherine the Great of Russia offered free land, no taxes for thirty years, freedom of religion, and other incentives to encourage Germans to settle her vast, sparsely populated domain. Dozens of German colonies were established and grew until World War I. Many Russian Germans moved to the United States, Canada, or South America beginning in 1874. For a more detailed discussion of this topic see the Germans from Russia Wiki page. The following is the single most valuable source for researching German families from Russia:
Stumpp, Karl. The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862. Tübingen, Germany: Stumpp, 1973; reprint 1978. (FHL book 943 W2sk; fiche 6000829; 1978 ed. on film 1,183,529. View-able online at the Family History Library or a FamilySearch Center.). Text in English. The most useful parts of this source for genealogists are the alphabetical lists of German immigrants, which are divided into three sections: Volga region immigrants (pp. 117-165), Mennonites in South Russia and Samara (pp. 167-204), and Black Sea region immigrants (except Mennonites) (pp. 204-497).
Many online sources for Germans from Russia are found in the Odessa Digital Library:
The German Protestant church [EvangelischeKirche] of Russia was organized into consistories headquartered in St. Petersburg. The Family History Library has microfilmed the 276 volumes of the consistories' church record civil transcripts in the Russian State Historical Archives. These records are from German settlements in Ingermanland (surrounding St. Petersburg), near the Black Sea, and in Bessarabia for the years 1833 to 1900. They are in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:
RUSSIA, [PROVINCE], [TOWN] — CHURCH RECORDS
German Protestant records are listed here.
In addition, several organizations, such as the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, will help genealogists.
For Further Reading[edit | edit source]
Other Wiki Articles[edit | edit source]
- Germans from Russia
- German Research: Hansel and Gretel: Finding our German ancestors' trail home
- Internet Resources for Finding 19th Century German Emigrants
- Hamburg Passenger Lists
FamilySearch Catalog[edit | edit source]
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:
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