Poland "How to" Guides
How to use the guides
Select a guide from the list below based on your interests. Please note that some guides need to be completed in sequence to ensure a successful experience. Build your research knowledge and confidence with each activity you complete.
Each guide comes with three parts - Instruction, which includes a guided activity, Assignment, to test what you've learned, and an Answer key, to check how you did on the assignment. The guides are also rated as either Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. The majority are designed for beginners.
The guides are available in PDF form designed to be downloaded and printed. To view a guide, click on its title. Once the guide has opened, use the PDF tools found in your browser to print and save the document.
PLEASE NOTE: Some guides are designed to be completed using resources found in the FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. These are indicated by an * following the title of the guide. If you cannot visit the FamilySearch Library, check your local library or your local FamilySearch FamilySearch Center for availability of the resources described in the guide.
Available Guides
This is a work in progress. Please check back often for new and/or updated guides.
General research:
- Inserting Special Characters - Instruction
For all areas of Poland:
- Arcanum Maps - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Geneteka: Indexed Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Geneteka: Accessing Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Polish State Archives Online - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- (1930s) Skorowidz Gazetteer Online - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Pilot.pl - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
For areas of Poland that were once part of Austria:
For areas of Poland that were once part of Prussia and Germany:
- 1905 Prussia Gemeindelexikon - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- FamilySearch Left-Side/Right-Side Images - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Germany Map Guide* - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Kartenmeister Gazetteer - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Metryki.GenBaza.pl - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Meyers Gazetteer* - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Meyers Abbreviations - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Meyers Online - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Meyers Online: Meyersgaz.org - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Poznan Marriage Project - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading German civil birth records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading German civil marriage records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading German civil death records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Westpreussen.de - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Using Archion.de - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
For areas of Poland that were once part of Russia:
- 1877 Gazetteer for the Kingdom of Poland - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Cyrillic Alphabet - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Cyrillic Script - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Metryki.GenBaza.pl - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Polish Birth Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Polish Marriage Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Polish Death Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Russian Birth Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Russian Marriage Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Reading Russian Death Records - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- RGN Gazetteer - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
- Spiski Gazetteer - Instruction, Activity, Answer Key
Other "How to" Guides
Looking for help in other countries? Check out the full list of "How to" guides.
Feedback
We would love your feedback on these guides. Please take a minute to share your comments and/or suggestions. Click here to access the Feedback form.The form will open in a new tab in your browser.