Germany Archives and Libraries
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Federal Archives (Bundesarchivs)
- The Federal Archives have the legal mandate to permanently secure the archives of the Federal Government and make them usable. These are documents such as files, maps, pictures, posters, films and sound recordings in analogue and digital form.
- These documents are available from central offices of the Holy Roman Empire (1495-1806), the German Confederation (1815-1866), the German Empire (1867/71-1945), the zones of occupation (1945-1949), the German Democratic Republic (1949 -1990) and the Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949). The Federal Archive decides whether the documents are "archivable", i.e. whether they have lasting value for research and understanding of history and the present, for safeguarding the legitimate interests of citizens or for legislation,
- The Federal Archives also collect written legacies from important people, documents from parties, associations and clubs of supra-regional importance, as well as journalistic sources.
- Since June 17, 2021, the Federal Archives have been responsible for the documents of the GDR state security service.
- The Federal Archives ensure access to federal archives while protecting private and public interests. In principle, every person has the right to use federal archive material upon request. The Federal Archives provide information about the archive material on several research platforms. A small but constantly growing part of the holdings is also available in digital form for online use via these research platforms.
- The Federal Archives have 22 locations: Archives in the Federal Republic of Germany, Federal Archives and other archives in the federal administration
Additional information:
State Archives
Each modern state archive also preserves useful records, including:
- Church records
- Civil registration
- Court records
- Military records
- Emigration Records
- Land records
State Archives Addresses
German Center for Genealogy
A specialty archive, the Central Office for Genealogy Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie was founded as an archive for genealogical materials. Later its holdings were incorporated in the Leipzig State Archive. Its extensive collection of German church records from Posen, Ostpreußen, Westpreußen, Pommern, and Schlesien (now in Poland, Russia, and Lithuania) was microfilmed by FamilySearch. The Central Office collection also includes records of many German settlements in eastern Europe. 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.
Sächsisches Staatsarchiv
Staatsarchiv Leipzig
Schongauer Strasse 1
04329 Leipzig
GERMANY
Telephone: + 49 341/25 555 00
Fax: + 49 341/25 555 55
Email: poststelle-l@sta.smi.sachsen.de
Website
Research Services
Search engine
How to reach us
Archives for Former Regions Now Outside of Germany
The Family History Library has on microfilm many German records from areas now in Poland, France, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, and Lithuania. If you cannot find the records you need in the FamilySearch Catalog, you can write to the parish where your ancestor lived, the German Center for Genealogy, or the archives of the country. The main archives outside of Germany are described below.
Poland
The Polish State Archive (Archiwa Państwowe) may be able to help you with records from Brandenburg, Ostpreußen, Westpreußen, Pommern, Posen, Schlesien and other areas now under Polish jurisdiction. The State Archive holds civil registration records more than 100 years old.
You may write in English, but it is better to write in Polish. Use the Poland Letter Writing Guide. There is a fee for any work done.
Records from Poland are now gradually coming online. So be sure to check the website of the archive you need information from before requesting a search.
State Archives Head Office
Rakowiecka 2D
02-517 Warsaw
Poland
Telephone:(22) 56 54 600
E-mail: ndap@archiwa.gov.pl
Website
Addresses for archives of states in Poland can be found at PolandGenWeb, Polish State Archives.
Archives are arranged alphabetically by name of archive. E-mail addresses are included.
A detailed inventory for the Stettin [ Szczecin] State Archive, searchable in German systematcally, alphabetically, and by key word, is found at Archivfuhrer Stettin.
France
The French archivists will not do research, but they will help you determine what records are available. For help writing in French, see the French France Letter-Writing Guide.
For information from Elsaß-Lothringen(Alsace-Lorraine), contact one of the following archives:
Archives of the European Community of Alsace - Strasbourg site
6 rue Philippe Dollinger
67100 Strasbourg
FRANCE
E-mail: archives@bas-rhin.fr
Internet: Archives Departmentales du Bas-Rhin
Research Wiki Article: Bas-Rhin, France Genealogy and [[Haut-Rhin, France Genealogy]
Archives départementales du Moselle
1, allée du château
57070 St. Julien-les-Metz
FRANCE
Website: Archives de la Mozelle
Research Wiki Article: Moselle, France Genealogy
Denmark
If your research is in Schleswig-Holstein, Oldenburg, Lübeck, or the part of Hamburg that was once part of Denmark, you may be able to hire a researcher through the Danish archive. You may write in English.
The address is:
Landsarkivet i Aabenraa
Haderslevvej 45
6200 Aabenraa
DENMARK
E-mail: mailbox@Laa.sa.dk
Internet: Denmark Archives and Libraries
Research Services
Libraries
- State Church Archive
Balinger Straße 33/1
70567 Stuttgart
Germany
- State Church Archive
- Württembergische Landesbibliothek
- Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 8
D-70173 Stuttgart
Germany
- Badische Landesbibliothek
- Erbprinzenstraße 15
D-76133 Karlsruhe
Germany
- Library in the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
- Charlottenplatz 17
D-70173 Stuttgart
Germany
Church Archives
Catholics
100% coverage cannot be guaranteed. Expect to encounter restrictions on access to records at FamilySearch.
The Wiki page for each of the historical provinces of Germany, containing more detail about online records, and a map of Catholic dioceses can be found later in this article.
This table does not include areas no longer in Germany.
| Diocese | Major Websites | Diocese | Major Websites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aachen | Limburg | ||
| Augsburg | FamilySearch Historical Records | Magdeburg | Matricula Online |
| Bamberg | Mainz | FamilySearch Catalog | |
| Berlin | Munich (München)-Freising | Matricula Online. Records are found at the München-Freising archives page. | |
| Cologne (Köln) | Münster and Vechta Archive, Münster | Matricula Online, Münster
Matricula Online, Vechta | |
| Dresden-Meissen | FamilySearch Catalog | Osnabrück | Matricula Online |
| Eichstätt | Paderborn | Matricula Online
FamilySearch Catalog | |
| Erfurt | Passau | Matricula Online | |
| Essen | Regensburg | ||
| Freiburg im Breisgau | FamilySearch Historical Records | Rottenberg-Stuttgart | FamilySearch Catalog |
| Fulda | Speyer | FamilySearch Catalog | |
| Goerlitz | Trier | FamilySearch Historical Records | |
| Hamburg | Vechta Archive, Münster | Matricula Online, Vechta FamilySearch Catalog | |
| Hildesheim | Matricula Online Die Maus, Index to Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Bremen Church Books, index, ($) |
Würzburg |
Protestants
100% coverage cannot be guaranteed. Expect to encounter restrictions on access to records at FamilySearch. Archion and Ancestry are both subscription websites. Ancestry and FamilySearch also have a collection of records taken from across Germany.
The Lutheran and Reformed/Calvinist churches have for the most part merged into a single Evangelical Church of Germany. This contains 20 "Regional Churches" which are listed in the table below. In some areas the records are in government archives so those areas are listed separately in the table.
The Wiki page for each of the historical provinces of Germany, containing more detail about online records, and a map of Regional Churches can be found later in this article.
Of areas no longer in Germany, only the Polish provinces whose records are stored in Berlin are included in this table.
| Regional Church | Major Websites | Regional Church | Major Websites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anhalt | Archion ($) | Mitteldeutschland
(Central Germany) |
Archion ($) (Eisenach archives)
Archion ($) (Magdeburg archives) |
| Baden | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
Norddeutschland
(North Germany) |
Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
| Bayern
(Bavaria) |
Archion ($) | Oldenburg | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
| Berlin-Brandenburg
schlesische Oberlausitz |
Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
Pfalz
(Palatinate) |
Archion ($) FamilySearch Historical Records |
| Braunschweig (Brunswick) | Archion ($) |
Rheinland (Rhineland) | Archion ($) FamilySearch Historical Records |
| Bremen |
Die Maus, Index to Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Bremen Church Books, index, ($) |
Sachsen (Saxony) | Archion ($) |
| Hannover (Hanover) | Archion ($) | Thüringen (Thuringia) | Archion ($) (Eisenach archives)
Archion ($) (Magdeburg archives) |
| Hessen-Nassau (Hesse and Nassau) | Archion ($) | Westfalen (Westphalia) | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
| Kurhessen-Waldeck (Hesse-Kassel and Waldeck) | Archion ($) | Württemberg | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
| Lippe | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
Evangelical Reformed
(covers several regions) |
|
| Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
Brandenburg (Neumark) Ostpreussen (East Prussia) Pommern (Pomerania) Posen Schlesien (Silesia) Westpreussen (West Prussia) |
Archion: Evangelical Central Archive ($)
FamilySearch Historical Records Brandenburg and Posen |
| Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Archion ($)
FamilySearch Catalog |
Mennonite Research Center | Archion ($) |
Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
Some archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit or use the records of an archive so that you can use your time effectively.
These types of records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under one of the following headings:
GERMANY, [STATE] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS
GERMANY, [STATE], [TOWN] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS
Websites
- Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from Germany as well as information on archival institutions throughout the European continent.
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