[Research Guidance: Germany - Research Outline] Research Guidance Version Of Data : 6/8/2001

Table of Contents
Introduction
German Search Strategies
Records At The Family History Library
Familysearch™
The Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Directories
Church History
Church Records
     General Historical Background
     Information Recorded In Church Records
     Locating Church Records
     Search Strategies
Civil Registration
     General Historical Background
     Regional Differences
     Information Recorded In Civil Registers
     Locating Civil Registration Records
Court Records
Directories
Dwellings
Emigration And Immigration
     Finding The Emigrant's Town Of Origin
     Emigration From Germany
     Records Of German Emigrants In Their Destination Countries
Gazetteers
Genealogy
Handwriting
Heraldry
Historical Geography
History
Jewish Records
Land And Property
Language And Languages
Maps
Military Records
     Types Of Military Records
     Foreign Military Service
     Locating Military Records
     Military History
Names, Personal
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Nobility
Obituaries
Occupations
Periodicals
Population
Probate Records
Schools
Societies
Other Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

RECORDS AT THE FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY

Microform Records

The Family History Library presently has more than 100,000 microfilms and microfiche containing information about people who lived in Germany. Most of the library's records have been obtained through an extensive and ongoing acquisition program. The library has copies of records found in government archives, church archives, and private collections. These records include the following:

Church and civil birth, marriage, and death records.

Passenger lists Look this term up in the glossary.

Family histories Look this term up in the glossary.

and genealogical collections Look this term up in the glossary.

The library has an extensive collection of genealogical sources for some areas of Germany. For example, the library has a large percentage of the birth, marriage, and death records for Rheinland, the Pfalz (Palatinate), Baden, Württemberg, and Mecklenburg.

The library also has records from many areas that were once part of Germany that now belong to a neighboring country. These include:

Records from the province of Elsaß- Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine), which is now part of France.
Records from the eastern provinces of Preußen (Posen, Pommern, Ostpreußen and Westpreußen, Schlesien, and parts of Brandenburg), which are now part of Poland, Lithuania, and Russia.
Records from the northern portion of Schleswig- Holstein, which is now part of Denmark.

The library does not have records for every time period or locality in Germany. For example, the library has few records from Hannover, Oldenburg, Bayern, and Sachsen. Most library records are for the years before 1875.

Printed Records

The library has thousands of books and other printed materials helpful for German research. Copies of some of these books are also available in microform. The library's collection includes such books as:

Atlases

and maps

Church inventories Look this term up in the glossary.

Family histories Look this term up in the glossary.

Gazetteers Look this term up in the glossary.

Handbooks and manuals.

Histories (national, regional, and local).

Lineage books.

Village lineage books Look this term up in the glossary.

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FAMILYSEARCH™

FamilySearch™ is a powerful computer system that simplifies family history work. The FamilySearch system includes the following:

Computer programs designed to work on personal computers.
Computer files of information drawn from family history records gathered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The main FamilySearch™ computer program helps a user search for ancestors in FamilySearch files. When the name of an ancestor is typed at the keyboard, FamilySearch quickly searches through millions of names and finds any that match. It matches last names that are spelled differently but sound the same. It can guide users from the matches they find to full screens of information—dates and places of birth, marriage, and death; and names of parents, children, and spouses.

FamilySearch™ is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City; at hundreds of Latter-day Saint Family History Centers; and at some public and private libraries in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.

The following FamilySearch™ files are useful for German research:

Ancestral File. This file contains family history information linked in family groups and pedigrees that has been contributed since 1979. The file contains the names of over 12 million persons. You are invited to contribute your family history information to Ancestral File. For details, see the publication Contributing Information to Ancestral File (34029), available at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers.
Family History Library Catalog. This is an automated edition of the Family History Library's catalog. By using the catalog on FamilySearch™, patrons may easily find information about the library's holdings and call numbers.
International Genealogical Index. This file provides names and vital information for over 23 million deceased persons who lived in Germany. This valuagble reasearch tool lists birth, baptism, or marriage dates. The index for Germany includes names extracted from parish registers by volunteers and names submitted by other researchers.

Other files will be added to FamilySearch™ as they become available.

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[FamilySearch^TM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/8/2001]