Germany Archives and Libraries

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Federal Archives (Bundesarchivs)
Additional information:
 * 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
 * Online Records
 * Personal and Genealogical Research
 * Inquiries to the Federal Archives
 * On-site visit to the archive
 * Locations of the Stasi Records Archive GDR state security service.
 * Research Services

State Archives
Each modern state archive also preserves useful records, including:
 * Church records
 * Civil registration
 * Court records
 * Military records
 * Emigration Records
 * Land records

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
 * Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie

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

Church Archives
Most church records are kept at local parish offices. Some are sent to the area's central archive. If the FamilySearch Library does not have the records that you need, you should first write (in German) to the local parish in the town where your ancestor lived. If the records have been moved, the local parish can usually tell you which archive currently has the records, and you can then write to that archive. See Germany Church Records for more information.


 * Evangelisches Landeskirchliches Archiv
 * Blumenstr. 1, D-76133 Karlsruhe


 * Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelischen Landeskirche in Württemberg
 * Balingerstr. 33/1, 70567 Stuttgart-Möhringen, Tel. (0711) 2140-254 Landeskirchliche Archiv Stuttgart


 * Erzbischöfliches Archiv Freiburg
 * Herrenstr. 35, D-79098 Freiburg


 * Bischöfliches Ordinariat, Diözesanarchiv,
 * Bischöfliches Palais, Eugen-Bolz-Platz 1, D-72108 Rottenburg (cf. Information zu Kirchenbüchern im Diözesanarchiv Rottenburg)

Kirchlicher Suchdienst HOK Zentrum Passau Ostuzzisstr. 4 94032 Passau Email: ksd-passau@kirchlicher-suchdienst.de (Help with finding displaced persons WWII)

Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin (ELAB)

Telephone: 011 49 30 / 22 50 45 - 0 E-Mail: elab@ekbo.de Fax: 011 49 30 / 22 50 45 10

Evangelisches Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin

Archives of religious communities

 * Archiv der Herrenhuter Brüdergemeinschaft
 * Zinzendorfplatz 3 D-78126 Königsfeld Germany Phone (07725) 93820

Libraries

 * Library of the Vereins für Familien- und Wappenkunde
 * State Church Archive Balinger Straße 33/1 70567 Stuttgart Germany
 * Southwest German Sheets Digital 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

Historical and Genealogical Societies
Dozens of German historical and genealogical societies exist in Germany and elsewhere. These groups have libraries or archives that collect valuable records. For more information, including addresses of the more prominent societies, see Germany Societies.

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.

The following source is an overall guide to the collections of archives and libraries in Germany:

Minerva-Handbücher. Archive: Archive im deutschsprachigen Raum (Minerva handbooks, archives in German-speaking areas). Two Volumes. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 1974. (FHL book 943 A5m 1974 Vol.1-2.) See also

[http://books.google.com/books? Google Books] (Add title: Archive im deutschsprachigen Raum)

For a much shorter but more current list:

Pies, Eike. Aktuelle Adressen und Informationen für Familienforscher (Addresses and information for genealogists). Solingen, Germany: Verlag E. &amp; U. Brockhaus, 1993. (FHL book 943 D24pe.) Mainly includes German state archives, state-wide church archives, and genealogical society archives.

These guides are available at the Family History Library. They may also be available at your public or university library or through interlibrary loan.

The Family History Library has copies of some published inventories as well as guides, catalogs, and directories for other libraries. The following are examples of such sources:


 * Wermes, Martina, et al. Bestandsverzeichnis der Deutschen Zentralstelle für Genealogie Leipzig (Inventory of the German Center for Genealogy in Leipzig). Two Volumes. Neustadt/Aisch, Germany: Degener, 1991-1992. (FHL book 943 D25givol. 24-25m.)


 * Hope, Anne, and Jörg Nagler. Guide to German Historical Sources in North American Libraries. Washington, D.C., USA: German Historical Institute, 1991. (FHL book 970 A3ho.)

These types of records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under one of the following headings:

GERMANY - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES ¬INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

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.
 * Archivportal provides access to archival collections from Germany.