Germany Population

Beginning in the mid-19th Century, many German towns started keeping track of local residents and their address changes. Every change of address had to be reported to the Einwohnermeldeamt [residential registratration office] and was recorded in a ledger or a card file. These records were not required to be archived long term, so they may no longer exist. Where they have survived,these registrations can be very helpful in tracking a person's movements and learning family details. Historical poulation registers are usually kept in thee city archive. Some records are available online.

In the FamilySearch Catalog, these records may be categorized under:


 * population
 * civil registration
 * public records

Content
The format and details contained in the record vary by locality and time period. They may contain the following:


 * Surname and given name(s) of the individual or head of household
 * occupation
 * place of birth
 * birth date
 * religion
 * moved in when, often also from where
 * street address
 * moved out when and to where
 * remarks
 * other details, including spouse (women with their maiden names) and children with birth dates and -places, names of parents for husband and wife, death dates for members of the household

Records for men and women may be kept separately.

Records available online

 * Population registers of Poznan (City) from 1871 to 1931
 * Gdansk (formerly Danzig, Westpreussen) Karty meldunkowe/ Meldekartei/ population registry cards from 1843 to 1918. Currently, only letters A-K are online.