Germans from Russia Societies

Germans from Russia  Societies

There are many societies and organizations that may have information of value to your genealogical research. There are several such societies in the United States and Canada as well as in Germany. You may find it helpful to join one of these societies and support their efforts.

Genealogical Societies
There are many genealogical societies which emphasize German, American, and Canadian research. Most of these societies publish helpful periodicals, transcripts, compiled genealogies, and may have special indexes, collections and projects. Some specialize in the immigrants to a specific area.

For lists of genealogical and historical societies see the United States Societies page, the Canada Societies page, and the state and provincial Wiki articles.

Historical Societies
Historical societies can be valuable sources of information German-Russian immigrants to the United States and Canada. Some may have information about specific individuals. Many societies have special collections of books and manuscript material for Germans from Russia that may be difficult to find in libraries and archives. You may be interested in the services, activities and collections of the following:


 * American Historical Society of Germans from Russia 631 D Street Lincoln, NE 68502 USA Telephone: 402-474-3363 (focus is on Volga River Germans but endeavors to cover all other areas as well)


 * The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University Center for Volga German Studies Concordia University Library, Suite 300

Mailing Address: 2811 NE Holman Street Portland, OR 97211 Physical Address: 2800 NE Liberty Street Portland, OR 97211 telephone: 503.280.8507 fax: 503.280.8697


 * Germans from Russia Heritage Society 1008 E Central Ave Bismarck, ND 58501 USA Telephone: 701-223-6167 (focus is on the Black Sea and Bessarabian Germans with assistance for the Caucasus, Crimea and other regions close to the Black Sea, with some help for other areas as well)


 * Germans from Russia in Colorado Study Project Colorado State University History Dept. Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA Telephone: 303-491-6854


 * Glückstal Colonies Research Assoc. 1015 22nd St. Santa Monica, CA 90403 USA


 * Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe Box 905, Stn. M Calgary, AB T2P 2J6 USA (focus is on Germans from Volhynia and Russian Poland with help for Kiev and Podolia)

The addresses of over 100 ethnic heritage historical societies in North America are given in:

Smith, Betty P. Directory, Historical Societies and Agencies in the United States and Canada. 13th ed. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1986. (FHL book Ref 970 H24d.)

Commision for the Research of the History and Location of the Germans from Russia


 * Kommission zur Erforschung der Geschichte und Gegenwart der Deutschen in Rußland/UdSSR - Historische Kommission e.V. Dechant-Heimbach-Str. 21 D-53177 Bonn GERMANY

Volga Germans Study Group


 * Arbeitskreis der Wolgadeutschen / Arbeitskreis zur Erforschung des europäischen und außereuropäischen Rußlanddeutschtums Waldpark 9 D-37242 Eisingen GERMANY

Institute for Foreign Settlement [Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen]

Collects histories and information about German emigration and settlements.


 * Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen Charlottenplatz 17 D-70173 Stuttgart GERMANY

Fraternal Societies
Your ancestor or relative may have belonged to an association whose membership is based on common interests, place of origin [Landsmannschaft], religion, or ethnicity,. These societies were involved in political, social, and financial activities, including life and burial insurance.

Several sources, such as local histories, biographies, obituaries, tombstones, family records, and artifacts may give you clues that an ancestor belonged to a fraternal society. Examples of a fraternal organizations for descendants of Germans from Russia these societies are:


 * American Forward Association 745 D Street Lincoln, NE 68502 USA


 * Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Rußland Raitelsbergstr. 49 D-70188 Stuttgart GERMANY

For more information about fraternal societies in North America, see:

Schmidt, Alvin J. Fraternal Organizations. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980. (FHL book 973 C47sa.)]

Family Associations
Many family organizations in Canada and in the United States are gathering information about their ancestors from Germany and Russia. Some organizations are gathering information about all individuals with a particular surname. Family histories, newsletters, family group records, and other information gathered by family organizations are described in the “Genealogy” page of this Wiki article. The Family Registry??? and the Ancestral File (also described in the “Genealogy” page) can help you locate active associations. Another resource for finding Germans from Russia family organizations are the computer Internet sites described in the “Archives and Libraries” page.

Directories to Societies and Associations
For directories of societies and associations related to Germans from Russia family history research see Erich Quester, Wegweiser für Forschungen nach Vorfahren. . . cited in “For Further Reading” near the end of this Wiki article. Another good directory is found in Cyndi Howell's List - Germans from Russia computer Internet site described in the “Archives and Libraries” page of this Wiki article. Also see the directories cited in the “Societies” page of the Germany Wiki article and United States Wiki article.

Locating Records at the Family History Library
Records of these societies are usually described in the Author/Title Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under the name of the society. They are also listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under one of the following:


 * UNITED STATES - SOCIETIES [STATE], [COUNTY] - SOCIETIES UNITED STATES - GENEALOGY [STATE], [COUNTY] - GENEALOGY

Some records gathered by societies are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under the type of record. For example, cemetery transcripts gathered by a local genealogical society are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under [STATE], [COUNTY] - CEMETERIES.

Lists and guides that describe the collections of societies are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * UNITED STATES - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS [STATE], [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS [STATE], [COUNTY], [TOWN] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

Records Not at the Family History Library
The “Archives and Libraries” page of this Wiki article give details about how to write to societies (village coordinators) for genealogical information about Germans from Russia.