Germany Military Records

Military records identify individuals who served in the military or who were eligible to serve. Germany had a large army and a small navy. Since most German states had conscription laws, most young men were required to register for military service. A young man who had not yet served had to get special permission before he could emigrate.

Evidence that an ancestor actually served in the military can sometimes be found in family records, biographies, censuses, photographs, emigration papers, medals, probate records, civil registration records, and church records.

The crucial information needed to find military records is the soldier's regiment, his or the sailor's ship.

This is usually difficult to find, making military records hard to use for genealogical research. Search the sources cited above to find your ancestor's regiment, ship, or commanding officer. Commanding officers can be identified with their units relatively easily. Photographs sometimes show insignia that identify a regiment or ship.

Historical background 

Until 1918 there was no Reichsheer (army) but the Royal Prussian Army with which most states joined forces. Before, the Brandenburg-Prussian army existed and the states of Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg had their own armies.

Söldnerheere (armies) of the 16th century were primarily hired by warfaring nations through contracts (Kapitulationen). The colonels of such armies administered to their troupes and appointed officers as they saw fit. Since the Swedish-Polish War of 1655-1660 the Kurfürst of Brandenburg attempted to establish a permanent army. He introduced concepts, directives and commissions to have influence over his troupes and made sure he himself appointed the officers.

The Kantonsystem was established. Since 1690 this system supplied necessary troops. Each regiment was given a levying district (Aushebungsbezirk) which was called a Kanton. This measure became necessary because recruiting under the old system became more difficult. The new system was more reliable since only Prussian nationals were recruited. This method also allowed fast mobilization in case of war. Since 1726 the male population, mainly consisting of serfs, was enrolled in lists kept by the parish priests.

From 1733 the borders of the cantons became permanent. 5000 houses were assigned to service in infantry regiments and 1,800 to the cavallery. Recruitment outside the borders was now prohibited. Service time stretched over 20 years.

Not all males were recruited, exceptions were members of the nobility, officials, academics, priests and students as well as wealthy citizens and landowners. Cities like Berlin, Breslau and Königsberg were not part of cantons and neither was the Province of Cleve. From 1763 on the levying occurred through civil offices, such as the Land- and Steuerräte.

Reforms

When Prussia was defeated in 1806/07 (Battle of Jena and Auerstedt against the French) the military reformers wanted "Wehrpflicht" for all. Since 1813 practically each male Prussian citizen was liable for military service until he turned 50 years old. There was not more allowance for service replacements tolerated as it was customary in French and Rheinbund conscription laws.

20-23 year old males now had to be on active duty for 3 years in times of peace. In times of war all males up to 50 years of age were called to active duty. In 1813/15 approx. 3% of Prussian males were enlisted.

Laws about military duty were legal by 1814/15. Each Prussian province had a general comissioner (Generalkommissar), who was in contact with the Amt (Kreisausschuss or Landwehrausschuss) regulating the levying of the male population. The Kreisausschuss consisted of an officer, the Landrath and the manor lord (Gutsbesitzer). They conducted yearly inspections of the recruits and determined their fitness for service. Accordingly men were assigned to the infantery, cavallery or service at the garrison. After the inspection, the men were sent home. When they received their draft papers, they were shipped to their regiments.

Source: Klöffler, Martin. Materialien zu den Aushebungen der preussischen Landwehr 1813-15

Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg ordered Ranglisten to be established and which were first published on a monthly basis, then quarterly, then yearly and lastly in 1911. The information of such lists is sparse as far as genealogical evidence is concerned. The recorded facts of the officers have to do with their regiments, hire, release, service and advancement, rather than birth place, names of parents and wife and children. Although from time to time, such information is being revealed but not consistently. Starting in 1858 we do find birth year and -place in Ranglisten as a relevant fact. Since 1874 each officer was listed with all vital dates in a separate file.

In early days regiments had to report directly to the king. Any petition had to be brought to the king's attention, even if an officer was to marry. In so called Minuten the king responded to the requests. Such minutes existed since 1728 and since 1786 minutes have almost completely survived. They cover the years 1786 to 1811. At year's end Conduitenlisten were sent to the king and reports given about every officer's qualifications. Such lists were kept until WWI from 1850 on, however, Conduitenlisten have come down to us in fragmentary form.

The common soldiers of the Brandenburg Prussian army have not been as well documented. Most records on them (1660-1822) consisting of Quartalrollen were lost. There are still Maß- und Stammrollen,  however, such should not be viewed as primary sources. They came to an end with the war of 1806/07. In the year 1810 indexes were created of non commissioned officers and their soldiers. These indexes exist for the years 1810-1822 with gaps.

Source: Rohr, Wilhelm. "Die militärischen Bestände des Preußischen Geheimen Staatsarchivs und ihre Bedeutung für die Personen- und Familienforschung". Leipzig: Zentralstelle für Deutsche Personen- und Familiengeschichte. 1927.

This article is available through www.familysearch.org Family History Library Catalog, International film number 1045463.

Types of Military Records

The earliest German military records, which began around 1485, usually list only the names of the soldiers.

Records from the middle 1800s often give information about promotions, places served, pensions, conduct, and other details concerning the soldier's military career. In addition, these records may include the soldier's age, birthplace, residence, occupation, and physical description as well as the names of family members.

However, many German military records provide very few details about individuals other than those who served as officers.

Military records include the following:


 * Military church records [Kirchenbücher]. These records include garrison [Garnisons-] records, parish registers, and regimental [Regiments-] church records. They date from 1672.
 * Personnel files [Stammrollen] of common soldiers and noncommissioned officers
 * Published officer files [Offizier-Stammlisten]
 * Published cadets' files (Kadettenlisten, Rezeptionsakten)
 * Collection Arnim (details of officers' personal and family history
 * Officer rolls [Ranglisten]
 * Regimental histories [Regimentsgeschichten] Foreign Military Service
 * Pensions for surving widows (Offizierswitwenkasse)

Germans frequently served with the armies of foreign countries.

Denmark. Before 1772 the Danish army was made up mostly of German soldiers and officers. After 1772 the army began to recruit more Danes, and by 1803, the army was entirely Danish. If your German relative served in the Danish military before 1803, you may be able to find valuable genealogical information in Denmark Military Records.

American Revolution. Germans served on both sides of the American Revolution. To find information about Germans who fought for the Americans, see United States Military Records.

About 25,000 mercenary troops raised in Germany worked for the British. They may have come from any part of Germany, but they are usually called “Hessians.” Some deserted or were sold to Americans as laborers.

Many remained in the United States or went to Canada after the war. The following source is a major index of German mercenaries:

Hessische Truppen im amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (HETRINA) (Hessiantroops in the American Revolution). Six Volumes. Marburg, Germany: Archivschule, 1971-1976, 1987-. (FHL book 943 M2mg; films 1,320,516 items 6-7 and1,320,542 items 5-6.) Indexes from this series list each soldier's name, year of birth, place of origin, rank, and military unit and the source of the information.

The following source indexes thousands of American and British records of German mercenaries:

Smith, Clifford Neal. Cumulative Surname Index and Soundex to Monographs 1 through 12 of the German-American Genealogical Research Series. McNeal, Arizona, USA: Westland Publishing, 1983. (FHL book 973 W2smn no. 13.) This index lists only the soldier's surname and the series number of the monograph where information about that soldier can be found. Each monograph is individually indexed. The monograph normally lists the soldier's name, rank, and unit. Some of the following may also be listed: birthplace; age; occupation; promotions; where the soldier resided or was recruited; and whether he was wounded, killed, missing in action, captured, deserted, or sold, and where.

American Civil War About one in ten Union soldiers was born in Germany. Over 200,000 German immigrants to the United States were recruited by the Union, many as they stepped off the boat. Some were drafted. Some Germans served in the Confederate military. To find information about Germans who fought in the Civil War, see United States Military Records.

Locating Military Records
German military records can be of great genealogical value, but getting access to them is often a problem.

For example, it is very hard to get information from military records through correspondence. Also, the Family History Library has microfilmed only a few German military records. Those that have been microfilmed are hard to read, incomplete for several years, poorly arranged, and not indexed.

If you write to archives for information from military records, you must indicate the regiment or company to which your ancestor belonged. Also include the garrison town or commanding officer's name and your ancestor's rank if you know that information.

Some books help identify where regiments from Preußen were stationed. Although the records they describe were burned in World War II, the garrison towns listed are locations to look for in other records:

Lyncker, Alexander von. Die altpreußische Armee1714-1806 und ihre Militärkirchenbücher (Old Prussian army and its military parish records, 1714-1806). Berlin, Germany: Verlag für Standesamtswesen, 1937. (FHL book 943 M2lv.1; film 477,806.)

——. Die preußische Armee 1807-1867 und ihresippenkundlichen Quellen (Old Prussian army and its genealogical sources, 1807-1867). Berlin, Germany: Verlag für Standesamtswesen, 1939. (FHL book 943 M2l v. 2; film 477,807.)

Voß v., Wilhelm. ''Die Regimentsnamen der altpreußischen Armee. ''This book is available online through ancestry.com at http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=31626

Meyers Orts- und Verkehrslexikon has as a supplement listed all garrison towns of Germany. These towns can also be viewed on a map in the same lexicon.

Records at German State Archives
There is no central archive for German military records. German states each had their own system of keeping military records before 1867. These records are now stored in several German state archives. The following pamphlet lists the archives where existing military records for each state are found:

Reschke, Horst A. German Military Records as Genealogical Sources. Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Reschke, 1990. (FHL book 943 M2r; fiche6,001,596.)

In 1867 the armies of all but three German states were integrated into the armies of Preußen. From that time, soldiers of any German state (except Bayern, Sachsen, or Württemberg) were recorded only in the military records of Preußen. Unfortunately, the Preußen military records were almost completely destroyed in 1945.

Records at the Family History Library
Only a few German military records are available at the Family History Library. They are mostly military parish registers, a few published officer rolls [Stammlisten and Ranglisten], and regimental histories. German military church records are usually listed in the Family History Library Catalog with other church records. For a listing see: http://users.foxvalley.net/~goertz/mil.html

For other German military records, see the Place Search of the catalog under:

GERMANY - MILITARY RECORDS

GERMANY, [STATE] - MILITARY RECORDS

Military History
Germans were involved in the following military actions, among others:


 * 1618: Thirty Years' War. Protestant and Catholic.


 * 1648: States fought. Sweden, Denmark, and France all seized German territory. Parts of Germany were decimated.


 * 1688-1697: Palatine Wars of Succession – destroyed mainly Southwestern Germany.


 * 1740: War of Austrian Succession. Preußen invaded.


 * 1748: Schlesien.


 * 1756: Seven Years' War. Preußen kept Schlesien. 1763.


 * 1775-1783: American Revolution. Several German states led by Hessen, provided troops to fight for the British.


 * 1805-1815: Napoleonic Wars. German troops served throughout Europe. Rheinland was temporarily occupied by France.


 * 1864: War with Denmark. Preußen seized Schleswig-Holstein.


 * 1866: Seven Weeks' War. Preußen consolidated power in a fight with Austria.


 * 1867: Army Reorganized. Preußen absorbed the armies of all other states except Bayern, Sachsen, and Württemberg.


 * 1870-1871: Franco-Prussian War. Germany annexed Elsaß-Lothringen.


 * 1914-1918: World War I. Elsaß-Lothringen returned to France. Parts of eastern Germany ceded to Lithuania and Poland.


 * 1939-1945: World War II. Many German records were destroyed.

For more historical information about the German military, see the following sources:


 * Alfoldi, Laszlo M. The Armies of Austria-Hungary and Germany, 1740-1914. Pennsylvania, USA: Carlisle Barracks, 1975. (FHL book 943 A3a v. 1, film 1,045,372 item 3.)


 * Sigel, Gustav A. German Military Forces of the 19th Century. New York, NY, USA: Crown Publishing, 1989. (Not at FHL.)

Other military histories are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GERMANY - MILITARY HISTORY

GERMANY, [STATE] - MILITARY HISTORY

Military Websites
Lists of soldiers killed or missing in action. Arranged by name of the conflict, unit,and soldiers'names Verlustlisten

Database of war graves from WW I and WWII German War Cemetery records database

A website that collects German military field mail and has a free database Feldpost im Zweiten Weltkrieg.

Kriegsarchiv Freiburg, Germany at

http://archiveswiki.historians.org/index.php/Bundesarchiv-Milit%C3%A4rarchiv

Another good link is http://www.preussenweb.de/preussstart.htm

For Prussian Military information: http://www.preussenweb.de/preussen.htm

For further questions, click http://www.faqs.org/faqs/genealogy/german-faq/part3/section-1.html

A forum to look for and post queries about victims of war please go to Kriegsgefallene