This is an exhaustive guide to family history sources in German archives at every level of jurisdiction, public and private. Anyone searching for data about people who lived in Germany in the past need only determine which archives today have jurisdiction over the records that were created by church or state institutions.

This is an exhaustive guide to family history sources in German archives at every level of jurisdiction, public and private. Anyone searching for data about people who lived in Germany in the past need only determine which archives today have jurisdiction over the records that were created by church or state institutions.

"Professor Minert went to Europe for six months in 2015 to learny why American genealogists know very little about German census records. While there he learned that German genealogists know very littl about German census records! His findings are presented in this book - the first examination of a a record source that has been almost totally unused in the study of our German ancestors"--Back cover.

Contains geographical, political, and economic assessments for the British delegates to the 1919-1920 Paris Peace Conference.

How could Germans, inhabitants of the most scientifically advanced nation in the world in the early 20th century, have espoused the inherently unscientific racist doctrines put forward by the Nazi leadership? Eric Ehrenreich traces the widespread acceptance of Nazi policies requiring German individuals to prove their Aryan ancestry to the popularity of ideas about eugenics and racial science that were advanced in the late Imperial and Weimar periods by practitioners of genealogy and eugenics. After the enactment of Nazi racial laws in the 1930s, the Reich Genealogical Authority, employing professional genealogists, became the providers and arbiters of the ancestral proof. This is the first detailed study of the operation of the ancestral proof in the Third Reich and the link between Nazi racism and earlier German genealogical practices. The widespread acceptance of this racist ideology by ordinary Germans helped create the conditions for the Final Solution.

The National Socialist government of Germany, in May of 1939, conducted a census of the nation's "non-Teutonic" peoples. Plans for this undertaking stemmed from a 1936 decision intended to identify those "ethnic subversives" who threatened Hitler's fascist state. Authority for this activity was vested with the Reichssippenamt, an historically respectable government department dating from Bismarckian times.

Learn how to extract your ancestor's information from German church records - without needing to speak German! If you are researching your German ancestors, it is more likely than not that you will run into church records at some point in your research. For years, it was the German churches - not civil authorities - who meticulously kept track of their members' births, baptisms, marriages, and deaths. Filled with information such as your ancestor's name, parents' names, occupations, dates, relationships, and more, these records are an amazing find for any German genealogist. But there is just one problem - they're not in English. In this how-to guide, learn how you can extract the information you need from German church records - without having to decipher every word on the page. Complete with handpicked examples from real German church records, this book teaches you to: Locate those valuable church records for your German ancestor Take yourself step-by-step through baptismal records, marriage records, death records - in both column and paragraph format - to pick out the details of your ancestor's life Recognize the different spelling variations of your ancestor's name and hometown Understand what church record phrases, symbols, and abbreviations mean and how these can help your genealogy research Convert names of commonly-seen feast dates into actual dates of birth, marriage, and death for your ancestor Work with the best technological tools and resources to make your genealogy journey easier - and more fun! Best yet, this book includes the German transcriptions and English translations of multiple sample records - as well as comprehensive German vocabulary lists with handwritten examples of these important genealogy words. Whether you are just starting out in the field or have worked with church records for years, this book will teach you the must-know methods to unlock the mysteries of your ancestor's past. Are you ready to get started?

Explore Your German Ancestry! Follow your family tree back to its roots in Bavaria, Baden, Prussia, Hesse, Saxony, Wurttemburg and beyond. This in-depth genealogy guide will walk you step by step through the exciting journey of researching your German heritage, whether your ancestors came from lands now in modern-day Germany or other German-speaking areas of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, and enclaves across Eastern Europe. In this book, you'll learn how to: • Retrace your German immigrant ancestors' voyage from Europe to America. • Pinpoint the precise place in Europe your ancestors came from. • Uncover birth, marriage, death, church, census, court, military, and other records documenting your ancestors' lives. • Access German records of your family from your own hometown. • Decipher German-language records, including unfamiliar German script. • Understand German names and naming patterns that offer research clues. You'll also find maps, timelines, sample records and resource lists throughout the book for quick and easy reference. Whether you're just beginning your family tree or a longtime genealogy researcher, the Family Tree German Genealogy Guide will help you conquer the unique challenges of German research and uncover your ancestors' stories.

Whether you conduct your research in person or by mail, this celebrated manual - now in its fourth edition - will guide you in finding your ancestors in Britain or Ireland. Angus Baxter provides detailed instructions for locating records abroad and shows how easy it is to do by mail - or on a vacation trip! He begins with step-by-step instructions on drawing up a family tree, and explains how to use sources close at hand. The search continues by correspondence with family history societies, record offices, and other organizations, before concluding with a possible - but not essential - trip to the source, Britain or Ireland. The new Fourth Edition of this classic work includes discussions of the following topics: -The transfer of important genealogical records from Chancery Lane and St. Catherine's House to the new Family Records Centre in London - most notably, civil registration records, census returns, and records of the prerogative Court of Canterbury. -The 1986, 1996, and 1998 reorganization of counties in England and Wales and the latest information on where to find local records. Where available, URLs are given for country record offices (CROs), as well as for major repositories. Phone and fax numbers, if available, are also given for CROs and other archives. -The British Library transfer of many of its collections from the Great Russel Street location (inside the British Museum) to a new facility at St. Pancras, London -The establishment of the Irish Genealogical Project -The 1998 amalgamation of the Public Record Office and State Paper Office into the National Archives of Ireland. Finally, Baxter demonstrates how the threads of fact can be woven into a rich and detailed family history, the ultimate goal of all searchers determined to find their family roots.