Ethnic German Peoples & German Genealogy
Genealogical research for German-speaking ancestors is often complicated by frequent border shifts, the existence of multiple independent states before 1871 (including the Kingdom of Prussia), the use of Fraktur (old German handwriting), and the dispersal of ethnic German populations (Vertriebene) from Eastern Europe after World War II. The resources below are essential tools for navigating these challenges, focusing on three core areas: historical geography (using gazetteers and maps to locate ancestral villages), language and paleography (deciphering old German script, abbreviations, and occupations), and archival access (finding official church, civil, and military records).
Germany-Poland Map (Overlay)- ManyRoads| Public domain painting - free to use, no copyright restrictions - ManyRoads Developed
The resources are organized to guide researchers through the complexity of the former German Empire, particularly the regions of Prussia (Ostpreußen, Westpreußen, Posen), which now lie in Poland, as well as databases for German emigration and documentation for victims of National Socialism. Utilizing platforms like GenWiki and Genealogie Netz provides critical local context and links to specific regional archives and indexing projects.
German Genealogy Resources 🇩🇪
- Archion (Official German Church Records Portal) (Added: Critical link for digitized German Protestant church records.)
- Matricula Online (Official Catholic Church Records Portal, includes some German/Austrian records) (Added: Critical link for digitized German Catholic church records.)
- Ancestry.de (German Digital Archives Search, includes many regional civil registers) (Added: Major commercial portal with significant German record collections.)
- Abkürzungen – Abbreviations (GenWIKI)
- Ahnenforschung.Net (Genealogy Forum and Resource)
- Alte Berufe – Old Occupations (Bielski)
- Alte deutsche Handschriften - Old German Handwriting (GenWiki)
- An Atlas of the German Empire (UW-Madison Digital Collections)
- Auswanderer Datenbanken (Emigrant Databases)
- Begriffe und Abkürzungen in Kirchenbücher – Terms and Abbreviations in Church Books
- Berufsbezeichnung - (Old) Occupations (GenWiki)
- Deutsche Auswanderer-Datenbank (German Emigrant Database)
- Die Länder des Deutschen Reichs 1871 – 1945 (Administrative History)
- Fraktur Online (Resource for reading old script)
- Genealogie Netz (Main German Genealogy Portal)
- GenTeam Die Genealogische Datenbank (Primarily Austrian/Central European focus, strong German-language resources)
- GenWiki (Collaborative Genealogy Wiki)
- GenWiki Historic Gazeteer (GOV - Critical for locating places)
- GeoGREIF Geographische Sammlungen (Historical Maps)
- Historische Landkarten - Deutschland (Map Archive)
- Historisches Ortslexikon (Hessen) (Historical Place Dictionary)
- List of old German Professions
- Onlineprojekt Gefallenendenkmäler (Fallen Soldiers Memorials)
- Portal: Regionale Forschung (GenWiki Regional Research)
- Suetterlin – the “German handwriting” (Guide)
Former Eastern Territories (Prussia, Pommern, Silesia) 🇵🇱
- Excellent Eastern Prussian (Kingdom) Map Collections (City, Region, Roads)
- Einwohner-, Adress- und Telefonbücher von Danzig, Elbing & Westpreußen 1741 – 1942
- GenWIki: Portal: Ostpreußen (East Prussia)
- Help with East Prussian (Ostpreussen) Research
- Help with West Prussian (Westpreussen) Research
- Posen- Poznan Marriage Search Project (1800-1899) (Indexing Project)
- Pommersche Verein Freistadt (Pomeranian Association)
- Pommerschen Greif e.V. (Pomeranian Research Group)
- State Archive in Olsztyn (Allenstein - former East Prussia)
- West Prussian Land Registers
- West Prussia Online
- The Institute for Commemoration of Expelled Germans (ICEG)
- Bund der Deutschen Minderheit Polens (Association of the German Minority in Poland)
- Catalogue of monuments of Dutch colonization in Poland (Hollanderkolonie)
- Momente im Danziger Werder… (Danzig/Gdansk)
Ethnic German Diaspora & Context
- Bessarabia Homeland of a German minority
- Black Sea German Research Group
- GenWIki: Portal: Memelland
- Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine)
- 1914 - Detailfragen Bilder u. Dokumenten 1871-1929
- Memorial Buch (Bundesarchiv) (Victims of Nazi Persecution)
- Territorial changes in Germany and areas under German Administration 1874 - 1945
- Zukunft braucht Erinnerung (Future needs Remembrance) (Historical Context)
Credits
Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.