Page 18 - index

WHEN YOU WRITE TO GERMANY. .

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Every year the regional genealogical association in Stuttnart of which I am a member
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receivesapproximately one thousand letters fromoverseas, from people who want to find
their ancestors There are perhaps twenty or thirty genealogical assoeiations in Germany,
as well as numerous archiiesand parishbffices. ~iis means that at least 10.000 inquiries
pour in every year to a small and overworked populationof genealogical researchers. Lots
of letters don't get answered at all, many reciiie only forms in reply. This need
not happen if the person sending the inquiry is aware of a few basic rules.
1. Write to the right address!
The point is not to write a lot of letters to a lot of addresses, but to write one lener to the
right address.
First of all, identify the German plaee of origin where your ancestor came from. The
following books can help:
(Karl Riner), Rirters Geographisch-Smrisches Laikon, 2 vols., 3rd ed. (Leiprig:
Wigand 1845146) etc. until 9th ed. (same place and publ., 1905106). -Contains
all olaces worldwide.
Die Posrlr~.~~ahl. Ver:rt< hni, (rvr Po~~lerrzhk~n (Bonn BunJesmin~atcr~um fur dd\
Patil- und Fernmcldcuerr.n. 1981 .) 71p-crded~rect~)~ bothpdn\ol tierind. ny
fnr
Miillers groaes Deulrches Ortsbuch. VoNsriindiges Gemeindelexikon. 21st ed.
(Wuppertal: Post- und Onsbuchverlag, 1982183.) 1194 pp. - Detailed gazetteer
for West Germany.
Heinz Adomeit (ed.), Onslexikon d~r Deurschen Demkratischen Republik. 2nd. ed.
(Berlin: Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokrarischen Republik, 1974.) 495 pp. -
Gazetteer for East Germany (GDR).
If the place is in West Germany. you have the following possibilities:
(a) Local parish offices (Pfnrramr) often have parish registers - if you're lucky, going
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hsck .n~oihcs~rlcenthceiur). Pritstsand tne;r xcretaiier are no~~cnwlo~~slsandc~n
niale n~~stakea. Man) pnestsc3n't read theold handwnunp. have notlme tolwk mn~uph
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bievolurnes withoutindexes. orare alreadv swam~ed withinauiries. ~herearealsosoke
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parish registers in statearchives (especially for areas west ofthe Rhine), and some incentral
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churcharchives. Localoarish ofices fordaces whose reeistersare inanarchive will usuallv
pass inquiries on to the archive.
(b) Local civil registration oftices have registers of births, deaths and marriages from 1876,
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some of them from 1798 on, and issue certificates from these reeisters. The plaee and
date of the event to be certified should be known fairly exactly
(c) Genealogical wieties.
"Say the word 'leners' to the secretary, president or editor of any genealogical society:
the response will likely k agroanor mild hysterics." (Atta F. Johnson, 'Everybody Has
Problems', lhe Palatine Immi~rmr, Summer, 1981, pp. 36-39. esp. p.38.)
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Societiesaregmupsofgenealogists whoget together inorder tomaintain alibrary, share
research results andexperiences. publish ajournal, and introduce kginnersto the practice
of genealogy.
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Societies are not information offices or research aeencies. You can ask a sociew for the
addressof areseareher or an archive, or to put an advertisement for you in theirjournal.
Many inquiries are passed on to members of the society or answered with form letters.