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Ernest Thode. Address Bmk for Germanic Genealogy. 2nd ed. (Marietta OH:
Heritage House, 1979.)
If the place is in East Germany (GDR), then one's only hope is the parish offices. There
is also a central state organization for genealogy called Zentralstelle fiir Genealogie in
der Deutschen Demokratischen Repuhlik (Georg-Dimitmff-Platz 1,7010 Leipzig, GDR),
but the waiting list is very long.
Iftheplaceisinpresent&y PoPoland,thenthebesl ideais togetintouch withtheGenealogical
Society in Salt Lake City. On occasion an inquiry addressed to a Catholic parish oftice
in Poland (in Polish or Latin) may get results.

2. Avoid unnecessary work and trouble!
(a) Type your letters, if at all possible.
(b) Provide every single defail you already know about your ancestors: names, dates
(expressed in the order of day-month-year), exact place-names, religious denominations,
year of immigration to America, Australia or Canada andin thecw of emigrating children.
the nameoftheadultperson(s) withwhomthey emigrated,etc., etc. -andall otherrelevant
information.
(c) Ask precise questions: do you want a name, a datc, a place, or all three?
(d) Don't abbreviate! Germans aren't familiar with foreign abbreviations.
(e) If you can't decipher place-names or names from the documcnts you already have,
enclose a photocopy. (Don't send originals!)
(0 Say where you have already writtcn for information. when and with what success.
(g) Put your return address and thedatc on the letter and every enclosure. Since you won't
get an answer right away, give some address where you canalways becontacted (especially
if you are likely to move).
(h) Set the mrimum amount you're prepared to pay for an answer - lhis helps avoid
unpleasant surprises.
(i) Enclose at least twoIntemationalReply Cwpons (you can buy them in any Post Office)
or one US dollar in cash (no foreign postage stamp!).
(i) When you write to a local parish office, say whether you have a clear indication that
the person you are searching came from there, or whether you just suspect he did.
lk) Use a separate sheet ofpaper for each question - henvise your inquiry can't bepassed
on to the different peoplc who might be able to answer each question.
(1) Unless your German is fairly good, write your inquiry in English. Most genealogists
and organizations can understand it. Good English is better than bad German.
(m) Exhaust literally all localpossibiliries for finding information about your ancestors,
before writing your tint inquiry containingan uncertainplace-of-origin to a Gem ofice
or organization

3. Be critical to your sources!
A wrongpreliminary assumptioncanlead you and your genealogistintoalotofdeadend
research.
Same frequent sources of wrong preliminary assumptions are:
(a) Over-confidence in census: census information about countries of birth is often
incorrect.
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