- Online Genealogy Platforms:
- Ancestry: Offers extensive German genealogical records, message boards, and directories for all 16 states. It also provides DNA testing and a dedicated German family history research page.
- FamilySearch: Provides free access to detailed German research guides and records, along with a robust community resource for collaboration and support.
- Archion: Focuses on church records, particularly Protestant church records, which are valuable for German genealogy researchers.
- German Genealogical Societies:
- German Genealogy Group (GGG): Offers over 23 million free-access records, translation, transcription, workshops, seminars, and consultation. It also provides a Members Forum for networking and sharing insights.
- CompGen: Provides records, tools, downloadable research guides, and a community for discussing research issues and upcoming events related to German ancestry search.
- Archives and Local Resources:
- Bundesarchiv (Federal Archive): Houses historical records, old photos, and films, making it a valuable resource for German genealogical research.
- State Archives: Each of the 16 German states has a regional archive, providing regional records, including those that are yet to be digitized. These archives are essential for narrowing down research to specific regions.
- Specialized Genealogical Tools:
- Meyers Gazetteer: Provides maps, historical contexts, and name variations, simplifying place and people’s name searches, which is crucial for understanding territorial and boundary shifts in Germany.
- Atlas of Everyday German Language (Atlas zur deutschen Alltagssprache): Offers contemporary German dialect and regional language variations, along with audio recordings for pronunciation and usage of people and place names.
- Step-by-Step Research Guides:
- German Roots: Offers practical instructions on starting German ancestry search from scratch, providing guidelines to avoid pitfalls and break brick walls.
- Genealogy Blog Site: Provides a myriad of guides, from general German research to specific tasks like understanding name variations and finding residential records and newspapers.
Crucial resources for German genealogical research include archives and websites with vital records, tools to locate places and find name variations, and step-by-step guides to unveiling an accurate family history. Thanks to advanced technology, most of these resources are available online.
Unfortunately, the internet is now flocked with genealogical sites and websites, making it hard to tell which one is right for you. You don’t want to waste your time and money subscribing to most of these sites and getting disappointed along the way.
This guide lists the places with reliable resources and guides to authenticate and expedite your German family history research.
Online Genealogy Platforms
Online genealogy platforms have been the go-to places for people looking for the right direction in their ancestry search. These platforms offer crucial records for your research, essential guides, a community of experts and like-minded enthusiasts ready to collaborate for a common goal.
One such platform is Ancestry, which, besides providing international genealogical assistance, has a German family history research page dedicated to German researchers. The page offers free access to extensive German genealogical records, message boards, and directories for all 16 states. Ancestry also offers DNA testing, whose results you can integrate to the database and expand your Family tree.
Family Search has also earned a name from its access-free feature to the vast array of detailed German research guides and records. It also has a robust community resource where you can collaborate with experts and like-minded researchers to break that brick wall or pursue a common ancestor. Through the community, you can share insights about your genealogy research, read commentaries from other contributors, or attend webinars to explore your research questions further.
Another crucial online genealogy site for German family history researchers is Archion, which focuses solely on church records, particularly Protestant church records. Most German parish records are not yet digitized, so Archion remains a darling for German genealogy researchers who focus their search on church records.
German Genealogical Societies
Societies offer most of the resources you’d find on a genealogical website, as well as newsletters, communities, and networks crucial to your research. One essential society is the German Genealogy Group (GGG), which, in addition to its over 23 million free-access records, offers translation, transcription, workshops, seminars, consultation, and trips to archives in Germany.
The icing on the cake is the Members Forum, where you can read commentaries and tips from the over 1,000-strong community and share your insights or queries. What’s more? GGG’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and X Groups offer additional networking opportunities for members and a reliable source of unfiltered information and discussion.
Another German genealogical society is the CompGen online forum, which offers records, tools, and downloadable research guides. The society also has a robust community where you can discuss pressing issues and get notified about upcoming events related to German ancestry search.
Archives and Local Resources
Federal and state archives are the surest places to find civil registration records, emigration records, and military records crucial in German genealogy research. For example, the Bundesarchiv (Federal Archive) has most of the historical records you may need for your research, not to mention old photos and films.
Similarly, state archives like the Bavarian State Archive narrow down the focus to a specific state, providing regional records, including the yet-to-be digitized. Each of the 16 German states has a regional archive, which should be your priority if you know the region from which your ancestors lived.
Most of these regions also have Family History Centers like the ones often run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They not only provide records but have crucial genealogical information like wills and microfilms that may not be digitized.
Others are regional genealogical societies, like the Westphalian Society for Genealogy and Family Research (Westfälische Gesellschaft für Genealogie und Familienforschung), that provide local expertise and assistance when needed.
Specialized Genealogical Tools
Besides genealogical websites, societies, and archives, tools like gazetteers, dictionaries, atlases, and maps can prove vital in German historical research. The Meyers Gazetteer has been a must-have tool for German genealogists as it provides maps, historical contexts, and name variations, simplifying place and people’s name searches. With the territorial and boundary shifts witnessed in Germany throughout history, as well as the name variations due to immigration, Gazetteers become reliable resources for researchers.
Another crucial tool is the Atlas of Everyday German Language (Atlas zur deutschen Alltagssprache (AdA)), which, in addition to ancient German maps, offers contemporary German dialect and regional language variations. It also has several audio recordings to help German researchers listen to dialect speakers and grasp the right pronunciation and usage of people and place names.
Step-by-Step Research Guides
Even with all the resources highlighted here, you want to know the basic steps to take to avoid frustrations, enhance research authenticity, and meet your objectives. German genealogy research is unique, and you need a step-by-step guide reflecting that. Luckily, the communities you interact with in the genealogical societies will offer some guidelines, but there are also sites dedicated to that purpose.
The German Roots site offers practical instructions on how to start your German ancestry search from scratch and make notable progress within no time. The guidelines will help you avoid pitfalls, provide crucial workarounds for common obstacles, and break brick walls.
The Genealogy blog site also has a myriad of guides, from general German research to specific tasks like understanding name variations and finding residential records and newspapers. This site also offers links to important databases and genealogical sites like Ancestry, Family Search, and GGG.
Utilize Available Resources for Accurate Germany Genealogy Research
Most reliable resources for your German genealogical research are a few clicks away, thanks to advanced technology. However, finding these resources is one thing, and leveraging them is another. The online databases, tools, societies, and archives have everything you may need, and it’s up to you to extract data and feed your family tree. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional genealogist, make good use of these resources for invaluable support in tracing your German heritage.