The differences in politics, governance, and record-keeping practices have led to disparities in accessing and preserving genealogical records and documents. The West enhanced civil registration, expanded record offices, and constructed regional archives, while the East experienced disruptions in record-keeping due to political instability and secular Soviet policies.
German researchers find it more challenging to conduct genealogical research in West Germany than in the East. The latter seems to have not recovered from the interruptions brought about by the secular Soviet policies that not only discarded historical church records but discouraged further documentation.
The East was also politically unstable and marred by uprisings, repressions, and emigrations. On the contrary, the West was relatively calm and better organized as Western policies shaped records registry and freedom of worship and sought to boost the economy. Understanding these disparities can help you navigate challenges more effectively.
How Were The East and West Germany Formed?
After the Nazi regime was toppled and the German military surrendered unconditionally, the four allied Forces comprising the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union organized a conference to discuss the future of Germany. In the Postdam Conference in 1945, they divided the country and its capital for occupations among themselves.
Not long thereafter, the US, UK, and France merged their territories to form Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany). Similarly, the Soviet Union, which had large swathes of the East, formed the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) (German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany).
This resulted in East and West Germany being ruled by socialist and capitalist governments, respectively. Initially, these differences only seemed geographic, but with the differences in politics and governance, shifts in the demography, economy, and administration were inevitable.
The West enhanced civil registration, expanded record offices, and constructed regional ones such as the Bavarian State Archives. On the contrary, the East had a centralized governance, so the regional archives had to be reorganized and centralized as well. Parish records in rural churches were transferred to the main archives in Berlin.
Key Differences between Researching Genealogy in East and West Germany
Records and Archives
Records and archives in East and West Germany differ mainly due to the political situation then, the record registration policies, and the digitization efforts applied thereafter. Politically, the West was relatively stable than the East, thanks to efforts like the Marshall Plan, which pumped a whopping $12 billion into the economy and helped establish the Basic Law in 1949.
West Germany’s NATO and European Economic Community (EEC) memberships in the 1950s also helped rejuvenate its military, political, and economic standing, culminating in the infamous Economic Miracle. During this time, the East was grappling with the 1953 workers’ protests and mass emigration to the West, prompting the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Besides, the East promoted secularization and caused disruptions in the Catholic and Lutheran churches, transferring many of their records to the state archives. In the West, religious practices in the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and other denominations continued smoothly.
The continuity in the West facilitated order and accessibility to civil and church records. The systematic documentation of people’s names, births, marriages, and deaths provides a valuable genealogical resource. It also makes the records readily available and easy to digitize. However, surveillance and oppressive operations such as Operation Vermin (1955) in the East undermined trust between the citizens and the authorities, making data collection a hassle.
Centralizing archival management, record-keeping disruptions, and the regime’s control over information access hindered investment in digital archives and delayed records digitization efforts, hence the gap witnessed to date.
Migration from East to West Germany
After the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed in 1949, it set strict policies that citizens found unbearable. Besides, living conditions were dire, and the territory was experiencing a chronic shortage of consumer goods. The authoritarian Stasi (State Security Service) proved brutal, as witnessed in the brutal suppression of the workers’ uprising in 1953.
Citizens also developed admiration for West Germany, which was experiencing an economic miracle and had favorable policies. People started migrating ito the West, with about 2.7 million making their way before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The brain drain meant that connections were lost and records dispersed across the two territories.
However, West Germany continued to preserve photographs, personal letters, and testimonies shared among relatives, which may have helped bridge any gap left by the permanent division of families until the wall fell in 1989.
Politics and Governance
From the positioning of archives to record keeping, the politics of both sides of the divide caused much of the difference German genealogists witness today. The church, which had been a reliable custodian of crucial records of births, marriages, baptisms, and deaths, was now feeling threatened in East Germany.
The partnership between France, The UK, and The US to form West Germany strengthened the political resolve and quickly mobilized resources to rebuild Germany. The Western government also understood that the citizens had enough of oppression post the Nazi regime and World War II hence adopted a more democratic and free territory.
Unfortunately for East Germany, the Soviet Union was oppressive and brutal, doing very little to improve the economy or people’s welfare. The numerous conflicts there made it hard to continue the traditional record-keeping practices that had been in place since the time of the Napoleon Law.
It was not until 1990 that Germany was reunified, and centralization efforts began. Despite efforts to transcribe and centralize records, gaps remain in what you can find from the East and West German territories. Most of the records from the East are mixed up with other civil records or were destroyed, making it hard to digitize and make crucial information available.
Genealogy in East and West Germany
The key differences between researching genealogy in East and West Germany are mainly caused by the contrast in governing systems’ approaches. The US, UK, and France formed the Federal Republic of Germany, introducing democratic reforms and seeking foreign aid to quickly build the economy. The West German government also ensured improved record-keeping practices and provided a safe environment for religion and continuous collection of church records.
On the contrary, the Soviet Union’s German Democratic Republic to the East was reeling from political brutality and oppression that bungled existing records, crushed churches and made future record registries complex. As a result, German genealogists witness notable differences in record availability, preservation, and condition in the East and West German territories.