Did you know that there is a lot to discover in good old Germany? Many US citizens have german ancestry and need to research in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Germany).

There is much to know if you are trying to research in Germany. The primary sources are church books with many, many secondary sources next to the church books. Following is an overview of some online resources to start your research before you come over and visit the country of your ancestors …

Online Resources

Online Services
Genealogy Societies
Crowdsourcing
Archives
This overview is NOT completed – pls. comment on this post or send me an email if you have some additions! Many thanks!

 

Please note this is only a short overview about what’s possible – there is a lot more to find! Germany is a bit more difficult to research then even research the census records. It is really useful to read about the local history and get a deeper understanding of the connections between the villages, municipalities and parishes!

Furthermore it is really common that there are several people and families with the same name or surname, but they are _not_ the same and it is a hard way to identify the correct ancestors with a couple of secondary sources. Don’t trust if you even think this might be true!

Come to Germany, where the original sources are. Only a small percentage of the german sources are already online and/or transcribed and you need to get deeper in real archives work :)

 

Bundesrepublik DeutschlandBundesrepublik Deutschland, 2007
Image Source, Wikipedia – CreativeCommons CC

 

Article on www.welt.de, 30th october 2013

Nach dieser Karte müsste Amerika Deutsch sprechen

http://www.welt.de/geschichte/article121352619/Nach-dieser-Karte-muesste-Amerika-Deutsch-sprechen.html

 

You are interested in german genealogy topics? I’ll be at RootsTech 2014 as speaker on developers-day and will really looking forward to meet all of you.

-Timo

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Maybe this post will be part of Lisa Louise Cooke Flipboard magazine for RootsTech 2014.

RootsTech 2014 – Call for Contributions to the RootsTech Flipboard

Flipboard is a social-network and online aggregator of web content (websites, blogs, podcasts, and other RSS channels) presented in a magazine-format application software for Android, Blackberry 10, iOS, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8. The user’s collected online content is presented in a captivating magazine format allowing them to “flip” through it with a simple swipe of the finger.

Lisa Louise Cooke is publishing a Flipboard magazine for RootsTech 2014. The Flipboard magazine, titled RootsTech 2014: Where Genealogy and Technology Converge, will be available at no charge for RootsTech attendees. This magazine presents an opportunity to crowd-source the know-how and talent of all of you who are working to make RootsTech a success and offers an exciting, interactive experience for family historians around the world.

RootsTech 2014 will be held from February 6-8, 2014 in Salt Lake City.
More about RootsTech www.rootstech.org