Silesia (Schlesien), German Empire Civil Registration

Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Silesia (Schlesien), they were started in 1874. German terms for these records include Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister. They are an excellent source for information on names and dates and places of births, marriages, and deaths. These records are kept by the civil registrar (Standesbeamte) at the civil registry office (Standesamt). Study these links to learn what information can be found in them:
 * Births (Geburtsregister)
 * Marriages (Heiraten, Ehen, or Trauungen)
 * Deaths (Sterberegister or Totenregister)

For a comprehensive understanding of civil registration, study the article Germany Civil Registration.

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office
Research your town name in MeyersGaz.org to find the location of the registry office (Standesamt). It is indicated by the abbreviation "StdA". This is the Standesamt location you will use when searching for civil registration records anywhere in the FamilySearch catalog and collections.

Privacy Laws
Since 2009, birth records have been public after 110 years, marriages after 80 years and deaths after 30 years. A direct relationship (direct descendants and direct ancestors) to the subject of the record sought will be required in cases where the required time period has not yet elapsed. Even then, the records may be accessible if it can be shown that all "participating parties" have died at least 30 years ago. Participating parties are both parents and the child in birth records, and both spouses in a marriage.

Finding Civil Registration Records
In this region, part of Germany which was lost to other countries after World War II, many records, both church/parish registers and civil registration records, were damaged, destroyed, or misplaced.

1. Online Records
'''Ancestry.com can be searched free of charge at your local Family History Center.
 * Findbuch: Schelsische Kirchenbücher wo finden? provides some links to online records.
 * Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany (Poland), Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945, index and images, incomplete. In the right sidebar under "Browse this collection", open the drop-down "Civil Rigistration Oiffice" list to see if your office is covered. Use the office from the time of the German Empire, as listed in the 1871 Meyer's Gazetteer.

2. Locating Records at the Family History Library
If the locality and time period you need are not included in the online records, the next step is to check for them in the microfilm collection of the Family History Library. These microfilms may be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers around the world. To find a microfilm:
 * a. Click on the Places within Germany, Preussen, Schlesien (Silesia) drop-down menu and select your town.
 * b. Click on the "Civil registration" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages.  "Verstorbene" are deaths.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Finding Records in Archives
Several different archives have civil registration records. In fact they are "all over the place", literally. There are several "finding aids" that help with locating them.

Online Finding Aids With Links to Databases

 * PRADZIAD Database'''
 * Szukaj w ArchiwachTutorial The Polish Archives
 * The Lost Shoe Box
 * Geneteka Instructions

Breslau Civil Registration

 * '''Anhenforschung in Schlesien (Family History in Schlesien) provides digitized civil registration for Breslau I, II, III and IV Standesamt offices.
 * GenWiki page for Wroclaw''' has digitized civil registration for Breslau I and II Standesamt offices and plans to add III and IV (as of April, 2017).
 * The State Archive in Wroclaw has digitized civil registration for Breslau III Standesamt office.
 * The Polish State Archives has digitized civil registration for Breslau III Standesamt office.

Holding Lists Provided by Archives
You can also consult holding lists and use search engines to search which records might be held at each archive. Brief inquiries by email about whether a record group for your locality and time period is available at that archive are generally honored..

DZfG Leipzig
German Central Office for Genealogy State Archives Leipzig Schongauerstraße 1 04328 Leipzig Germany Email: poststelle-l@sta.smi.sachsen.de Telephone: 0341 / 255-5500
 * Website
 * List of holdings

GStA Berlin
Secret State Archives Prussian  Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz Cultural Heritage Archivstraße 12-14 14195 Berlin Germany Email: gsta.pk@gsta.spk-berlin.de Phone: 030/266 44 75 00 Fax. 030/266 44 31 26
 * Website
 * List of holdings

Poland

 * Szukaj w ArchiwachTutorial The Polish Archives

Writing a Letter to Archives
How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus Polish translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the Poland Letter Writing Guide.''' In some cases, the records are held in archives in Germany. For letters in German, including addressing the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently needed, use the the German Letter Writing Guide.'''

4. Civil Registration Information in Berlin
Standesamt I Berlin officially holds the civil registration information for the former areas of Germany.

Standesamt I Berlin Rückerstrasse 9 10119 Berlin Germany
 * Website
 * Instructions for ordering a birth certificate for a birth in a former German territory
 * Instructions for ordering a marriage certificate for a marriage in a former German territory
 * This civil registration office has at its disposal an index called "Standesregister und Personenstandsbücher der Ostgebiete im Standesamt I Berlin".
 * Two more indexes called "Kirchenbücher und Personenstandregister in polnischen Staatsarchiven" (church books and civil registration indexes in Polish State Archives) and "Deutsche Personenstandsbücher und Personenstandseinträge von Deutschen in Polen" (Civil Registration records of Germans in Poland) give further information about ancestors who lived in West Prussia.

Town Genealogies (Ortssippenbuch or Ortsfamilienbuch)
See the class and the Wiki article, Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet. Published town genealogies, Ortssippenbuch (town lineage book) or Ortsfamilienbuch (town family book), generally include birth, marriage, and death data for all persons found in the local records during a specified time period, compiled into families based on the opinion of the author. 'If one is available, it should only be used as an index or guide'' to finding the original records. They usually contain errors. Always verify their information in original records.

Finding an OFB

 * Findbuch: Schelsische Kirchenbücher wo finden? provides some links to Ortsfamilienbücher.
 * Click here to see OFBs at GenWiki. These are indexed and searchable. OFB Instructions.
 * A bibliography of OFBs held by the Central Office for Person and Family History, and available in their archive in Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, is listed here. You can arrange for copied pages to be sent to you for a fee or donation. Use the "Find" function on your keyboard to search the bibliographies, as they are not alphabetical.

Reading the Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * German Handwriting


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3


 * Also online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial


 * List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.
 * Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Polish
Because West Prussia is now in Poland, these articles will help:
 * Poland Letter Writing Guide
 * Polish Word List
 * Poland Language and Languages

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find their birth record, search for the births of their brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of their parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * The marriage certificate will show the birth date, birth place, and parents of the bride and the groom.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.