Silesia (Schlesien), German Empire Civil Registration

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In Schlesien, Civil Registration was generally started by the year 1874. Many of these records are microfilmed for the earlier years of Civil Registration. Rights of Privacy Laws in Poland are very strict and therefore when writing to a civil registration office for a document, they may request proof of relationship to the person for whom you are requesting a document.

There is a fee for service through the mail, and it is sometimes collected through the Polish embassy located closest to you. Civil Registration records may be more informative than church records covering the same time period because specific information is required on pre-printed forms. Samples of civil registration of Schlesien can be found at this link:

There is a listing of Civil Registration officesavailability at Genealogy.net

Village and county names coincide with names in church books. The list was established by Alfred Zahlten. If your particular town is not listed, click on this link to find an address. If there are problems with German and Polish place names, use Kartenmeister to find out what they are called today.