Pomerania (Pommern), German Empire Civil Registration

Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Pomerania (Pommern), they were started 1 January 1876. 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 (for areas of Pomerania (Pommern) now in Poland)
The online gazetteer Kartenmeister most efficiently tells you the location of the civil registration office:
 * Class: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office (for Vorpommern, which remained in Germany)
Research your town name in MeyersGaz.org to find the location of the registry office (Standesamt). It is indicated by the abbreviation "StdA".

However, some of the offices were merged in 1970's, so the record location might be different than that listed in MeyersGaz.
 * For a small town within a larger municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box. An article about the town will start with a first line such as: "Besse with about 3200 inhabitants is the largest district of the municipality Edermünde in Hessian Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ." It is probable that the Standesamt is now located in the municipality (in this example Edermünde).
 * To e-mail the municipality to verify that the civil registry for your town is there.
 * From the Wikipedia town article, click on the name of the municipality that links to that article.
 * There will usually be an infobox on the right side of page that lists the address and the website of the municipality.
 * Click on the website. Look for "Kontakt (Contact)" information, which should provide an e-mail address.
 * Send a message asking whether you have the correct office for your ancestors' home town. You can also use e-mail to request records and arrange payment.


 * For larger towns which constitute a municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box.
 * This type of article will not state that the town belongs to another municipality, because it is itself a municipality.
 * The infobox that lists the address and the website of the municipality will appear directly on a this first page that comes up.
 * Follow the above instructions #2-4 above.

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.

Pommerscher Greif
This is the most important and comprehensive website for information about and links to existing records.
 * Pommerscher Greif e. V., Association for Pomeranian Family and Local History.
 * Source Search

Ancestry.com ($)
Ancestry.com can be searched free of charge at your local Family History Center.
 * Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany (Poland), Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945, index and images, incomplete.

Other Collections and Indexing Projects

 * Pomerania Genealogical Association Indexing project.
 * Geneteka
 * Instructions


 * National Archives in Stettin
 * Tutorial

2. Locating Records at the Family History Library

 * a. Click on the Places within Germany, Preussen, Pomerania (Pommern) 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.

Locating Records in Archives
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 Posen.

This website will help identify civil registration records located in a variety of archives.
 * Pommerndatenbank:The Database for Genealogy in Pomerania. This program will tell you which archives holds the records for your locality.
 * Kirchenbücher und Standesregister: Go to Suche. > Enter locality name. > Click Suche. > Find your Kreis. > Find your Parish > Click on the archive link to get contact information for the archive.

PRADZIAD Database'''

Writing the Letter
Using these addresses as guides, replacing the information in parentheses. If you do not know the street address of a Standesamt, you can omit it. For a Civil Registration Office Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND For State Archive Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND

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.'''

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.
 * Over 620 online town genealogies are currently accessible at Online Ortsfamilienbücher.
 * A list of published Ortssippenbücher is found at:Category: Family Book on the same website.


 * For more information and online searchable collections of town genealogy books, by region, see Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet.
 * 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.

German 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


 * 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
 * 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.

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.