Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ) Records

Description of EWZ Records
EWZ stands for Einwandererzentralstelle, or the Central Office for Immigrants (other translations include the following: “Immigrant Control Office,” “Immigration Control Center,” "Central Immigration Office," “Central Immigration Control Department,” "Immigration Center"). The EWZ was created by Nazi Germany in mid-October 1939 to process ethnic Germans (whose ancestors had emigrated from Germany to Russia and neighboring countries) in a deliberate attempt to return ethnic Germans (whom the Soviets were eager to get rid of) to Germany and to territories annexed by Germany. This was meant to "Germanize" these areas and to support the German economy and war effort. All ethnic Germans residing in occupied German territory were forced to move to temporary EWZ camps in Germany proper and submit EWZ paperwork.

EWZ records were created by SS officers of the EWZ between 1939 and 1945 as these ethnic Germans left Eastern Europe (such as Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia) to resettle in Germany (and Czechoslovakia, western Poland, and Austria). Although the records were, in great part, focused on proving German ethnicity, they were also naturalization/ repatriation applications and, as such, had to include detailed information about the applicants. For this reason, these records may contain a wealth of genealogical information.

Family members were also listed in EWZ records. So, even if an ancestor had already immigrated to North America (or elsewhere) before WWII, EWZ records for family members (siblings, cousins, parents, children) may provide useful genealogical information. Locate EWZ records for all family members who may have filled them out, even if the records of a spouse or sibling have already been found, as additional details may be listed in other family members’ applications.

If your ancestors were ethnic Germans who lived in (or had close relatives who lived in) any of the following locations at the beginning of WWII, then EWZ records may help further your research:
 * Bulgaria
 * Estonia
 * France
 * Latvia
 * Lithuania
 * Poland (southern and eastern part)
 * Romania
 * USSR (western Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine)
 * Yugoslavia

Types of EWZ Records
Three main types of EWZ records were created:
 * E/G-Kartei, including Immigrant Card Index (Einwandererkartei, E-Kartei) and Health Card Index (Gesundheitskartei, G-Kartei):
 * EWZ-57 (both types of E/G-Kartei); "Einwandererkartei, 1939-1945" (only available on microfilm); index for EWZ-58 (pedigrees)—use the case number from the card to locate the pedigrees, which are filed by case number
 * index for EWZ-58 (that is, "Einwandererkartei, 1939-1945" [only available on microfilm] is an index of EWZ-58 “Stammblätter, 1939-1945” [only available on microfilm] and “Stammblätter, 1940-1941” [available online])
 * Immigrant Card Index (Einwandererkartei, E-Kartei) filed loosely alphabetically by surname (names with similar pronunciations are grouped together); families were processed together; filed for every immigrant age 15 or older
 * Health Card Index (Gesundheitskartei, G-Kartei) filed loosely alphabetically by surname; filed for every immigrant older than 6


 * Application(Antrag; Anträge = applications) filed alphabetically by surname


 * Pedigree (Stammblatt; Stammblätter = pedigrees) filed numerically by EWZ case number (which is listed in the E/G-Kartei and the Application)

In addition, a type called Rasse-Kartei (Race Card Index, EWZ-56) was also created, summarizing the applicant's racial examination and including a photograph of the applicant. These cards are filed alphabetically by surname.

Every applicant (depending on their age) should have filled out each of these types of EWZ records. However, it may not be possible to locate all EWZ records for one person. About 80,000 EWZ records were destroyed by the Nazis before the records were captured by the Allied powers in April 1945; but EWZ records still exist for about 2 million individuals.

The EWZ records were originally stored in the Berlin Document Center, which fell under American administration from the end of WWII until it became part of the Bundesarchiv Berlin (German Federal Archives) in 1994. The EWZ records still in existence were all microfilmed, and a full set of these microfilms is available at the National Archives (in Archives II, College Park, Maryland); the original records remain at the Bundesarchiv Berlin. Either of these two archives may be contacted for copies of the records of your family, although more restrictions may be placed on which records the Bundesarchiv Berlin may share, due to German privacy laws.

Information included in EWZ Records
EWZ records contain a wealth of information, including names, birth date and place, last place of residence, names of parents and/or children and their birth and death dates, as well as a pedigree chart of up to four generations, meant to prove that the applicant was completely ethnically German. Additionally, certificates (including passports, other forms of identification, and birth, baptism and marriage records) are often included in these files.

Specifically, each EWZ record type may list the following information:


 * E/G-Kartei (E-Cards), split into two cards, both filed mostly alphabetically by name; collectively, the Einwandererkartei (E-Kartei, Immigrant Card Index) and the Gesundheitskartei (G-Kartei, Health Card Index) are called the E/G-Kartei (E/G Card Index)'':
 * Immigrant Card Index (Einwandererkartei, E-Kartei, EWZ-Kartei) contains:
 * EWZ case number (EWZ-Nr.)
 * surname, first name, birth date, birthplace, religion, marital status, education, profession (including previous and intended), professional training, citizenship, relatives traveling in the same group of immigrants, decisions about the immigrant's eligibility and qualification for resettlement, property, and homestead/farm information (if a farm owner)


 * Health Card Index (Gesundheitskartei, G-Kartei) contains:
 * EWZ case number (EWZ-Nr.)
 * some of the same data as the E-Kartei
 * photo of the applicant (often), physical characteristics, health information (not meeting health requirements could result in death), basic information about family


 * Application (Antrag; most detailed; filed mostly alphabetically by name; their series are based on the applicant's point of origin) contains:
 * EWZ case number (EWZ-Nr.)
 * surname, first name, birth date, birthplace, last place of residence, names of parents and/or children and their birth and death dates
 * Lebenslauf (life story)
 * fate of family members (living, deceased, shot, vershleppt [taken away], verbannt [banished], missing, soldier, etc.)
 * three-generation (or four-generation) pedigree, though this may list names without dates
 * possibly a Feststellung der Deutschstämmigkeit (determination of German origin), a family tree showing names and nationality
 * often includes a citizenship certificate showing birth date, birthplace, and last residence of the head of household, along with (if married) the wife’s maiden name and children’s birth dates and places; the EWZ number of the applicant or the head of household is included under the heading “Tgb. Nr.” (a "/I" or "/II" may be added to the EWZ number)
 * if citizenship/naturalization was not granted, no citizenship certificate was issued; the document may also no longer exist, or the applicant may have disappeared or foregone naturalization
 * the application forms often refer to the Stichtag (the effective date of the application) and the Durchschleusung (when the forms were processed)
 * possible additional items:
 * marital status and relevant dates
 * Volkstumausweis (ethnic identity card)
 * Umsiedlerausweis (resettler identity card)
 * Stammblatt (family tree), a three-generation or four-generation family tree of the applicant, more detail regarding family relationships than the other records
 * Einbürgerungsantrag (naturalization application)
 * Einbürgerungsverfügung (declaration of naturalization)
 * Abschrift der Einbürgerungsurkunde (duplicate of the naturalization certificate)
 * Mein Lebenslauf (my life's story), a handwritten document by the applicant listing major life events
 * more than 400,000 files


 * Pedigree (Stammblatt; Stammblätter = pedigrees) contains:
 * usually includes a copy of the first page of the Application (containing basic genealogical information about the individual and parents’ and grandparents’ names); contains more detail regarding family relationships than the other records

EWZ Series
EWZ records are split up into various series.
 * Application (a total of more than 400,000 files):
 * EWZ-50: applicants from USSR/Soviet Union; about 110,000 files; indexed on BlackSeaGr.org
 * EWZ-51: applicants from Romania (includes Bessarabia, Bukovina, Dobrudscha); about 82,000 files; partially indexed on BlackSeaGr.org
 * EWZ-52: applicants from 1939 Poland; about 100,000 files
 * EWZ-53: applicants from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania); about 73,000 files; not indexed
 * EWZ-5410: applicants from Yugoslavia; about 23,000 files
 * EWZ-5420: applicants from France; about 14,000 files
 * EWZ-5430: applicants from Bulgaria; about 700 files
 * EWZ-5440: applicants from various locations (Wehrmacht, Organisation Todt, SD, and SS)
 * EWZ-5450: applicants from Südtirol (now in Italy)
 * Rasse-Kartei (Race Card Index):
 * EWZ-56: racial assessment
 * E/G-Kartei
 * Immigrant Card Index (Einwandererkartei, E-Kartei) filed in loosely alphabetical order; names with similar pronunciations are grouped together:
 * EWZ-57; "Einwandererkartei, 1939-1945" in-person in the FamilySearch Library (some microfilm will need to be ordered from the Granite Mountain Records Vault before your visit to the Library); index for EWZ-58 (pedigrees)—use the case number from the card to locate the pedigrees, which are filed by case number
 * Health Card Index (Gesundheitskartei, G-Kartei)
 * EWZ-57; "Einwandererkartei, 1939-1945" in-person in the FamilySearch Library (some microfilm will need to be ordered from the Granite Mountain Records Vault before your visit to the Library); index for EWZ-58 (pedigrees)—use the case number from the card to locate the pedigrees, which are filed by case number
 * Pedigree:
 * EWZ-58; “Stammblätter, 1939-1945” in-person in the FamilySearch Library (some microfilm will need to be ordered from the Granite Mountain Records Vault before your visit to the Library) and “Stammblätter, 1940-1941” (available online); filed numerically by EWZ case number (which is found on EWZ-50, EWZ-51, or EWZ-57)

How EWZ Records were carried out
"Although headquartered in Berlin with branch offices in Łódź and Poznań, nearly all of the examinations conducted by the EWZ were carried out by mobile “flying commissions” that evaluated ethnic German resettlers in the numerous holding camps of the VoMi"(Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, Ethnic German Liaison Office).

The screening followed a five-part sequence:

1. Registry station: SD (Sicherheitsdienst, Security Service of the SS) photographed the resettler, recorded their biographical data, and handed them over to the health station.

2. Health station: Physicians performed a basic health inspection to check for infectious diseases.

3. Health station: Physicians then appraised the candidate's hereditary health to weed out people based on biological "defects" or "asocial tendencies" they thought might endanger the German colonization of eastern territories. This included an overarching accumulation of what the EWZ physicians considered the applicant's social worth, as based on the person's pedigree, moral character, reputation, economic standing, productivity (in professional life), and physical health. EWZ doctors received instructions to reject families in which the head of household was impaired due to physical or psychological ailments, as well as adults who had sought outside support.

4. Racial examination: Eignungsprüfer (proficiency testers) of the RuSHA (Rasse- und Siedlunghauptamt-SS, SS Race and Resettlement Main Office) took measurements and compared them to diagrams of their ideal appearance. They then graded applicants on 21 anatomical features (not specifically ethnicity, but a theoretical take on race), such as face shape, hair color, eye color, and musculature. Each applicant was given a "racial score," from "a" ("pure Nordic") to "e" ("alien-blooded"). Something as simple as pronounced cheekbones could make a different in someone's racial score.

The applicant was then given a personality test of sorts, from which they received one of the following grades:

from A I ("very suitable”) to A III ("generally suitable”),

from B I ("no longer suitable”) to B II (“unsuitable”), and

C ("ethnically or biologically unsuitable").

5. Race Card Index: At the conclusion of these examinations, the figures were combined into a composite "race formula," with a number for physical appearance, followed by a lower-case letter for the predominant "blood quotients," and then an upper-case letter and Roman numeral for the hereditary diagnosis. This racial designation was entered onto the R-Kartei (Race Card Index). Examiners then studied the "cumulative worth" of a family unit based on each of their scores and then assigned them to one of four value groups:
 * RuS-I: “pure Nordic persons who are superlative in terms of racial health and performance capability.”
 * RuS-II: “predominantly Nordic or Falian persons” with “minor mixtures of other European races” who “are acceptable in terms of racial health and performance.”
 * RuS-III: “below average” or “tolerable” individuals with “less balanced mixtures of heavy Dinaric or Western components,” as well as “mixed-breeds with Eastern or East Baltic elements.”
 * RuS-IV: a “fully unsuitable and unbearable addition to the population,” including “pure or predominantly Eastern or East-Baltic persons,” “unharmonious mixtures of the European races,” and “congenitally ill persons,” as well as all “racial aliens” (Jews, Gypsies, and non-whites), though a further subdivision (IVf) was later added for them.

After undergoing thorough physical, mental, and racial examinations, EWZ applicants could receive one of the following fates:


 * Those deemed as having a clean bill of (hereditary) health and with a grade of RuS-I could be:
 * (if before 1940) eligible to receive farmsteads in western Poland


 * Those labeled RuS-II could be:
 * (if before 1940) eligible to receive farmsteads in western Poland


 * Those labeled RuS-III, or who were diagnosed with congenital illnesses, or were potential “ethnic-political threats” in need of “reeducation” could be:
 * (if before 1940) sent as laborers on the home front
 * (from 1940 on) retained for settlement in incorporated eastern territories


 * Those deemed "alien-blooded" (labeled RuS-IV) or stricken with "extreme hereditary afflictions" could be:
 * (if before 1940) usually deported to the General Government, or
 * (if before 1940) deported back to the country from which they came
 * (from 1940 on) sent as laborers on the home front


 * Those deemed "racial aliens" (labeled RuS-IVf; this designation was added in early 1940) could be:
 * sent eastward
 * interned in ghettos (seemingly rare)

The final decision regarding whether an applicant was given German citizenship, however, fell to neither the Eignungsprüfer nor the doctors. Instead, the final decision was given to deputies from the Interior Ministry and the VoMi (Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle, Ethnic German Liaison Office), along with SD operatives; they worked together to verify applicants' ancestral lineage and determine their "ethnic-political reliability." Proof of how "German" they were (based on language, religion, school attendance, and whether they had spoken out against the Nazis) was necessary because German descendancy could often not be documented. "Ethnicity advisors" (Nazi sympathizers) provided personal knowledge regarding an applicant's cultural and political leanings; they could "tender or withhold endorsements for naturalization, which gave them a considerable deal of power" when it came to the final decision on a person's naturalization application.

In the spring of 1940, the EWZ adopted a more lenient method. If someone were deemed a grade of RuS-IV or had congenital illnesses, an ethnicity advisor vouching for the applicant's loyalty could cause the nullification of the judgment. Borderline applicants were temporarily rejected, but such applicants were sometimes granted a year to prove themselves, after which they could reapply for naturalization.

Ethnicity advisors and race inspectors often disagreed. Applicants classified as RuS-I or RuS-II (that is, approved by race inspectors) were sometimes snubbed by SD and VoMi, officials who used ethnic-political justifications as their reasoning; and at other times, people disapproved by race inspectors were approved by the SD and VoMi, who labeled them as German based on their proven allegiance to National Socialism. As such, "race did not necessarily exercise a dominant influence over naturalization."

On the other hand, when families with völkisch (ethnic) credentials (like language) were rebuffed by race inspectors after having been approved by ethnicity advisors, ethnicity advisors lodged complaints. "The ethnicity advisers did not openly contest the validity of eugenic or racial-anthropological criteria. But they did balk at the notion that these criteria ought to supersede genealogy and cultural heritage, and they too speculated that Umsiedler whom the RuSHA categorized as RuS-IV or IVf did not really harbor any 'alien blood.'" Resettlers/applicants also filed complaints about rulings of the Eignungsprüfer.

For more information, see "The Hunt for Lost Blood: Nazi Germanization Policy in Occupied Europe" by Bradley Jared Nichols.

EWZ indexes online

 * Odessa Digital Library: A partial index to EWZ records can be found through the Odessa Digital Library.
 * 1) From the main page, select "Collections."
 * 2) At the top of the page, select "Full Text Search."
 * 3) Type a surname of interest into the box labeled "Query String."
 * 4) Under "Data Category," select "War Records" and then click on "Submit Query" near the top of the page.
 * 5) Indexed information varies but will typically include a name, date, and location, along with a reference to the original microfilm.
 * 6) To view the complete index and column headings, click on the blue hyperlink above an index of interest.
 * 7) On the next page, hit CTRL+F (or Command+F) and search the webpage for a piece of identifying information (such as the birth place or the surname, if unusual); click through the results to locate the full index on the page.


 * Galizien German Descendants: Their 1939 Resettlement Database concentrates on Galicia, but other regions may be included


 * IAGL: The IAGL Online Indexing Project, launched in December 2020, has begun to index EWZ records from the Bundesarchiv Berlin


 * Invenio: The Bundesarchiv system Invenio can help you determine the EWZ number of an applicant (see "Archives to contact for copies of EWZ records" heading below).

Images of EWZ records
Images of the following types of EWZ records are available at the following places:
 * E/G-Kartei (Immigrant Card Index and Health Card Index): NARA (Maryland); Bundesarchiv Berlin; FamilySearch Library


 * Application (most detailed): NARA (Maryland); Bundesarchiv Berlin


 * Pedigree (Stammblatt): NARA (Maryland); FamilySearch Library; Bundesarchiv Berlin


 * The FamilySearch Library has a collection, “Stammblätter, 1940-1941” (unindexed images) available online, containing some EWZ-58 records (pedigrees) for ethnically German families from Wartheland-Poland and Lithuania who were resettled in Germany, Czechoslovakia, western Poland, and Austria. This collection of pedigrees is organized by case file number; it is indexed in the E/G-Kartei by name and case file number. See the tables below for these pedigrees based on case file number (the DGS numbers are linked to the images).

“Stammblätter, 1940-1941” collection (available online):

1. Resettlers/applicants from Wartheland-Polen:

2. Resettlers/applicants from Lithuania:

For sample images of EWZ records, google EWZ sample images or see:
 * Hildmann Village Website
 * "East European Emigration and the EWZ,” by Dave Obee
 * Genealogy for German Lutherans In Suwalki Province, by suwalkigermans

Archives to contact for copies of EWZ records
Microfilm copies of the EWZ records still in existence are all available at the National Archives (in Archives II, College Park, Maryland) and originals are at the Bundesarchiv Berlin.

The FamilySearch Library, the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS), and the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia also has copies of some of the EWZ records, depending on the series.

NARA (Archives II, College Park, Maryland) The NARA will not perform research. However, indexes provide a range of names on each microfilm roll, and NARA will examine these indexes to determine which microfilm rolls might contain records of individuals of interest. These microfilms can then be purchased at $125 per roll. (Alternatively, professional researchers familiar with the EWZ collection who are located close to the NARA Archives II facility can be hired to perform the necessary research.) Copies of all EWZ microfilms can be purchased from NARA.
 * EWZ collection microfilm publication number at NARA: A3342, "Documents Generated In Connection With Activities Of The EWZ."

NARA contact information:

Website: www.archives.gov/college-park

Email address: [mailto:inquire@nara.gov inquire@nara.gov]

Address:

8601 Adelphi Road College Park, Maryland 20740

Bundesarchiv Berlin (German Federal Archives) The Bundesarchiv holds the original EWZ records still in existence. Writing to them may provide you with copies of the EWZ records of your ancestors, but access is more restricted than the NARA due to German privacy laws.

Before contacting the Bundesarchiv, locate the EWZ case number for your person of interest. The EWZ case number is listed on the Application and on the Health Card. It can also be looked up using Odessa3.org (see "EWZ indexes online" above) and the Bundesarchiv system Invenio:


 * 1) On the Invenio homepage, click on "Suche ohne Anmeldung."
 * 2) Close the welcome screen (click on the X in the upper corner).
 * 3) Click on Suche, and click on Namenssuche.
 * 4) Enter a name and click Suchen.
 * 5) Look for a result including the words "EWZ-Nummber."
 * 6) Cick on "Im Kontext anzeigen" at the bottom of a search result to view indexes for people likely belonging to the same EWZ number or who may be related to the person searched for.
 * 7) Note the range listed next to "Stammblätter Nr." In the "Stammblätter, 1940-1941" FamilySearch collection (available online; pedigrees for immigrants from Wartheland-Poland and Lithuania), the Stammblatt (pedigree) ranges are listed under the "Note" column.
 * 8) Click on the camera icon in the far-right column of the film the pedigree should be on, and browse for the person of interest

Bundesarchiv Berlin contact information

Website: www.bundesarchiv.de

Email address: [mailto:berlin@bundesarchiv.de berlin@bundesarchiv.de]

Address:

Finckensteinallee 63 D-12175 Berlin Germany

References and Further Reading
To learn more about EWZ records, read: To find the location of various EWZ series, see:
 * “EWZ Questions and Answers”
 * "Nazi Germanization Policy in Occupied Europe," by BJ Nichols, CORE
 * Einwandererzentralstelle, Wikipedia
 * "Using the Records of the Berlin Document Center for Genealogical Research," by Allyn Brosz
 * “Immigration Records of the EWZ”, by Steven W. Blodgett, FEEFHS Quarterly: A Journal of Central and East European Genealogical Studies 6, no. 1–4 (1998): 7
 * "Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ) microfilms", by Dave Obee
 * "Introduction to the Captured German Records at the National Archives"
 * "Family Search online EWZ Records," by Karl Krueger, Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE) 2018
 * "East European Emigration and the EWZ,” by Dave Obee
 * “Finding and Viewing EWZ Films”
 * "The National Archives EWZ Collection, by Fay Jordaens and Laurence Krupnak, 2001
 * Genealogy for German Lutherans In Suwalki Province, by suwalkigermans