Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire Genealogy

Guide to Brandenburg, German Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy before 1945: birth records, marriage records, death records, both church and civil registration, compiled family history, and finding aids.

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.

Historical Background

 * Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, and comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Lower Lusatia region.
 * It became part of the German Empire in 1871.
 * From 1918, Brandenburg was a province of the Free State of Prussia.
 * It was dissolved in 1945 after World War II, and replaced, with reduced territory, as the State of Brandenburg in East Germany, which was later dissolved in 1952.
 * Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, Brandenburg was re-established as a federal ‘’’state of Germany''', becoming one of the new states. Wikipedia

The Neumark
The Neumark, also known as the New March or East Brandenburg, was a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany, located east of the Oder River. The Neumark became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and part of the German Empire in 1871. The majority of the Neumark was placed under Polish administration in 1945 after World War II; its expelled German population was replaced largely with Poles. Most of the Polish territory is part of Lubusz Voivodeship, while the northern towns Choszczno (Arnswalde), Myślibórz (Soldin), and Chojna (Königsberg in der Neumark) are in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Some territory near Cottbus remains in Germany. Wikipedia

For help with research, see The Neumark (region), Brandenburg, German Empire Genealogy

Finding Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Brandenburg
'''Most of the information you need to identify you ancestors and their families will be found in two major record groups: civil registration and church records. To locate these records, follow the instructions in these Wiki articles.'''

1. Find the name of your ancestor's town in family history records.
Records were kept on the local level. You must know the town where your ancestor lived. If your ancestor was a United States Immigrant, use the information in the Wiki article Germany Finding Town of Origin to find evidence of the name of the town where your ancestors lived in Germany.

Ancestry.com ($)
'''Ancestry.com can be searched free of charge at your local Family History Center.
 * Brandenburg, Prussia Emigration Records - at Ancestry.com, index ($)
 * Emigrants from the Mark Brandenburg to Poland and Russia, compiled by Stefan Rückling
 * Neumark Database . This database indexes various sources from this region. See "Genealogische Webseiten" near the bottom of that page for an itemized list.
 * Germany Displaced Persons Research: If your ancestors were evacuated from their homes at the end of World War II, see this article.

Excerpts from Files of Emigrants From the District of Frankfurt, Brandenburg Landeshauptarchiv

 * Emigrants 1854-1886 from Kreis Arnswalde
 * Emigrants from Kreis Zicher
 * Emigrants from Kreis Züllichau
 * Emigrants from Kreis Eichberg/Crossen
 * Emigrants from Kreis Königsberg
 * Emigrants from Kreis Landsberg
 * Emigrants from various counties, part 1
 * Emigrants from various counties, part 2

2. Use gazetteers and/or parish register inventories to learn more important details.
Your ancestor's town might have been too small to have its own parish church or civil registration office. Find the location of the Catholic or Lutheran (Evangelical) parish that served your ancestor's locality. Find the name of the civil registration office (Standesamt) that serves your ancestor's locality. Use the Wiki article Finding Aids For German Records for step-by-step instructions.

Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. An important gazetteer, Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-lexikon des deutschen Reichs, "Meyer's Gazetter" for short, details the place names of villages, towns, counties (kreise), and higher jurisdictions used at that time. In the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records, the records of Germany are organized using those place names.

You can also consult Brandenburg Parish Record Inventories to learn the Lutheran or Catholic parish that would have kept records for your town.

At the end of both World Wars, the boundaries of the states were changed dramatically, as areas of Germany were distributed among the Allied nations. Eventually, after re-unification in 1990, the states of Germany settled into what they are today. It is also necessary to understand Germany by this system, as it affects the locations of civil registration offices, archives, and mailing addresses used in correspondence searches.

3. For birth, marriage, and death records from 1 October 1874 on use civil registration.
Follow the instructions in Brandenburg, German Empire Civil Registration.

4. For baptism, marriage, and death records, use church records or parish registers.
Follow the instructions in  Brandenburg, German Empire Church Records.

More Research Strategies and Tools

 * Germany Online Classes and Tutorials
 * German Paleography Seminar - Lessons on German Handwriting
 * 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.
 * Finding Aids for German Records
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * German Research, BYU Independent Study, no cost.


 * These printable handouts can be used for ready reference when reading German Handwriting.
 * Letters:


 * [[Media:Kurrent Letters.pdf|Kurrent Letters handout]]
 * [[Media:Kurrent Font Help Wiki.pdf|Additional Kurrent Letters handout]]


 * Vocabulary found on Specific Records:


 * [[Media:Birth Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Birth Records Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Marriage Record Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Marriage Records Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:German marriage handout templated jan 2017.pdf|Overview of Marriage Laws and Customs (handout)]]
 * [[Media:Death Record Vocabulary-Kurrent german.pdf|Death Records Vocabulary handout]]


 * Dates, Numbers, Abbreviations:


 * [[Media:Days and Months Vocabulary-Kurrent-German.pdf|Days and Months handout]]
 * [[Media:Numbers Vocabulary.pdf|Numbers Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Kurrent Script Dates, Numbers, etc.pdf|Script Dates and Numbers handout]]
 * [[Media:Common Abbreviations-Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Abbreviations handout]]
 * [[Media:Common Symbols - Kurrent-german.pdf|Common Symbols handout]]


 * Miscellaneous Vocabulary:


 * [[Media:German Occupations Vocabulary.pdf|German Occupations Vocabulary handout]]
 * [[Media:Illnesses Vocabulary-Kurrent-german.pdf|Illnesses Vocabulary handout]]


 * Fraktur:


 * [[Media:Fraktur Font help - Wiki.pdf|Fraktur Font]] -- Many forms and books are printed in this font.


 * German Given Names:
 * List of Names in Old German Script -- A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.

Take These Online Classes to Prepare

 * German Research: Strategies and Sources for Eastern Provinces. Be sure to download the class syllabus.
 * 1) Watch the Specific Geography portion to learn how to use MeyersGaz.org and '''Kartenmeister.com to get the details of the German and Polish names of your town and its higher jurisdictions.
 * 2) Watch the General Resources portion to learn how to check for parish registers using
 * 3) The PRADZIAD Database
 * 4) Szukaj w Archiwach; [[Media:1-Polish_State_Archives-Instruction.pdf|Tutorial]] - The Polish Archives
 * 5) Archion, Cooperative of protestant archives ($)
 * 6) Archives Portal Europe
 * 7) Brandenburg State Archives, Online Research
 * 8) Watch the Brandenburg portion, which begins at about 41:00 minutes.
 * Kartenmeister.com: Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland