Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) Historical Geography

Historical Background
Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen) is a German state situated in northwestern Germany. It was created by the merger of the State of Hanover (Hannover) with Brunswick (Braunschweig), Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe on 1 November 1946.


 * The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia (Ostfriesland).  Immigration records might identify East Frisia as your ancestors' home country.


 * The greatest problem facing the first state government in the immediate post-war years was the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from Germany's former territories in the east (such as Silesia and East Prussia), which had been annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union. Lower Saxony was at the western end of the direct escape route from East Prussia and had the longest border with the Soviet Zone. On 3 October 1950, Lower Saxony took over the sponsorship of the very large number of refugees from Silesia. 
 * The former Hanoverian Amt Neuhaus with its parishes of Dellien, Haar, Kaarßen, Neuhaus (Elbe), Stapel, Sückau, Sumte and Tripkau as well as the villages of Neu Bleckede, Neu Wendischthun and Stiepelse in the parish of Teldau and the historic Hanoverian region in the forest district of Bohldamm in the parish of Garlitz transferred with effect from 30 June 1993 from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to Lower Saxony (Lüneburg district). From these parishes the new municipality of Amt Neuhaus was created on 1 October 1993.


 * The city of Wesermünde was renamed in 1947 to Bremerhaven and incorporated into the new city state of Bremen, which became one of the federated German states.

Maps
'''Germany was first unified as a nation in 1871. For German research prior to 1945, the Research Wiki, FamilySearch Catalog, and FamilySearch Historical Records are organized by the place names in use from 1871 to 1945. For research in that time period, use the Wiki links in the chart below:'''
 * To find the 1871 duchy or province for your town, use Meyer's 1871 Gazetteer Online.