Hamburg, Germany Genealogy

Guide to Hamburg ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History

 * Hamburg, (officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, was a fully sovereign city state before the 1871 unification of Germany.


 * Before 1919,Hamburg formed a civic republic, headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten.


 * Hamburg was briefly annexed by Napoleon I to the First French Empire (1804–1814/1815). Russian forces finally freed the city in 1814. Hamburg re-assumed its pre-1811 status as a city-state in 1814.


 * The Vienna Congress of 1815 confirmed Hamburg's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of the German Confederation (1815–1866).


 * Hamburg became a member of the North German Confederation (1866–1871) and of the German Empire (1871–1918), and maintained its self-ruling status during the Weimar Republic (1919–1933).


 * In Nazi Germany, Hamburg was a Gau from 1934 until 1945.


 * Hamburg surrendered to British Forces on 3 May 1945. After the Second World War, Hamburg formed part of the British Zone of Occupation; it became a state of the then Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. Wikipedia

Research to Find the Town of Origin
If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
 * Use Germany Finding Town of Origin as a guide in finding evidence in United States records proving your ancestors' town of origin. Also see Germany Emigration and Immigration, especially for immigration to countries other than the United States.

Maps
Today's state of Hamburg was created in 1937-38 by uniting parts of the city of Hamburg with parts of Schleswig-Holstein and parts of Hannover. For exact localities included see 1937-1938 Boundary Changes of Hamburg Regional Gains and Territories Given Away.

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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.

Finding Civil Registration Records
'''After 1945, the main source for research will be civil registration. ''' Civil registration records are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by the government. In Brunswick (Braunschweig), 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)

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.

Boundary Change Maps
In 1937-38, several municipalities from neighboring Schleswig-Holstein and Hannover were annexed to Hamburg. These boundary changes will have an impact on where you will find records. These maps show the original areas of Hamburg during the time of the German Empire and the annexed areas which are part of Hamburg today. '''Alt-Hamburg, the city center. All of these areas were in the city-state of Hamburg during the time of the German Empire. This is a blowup of the central part of the following map.'''  The green areas from Kreise 3 and 7 came from Hannover
 * Kreis 8: The municipalities of Gut Moor, Kirchwerder, Langenbeck, Marmstorf, Neuland, Rönneburg, Sinstorf came from Hannover
 * Kreis 8: Moorwärder should not be green.  It originally belonged to Hamburg.
 * Kreis 9 came from Schleswig-Holstein.
 * The green areas from Kreis 1 and 10 came from Schleswig-Holstein.



Regional Gains of Hamburg
The country of Hamburg was in detail: All the above mentioned cities and municipalities were merged with the city of Hamburg and the municipalities remaining with the Land of Hamburg as of April 1, 1938, into a unitary community, which was called Hansestadt Hamburg.
 * From the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein
 * The municipality of Altona
 * The district of Wandsbek
 * From the district of Stormarn the municipalities Bergstedt, Billstedt, Bramfeld, Duvenstedt, Hummelsbüttel, Lemsahl-Mellingstedt, Lohbrügge, Poppenbüttel, Rahlstedt, Sasel, Steilshoop and Wellingsbüttel
 * From the district Pinneberg the municipality Lokstedt with Niendorf and Schnelsen
 * From the administrative district Herzogtum Lauenburg the place Kurslack in the Achterschlag of the municipality Börnsen
 * From the Lüneburg district of the Prussian province of Hannover
 * Of the administrative district Harburg-Wilhelmsburg
 * from the district of Harburg, the municipalities Altenwerder, Finkenwerder, Fischbek, Francop, Gut Moor, Kirchwerder, Langenbeck, Marmstorf, Neuenfelde, Neugraben, Neuland, Rönneburg, Sinstorf and the town Over Hook the municipality Over
 * From the government district Stade of the Prussian province of Hannover
 * from the district of Stade, the municipality Cranz

Territories of Hamburg Given Away
In exchange for this, the Hamburg enclaves went to Prussia With this exception in the fourth implementing regulation to the Hamburg Act of March 22, 1937, Hamburg secured the America port in the city of Cuxhaven as an exclave. --Source: Greater Hamburg Act
 * To the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein
 * To the administrative district Herzogtum Lauenburg the city Geesthacht
 * To the Landkreis Stormarn the municipalities Großhansdorf and Schmalenbeck
 * To the administrative district Land Hadeln in the government district Stade of the Prussian province of Hannover
 * The city of Cuxhaven with Neuwerk and Scharhörn as well as the municipalities Berensch and Arensch, Gudendorf , Holte-Spangen, Oxstedt and Sahlenburg , with the exception of the Amerika-Hafen.

Research Tools

 * German Word List
 * Latin Word List
 * German Handwriting Tutorial
 * Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List


 * Passenger List Terminology
 * Hamburg Notarial Records


 * Websites