RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => Europe => Topic started by: KatieJJones on Thursday 20 April 17 21:31 BST (UK)
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Hi there Rootschat!
I'm in a tad bit of trouble I'm researching a specific family tree and I have found German Ancestry and I have no experience researching German ancestors and was hoping this community could help.
I'm researching a woman who was born in the 1930s and married an English man somepoint before 1966. I am unable to find the marriage registration or birth registration on ancestry, findmypast and familysearch. I'm under the belief she was born in Dusseldorf but can't find any other information. I do not know any German whatsoever but if anyone has any useful websites I could use to help me in finding this womans ancestry I would be very grateful!
Thanks!
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Hello Katie,
Unless you are a close relative, researching Germans of the 20th century can be very difficult indeed, because the Personenstandsgesetz (Law on Civil Status) restricts access to the records as follows:
Births - not less than 110 years ago
Marriages - not less than 80 years ago
Deaths - not less than 30 years ago
If, however, both the German woman and her English husband died more than 30 years ago, you would be able to obtain a German marriage certificate from the registry office.
http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Personenstandsgesetz#Neue_Fristen (http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Personenstandsgesetz#Neue_Fristen)
You'll now realise why you can't find any birth or marriage records online.
The only course of action that I can think of is to contact the Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf and request a search of the Einwohnermeldekartei (Residents' Registration Index).
Justin
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Thanks very much! I'll test it out :)