Resources for German Family History Research

[HenningWalker]

Hi,

I have done a fair bit of family history research for my ancestors in the UK and have a great deal information spanning about 500 years! however, I have hit a wall with researching my German roots and there never seems to be any foreseeable solution. I am looking into my Paternal Grandfathers life and ancestors but so far only have a name (Hans Pollman/Polmann), approximate date of birth (c. 1920), a rough idea of a location (1940's possibly Hamburg, 1960's possibly Essen) and a photograph of him taken in the 1960's.

I realize as a family history researcher that this is barely anything to go on, however I am determined to try my best to find out who he was as once I have worked this out the rest should be easier.

I know that his name wasn't on my fathers birth certificate, nor was he married to my Grandmother. This is the main problem as he was only discovered after her death in 2008. I have tried the basic searches e.g. familysearch and nothing has come up. I am unsure as to whether it is really worth joining the Anglo German Family History Society as they claim on their website to only have 500,000+ records, which sounds like very little to me. So unless someone can talk me into signing up to it and tell me what they can actually do to help with my research, I am otherwise looking at alternative methods.

As births, marriages and deaths are all indexed in this country (UK) and available to search, I was curious to know whether it may be possible to do the same for German records. I understand that their census's are different to ours and not worth looking into, but I was also interested in the possibility of researching military records as he would've been about the right age to fight in the second world war.  I think my main course of action is to try and build up a profile for whoever I think this is and then try to verify it with a photograph. It is a long winded approach and may waste a lot of time, but I feel it is very important to find out more about him. Are there any other records held in Germany that I might be able to research that could help with this matter.

Thanks,


Henning Walker

[BonnieDownUnder]

Hello, sorry but I am unable to assist you however I have a similar problem myself trying to track an elusive ancestor in Germany;  will keep an eye out for any responses you receive.   
Good luck. 

[SwissGill]

Hello Henning

I have only just joined the Anglo-German History Society but I was pleasantly surprised to receive a "Welcome Pack" including 4 past numbers of their "Mitteilungsblatt" (Gazette) published every 3 months and a leaflet of their German Language Research Library and Look-up Service, a German Research Check List. Names of Interest are published in the Gazette and help may come from other members. There is also a leaflet on German Genealogy Research Service.

As you live in the UK you may be able to take more advantage of their meetings, etc. than I can.

There is also "Ahnungsforschung.net" - Berlin-Bob on here is a moderator and you can place your search details in English.

My ancestors are all from the Baden-Württemberg area and I have seldom researched elsewhere in Germany.

BTW try the name "Pohlmann"

Gill

[statelion32]

My father just passed away the other night. There is a ton of paper work that needs to be taken care of. I am having a problem finding his mom and dads name or even some type of birth certificate. He is a native of Germany and was born in darmstadt, than came over to the US. He was born sept 15 1955 and his name was Helmut Worsdorfer. I wasnt sure how I can go about finding more. If you have any suggestions I would be so grateful.

[HenningWalker]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your loss; I don't know a lot about conducting research first hand in Germany as most of the information I already have was collected by my father, however as a direct descendant, you should be able to order your fathers birth certificate which will give you this information. I would start by finding the local registry office (standesamt) for Darmstadt and sending them the information and requesting a copy. They tend to cost about 10 euros, and they will require you to send a document e.g. your birth certificate proving your relation to him. This is the only thing I can really think of, and I'm not sure what sort of time frame you would be looking at to have this done either. You may want to try posting this as a thread in its own right on here so that someone with a little more knowledge in the field can help!

Henning