To find records that will permit reconstruction of a German ancestor's life, a researcher must discover the answers to two questions: Does the Family History Library in Salt Lake City have records from the localities where the ancestor lived? If not, where are the records from the ancestral home today? If the answer to the first question is yes, the course for the German researcher is fairly clear. But if the search for ancestors leads to Germany and its national, state, and local archives, the quest may lead a researcher into unfamiliar territory. The purpose of this article is to introduce the reader to the national archives of Germany and to make their abundant records accessible to any interested researcher.

In the paragraphs that follow, we will examine records in three branches of the Bundesarchiv: Bundesarchiv Berlin; Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (State Archives of Prussian Culture), Berlin; and the Bundesarchiv Abteilung Militärarchiv (Federal Military Archives).

Most of the records pertaining to emigration are in the collections of the Ministry of the Interior (Reichsministerium des Innern) and the Foreign Office—Legal Affairs Division (Auswärtigesamt—Rechtsabteilung). To learn about specific portions of the collections available for purchase on microfilm, a researcher should write to the Bundesarchiv Berlin requesting photocopies of the contents pages from the inventories (Findbücher) for these offices.

A new addition to the collections of these archives is of great value for those researchers whose family members in Germany had ties to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), including the S.S. (Schutzstaffel) and S.A. (Sturmabteilung) divisions of the Nazi party. These records were captured by the Allies at the end of the second World War and were subsequently housed in the U.S. Berlin Document Center, supervised by the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States. They contain membership, personnel, and other records of the NSDAP. The United States returned these records to Germany in 1994, and they were transferred to the Bundesarchiv in Berlin. A microfilm copy of the records was deposited in the United States National Archives in College Park, Maryland, known as Archives II.

Those whose knowledge of the second World War comes from movies like Schindler's List might assume that all uniformed Germans were soldiers, sailors, or airmen. Though not part of the military, members of both the S.A. and the S.S. wore uniforms, carried weapons, and received military training. The S.A.—storm troops—began as enforcers for the Nazi party and supported Hitler's rise to power by eliminating or intimidating the opposition. Their terrorist-like acts against minorities and Nazi detractors soon convinced many Germans that silence was the way to survive. Eventually their tactics placed Hitler in such a bad light that he had to distance himself from them, and they were replaced by the S.S., which itself started as a subgroup of the S.A.

The S.S. was originally responsible for security at Nazi party meetings and other Nazi-sponsored events. After the demise of the S.A., the S.S. became responsible for security throughout the Reich—a national police force with authority over local police agencies as well. Concentration camps and the efforts to Germanize conquered areas also fell under its jurisdiction. The S.S. became the secret police of a police state. Their leaders reported directly to Hitler, not to the leaders of the German military (Wehrmacht). The NSDAP files probably describe more than a million members of the Nazi party and its subgroups. Thousands of additional files were kept about non-NSDAP members who were employees of the S.S. or other branches of the Nazi party.

A name index exists to the approximately 40,000 rolls of microfilmed files held at the United States Archives in Maryland (Archives II, Textual Reference Branch, National Archives, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001). Americans seeking information from these files will find it simpler to work with National Archives personnel than to correspond with the Bundesarchiv in Berlin. The National Archives staff will search the index upon request. If a name of interest is found in the index, they will indicate the microfilm roll number containing a person's file, but further research is left to the requester. One option is to purchase a copy of the roll of film containing the material the researcher needs. Perhaps an example of how useful these records can be will illustrate their great value.

Shortly after the second World War, a mother and daughter left Germany to seek a better life in another country. The daughter was raised with little knowledge of her father. There was no contact with him, and she always wondered if he was still alive. When she became interested in genealogy, it became clear that she had no information about her paternal ancestors. She knew only her father's name and that he had some tie to the S.S. The daughter learned of the records preserved in the Berlin Document Center and wrote there for aid. The index was searched and the father's file found. A copy of the file was sent to the daughter. The file contained complete data about her father's birth and employment, and provided the only photograph of him the daughter had ever seen, a snapshot taken in about 1942. The file showed that the father had been a laborer employed by the S.S. on several projects in the early 1940s. The information in this personnel file opened the door to research on a line of ancestry which had been closed before the file's discovery.

The records created by local Prussian officials in Prussian provinces that remained part of the German Democratic Republic (Saxony, Brandenburg) and Federal Republic of Germany (Hannover, Rhineland, Schleswig-Holstein, Westphalia, Hessen-Nassau) are at the state archives in the modern state that includes the historical Prussian province (Brandenburg = Brandenburg, Lower Saxony = Hannover, Northrhine-Westphalia = northern Rhineland and Westphalia, Rhineland-Palitinate = southern Rhineland). An inventory of part of the collections of the Geheimes Staatsarchiv was published several years ago, and researchers may be able to obtain a copy of it: Übersicht Ÿber die Bestände des Geheimen Staatsarchivs in Berlin-Dahlem, Teil I Provincial und Lokalbehörden, Hans Pranig, Ruth Bliß, Winfried Bliß, Köln und Berlin: G. Grot'sche Verlagsbuch-handlung K.G., 1966. The Geheimes Staatsarchiv publishes a two-page brochure which provides an overview of their collections.

Mail requests for information should contain the name of the person sought, birth date, and birthplace, as well as information about military service, occupation, emigration, and any other facts that would indicate the types of records which might be pertinent. Family historians should remember that facts about older generations are more easily found by searching records about persons from younger generations. For example, to learn the names of a person's parents, the researcher should provide archivists with the child's name, birth date, and birthplace, if known. At least a place of residence, marriage, or death would be needed. Knowing where a person lived will guide archivists to church records, citizenship records, apprenticeship records, school records, and inoculation records. Most of these sources name a person's parents.

Searching through the records in the Geheimes Staatsarchiv, I found records from a forebear's hometown listed under the collections from the Prussian province Posen. The hometown in question was Schwerin, on the Warthe River in western Posen. Today this town is named Skwierzyna and is in the Polish state of Poznan. Among the many records from this town preserved in the Geheimes Staatsarchiv were attendance records from the local school. Listed there, together with dozens of other students, were the children of the target family, complete with their ages and father's name.

After the first World War and again after the second, large numbers of Germans sought refuge in the United States. The records preserved at the Bundesarchiv Abteilung Militärarchiv provide essential information for millions of German soldiers, sailors, and airmen whose relatives live in the United States today.

The records preserved in the eighteen branches of the German Bundesarchive will help family historians find facts about family members who participated in both World Wars. Documents in these archives also tell the stories of hundreds of thousands of emigrants who lived in German communities that are part of modern-day Poland. But there is more to these records. Often overlooked in the race to complete family group records is the need to place family names in context, which puts us in contact with our past. Records of national government agencies can provide such information, helping us learn our ancestors' roles in the events now studied by students of German history.

Raymond S. Wright III is a professor at Brigham Young University, where he teaches genealogical research methods, European family history, and German and Latin paleography.