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Q1: Where is Pommern (Pomerania)?
Q2: What was Pommern's recent history?
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Pommern (Pomerania)?
Q4: What were the court districts in Pommern province before 1900?
Q5: How do I find locations and maps for Pommern before 1945??
Q6: Are there web sites of interest to Pommern researchers?
Q7: Is there a listserv for Pommern family researchers?
Q8: When were civil registers introduced?
Q9: Are there emigration records available?
Q10: What books discuss hints and sources for East German searchers?
Q11: What German archives are available for Pommern?
=======================================
Q1: Where is Pommern (Pomerania)?
A1: Pommern was a Prussian province. Its capital was Stettin
(pronounce:stet-TEEN).
Q2: What was Pommern's recent history?
A2: After the 30-Years-War (1648) Pommern consisted of
two areas: Schwedish-Pommern in the West under Swedish rule and
the Eastern area under the rule of the Brandenburg Electors.
After the defeat of Napoleon, Sweden in 1815 renounced all her claims
to areas in Germany incl. Pommern.
Pommern West of the Oder River was also called Vorpommern (Cis-Pomerania),
East of the Oder River Hinterpommern (Trans-Pomerania).
In 1938 areas from the former provinces of Westpreussen and Posen which
were lost after WWI were added in an administrative reform.
Hinter-Pommern was cleansed of its ethnic German population and given to Poland in 1945.
The Western powers were silent on the ethnic cleansing.
Stettin was renamed Szczecin.
Q3: What were the administrative areas of Pommern (Pomerania)?
A3: In 1895 the province of Pommern had the following districts and
Kreise (counties):
- * marks areas totally or partially lost to Poland in 1945 -
Regierungsbezirk (district) of Stettin with 13 Kreise (counties):
Anklam,Demmin,*Greifenberg,*Greifenhagen,*Kammin,*Naugard,*Pyritz,Randow,
*Regenwalde,*Saatzig,*Stettin-Stadt,Ückermünde,*Usedom-Wollin.
Regierungsbezirk (district) of *Köslin with (*12) Kreise (counties):
Belgard,Bublitz,Bütow,Dramburg,Kolberg-Körlin,Köslin,Lauenburg,
Neustettin,Rummelsburg,Schivelbein,Schlawe,Stolp.
(Dramburg and Schivelbein were part of the historical Neumark)
Regierungsbezirk (district) of Stralsund with (5) Kreise (counties):
Franzburg,Greifswald,Grimmen,Rügen,Stralsund-Stadt.
(This area was the former Swedish-Pommern).
Each Kreis was headed by the Landrat who presided over the Landratsamt.
The Landratsamt records are deposited in the state archives.
The Landrat was in charge of passport and emigrations matters and reported
to the district Regierung who in turn gave data to the provincial
Oberpräsidium in Stettin.
Q4: What were the court districts in Pommern province before 1900?
A4: The highest provincial court was the Oberlandesgericht in Stettin.
http://www.jura.uni-sb.de/laenderberichte/meck-v.htm
The lower courts (Landgerichte) and lowest courts (Amtsgerichte) were
Landgericht Greifswald with (11) Amtsgerichte:
Anklam,Barth,Bergen,Demmin,Franzburg,Greifswald,Grimmen,Loitz,
Stralsund,Treptow,Wolgast.
Landgericht Köslin with (12) Amtsgerichte:
Bärwalde,Belgard,Bublitz,Kolberg,Körlin,Köslin,Neustettin,Polzin,
Ratzebuhr,Schivelbein,Tempelburg,Zanow.
Landgericht Stargard with (14) Amtsgerichte:
Dramburg,Falkenburg,Gollnow,Greifenberg,Jakobshagen,Kallies,Labes,
Massow,Naugard,Nörenberg,Pyritz,Regenwalde,Stargard,Treptow.
Landgericht Stettin with (15) Amtsgerichte:
Altdamm,Bahn,Fiddichow,Gartz,Greifenhagen,Kammin,Neuwarp,Pasewalk,
Penkun,Pölitz,Stepenitz,Stettin,Swinemünde,Ückermünde,Wollin.
Landgericht Stolp with (7) Amtsgerichte:
Bütow,Lauenburg,Pollnow,Rügenwalde,Rummelsburg,Schlawe,Stolp.
The whereabouts of the records for most Landgerichte and Amtsgerichte
is unknown. Of special interest are the land deed records (Grund- und
Hypotheken-Acta) with no published survey known todate..
These records usually start with a land title history (=tituli possessionis)
going back 50 or more years from the beginning of the first deed book (1783).
Legal basis for these land records is the Prussian Hypotheken-Ordnung of 1783
which initially applied to crownlands only.
The court at that time was called Domainen-Justiz-Amt (until 1806),
Land- or Stadt-Gericht (1806-1849), Kreisgericht (1849-1879),
Amtsgericht (after 1879).
Last testaments and wills, Erbscheine, orphan records would be
deposited in the local Amtsgericht (in the Hypotheken-Acta, if land
ownership and remarriages were involved).
A remarriage of a widower/widow was always documented in the Amtsgericht
stating in detail the estate rights of surviving children as well as
rights and duties of parents and step parents. This is a source at the
Amtsgericht which is widely unknown and untapped (and unfilmed by the LDS).
If you are looking for records which describe the life and tribulations
of your ancestors, you cannot miss looking at the court records.
For research of estates the estate directories
(Güteradreßbücher)
list the owners and economic information (acreage, lifestock etc.):
Handbuch des Grundbesitzes im Deutschen Reiche.
I. Das Königreich Preußen - Provinz Pommern
1st ed. Berlin 1879
2nd ed. Berlin 1884
3rd ed. Berlin 1893
4th ed. Berlin 1910
5th ed. Berlin 1924
6th ed. Berlin 1928
Niekammers Landwirtschaftliches Güter-Adreßbuch.- Provinz Pommern
1st ed. Stettin 1892
2nd ed. Stettin 1905
3rd ed. Leipzig 1911
4th ed. Leipzig 1914
5th ed. Leipzig 1920
7th ed. Leipzig 1922
8th ed. Leipzig 1928
9th ed. Leipzig 1939
Q5: How do I find locations and maps for Pommern before 1945??
A5: An atlas is usually not the best tool to locate small towns or
villages. Maps of scales 1:25,000 (Messtischblatt) or 1:100,000
(Karte des Deutschen Reiches and Kreiskarten) and gazetteers
(Ortsverzeichnis) are.
(see the grid map for details)
The best German gazetteer is
Meyers Orts- and Verkehrslexikon des Deutschen Reiches,1912 edition,
which is available on microfiche in the LDS Family History Centers
and gives info on parish, Kreis, Standesamt, court, post office
etc. on all German locations.
There is LDS microfilm #068814 available of
Karte des Deutschen Reiches, scale 1:100000, 1km = 1cm
which may be loaned thru the LDS Family History Centers.
It covers Germany for 1914-1917.
Topographical Maps (Messtischblätter 1:25000) may also be
purchased from
Bundesamt fu:r Kartographie und Geodäsie
Richard-Strauss-Allee 11
60958 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
For maps available in the US see
http://www.genealogyunlimited.com
see also
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/gifs/maps/
For German-Polish place name dictionary, see
http://www.atsnotes.com/other/gerpol.html
Historical maps:
Engel Franz, hrsg.v. Göttinger Arbeitskreis: Staats- und
Verwaltungsgrenzen in Ostmitteleuropa Historisches Kartenwerk. Teil
III: Pommern, Oldenbourg Mu:nchen 1955 Okart.
lichtrand. 9 Texts.,9 Karten
Kartenwerk 12.-20. Jahrhundert
Q6: Are there web sites of interest to Pommern researchers?
A6: Here is a sampling of web sites:
+ Pommern/Pomerania:
http://www.hinterpommern.de/Genealogie/Archive/
http://home.aol.com/myrondpl
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9027/pommern.html
http://www.execpc.com/~kap/pommern1.html
http://feefhs.org
http://www.qrz.com/gene/vereine/AMF/AMF.html
http://www.qrz.com/gene/reg/POM/pommern.html
http://www.belgard.org
+ Maps online of German regions:
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/gifs/maps/
+ Information on archives:
http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/darchive.htm
http://www.man.poznan.pl/~bielecki/geninfo6.htm
http://ciuw.warman.net.pl/alf/archiwa/
http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/100.110994/index.htm
http://pgsa.org/archives_eng.htm
http://www.hinterpommern.de/Genealogie/Archive/Berli-geh-staatsar/#bestaende
+ Check the website of German regions:
http://www.genealogy.net/gene/reg/rindex.htm
http://www.genealogy.net/gene/reg/POM/pommern.html
http://web.nstar.net/~dwat6911/former.htm
Stiftung Martin-Opitz-Bibliothek Herne.
(ehemals Bücherei des deutschen Ostens)
Inhalt: über die Bibliothek. Die Martin-Opitz-Bibliothek....
e-mail: charly@charly.ping.de
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/~geneal/kp/fome/andere/mob.html
Herder -Institut Marburg e.V. Gisonenweg 5 - 7, 35037 Marburg/Lahn
Telephon: 06421/184-0, Telefax: 184-139
e-mail: herder@mailer.uni-marburg.de....
http://www.uni-marburg.de/herder-institut/bibliohp.html
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/~geneal/kp/fome/andere/herdermb.html
http://www.uni-marburg.de/herder-institut/klassi.html
Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preu_ischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.
Archivstra_e 12-14 D-14195 Berlin (Dahlem)
Tel.: (030) 839 01141 Fax: (030) 839 011 80
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/prmss/orte/berlgsas.html
Polish Archives at Stettin ( =Szczecin):
Guides to the archival holdings :
Archiwum ksiQ?Qt szczeciqskich / Jerzy Podralski ; Naczelna
Dyrekcja Archiwsw Paqstwowych w Warszawie.
Archiwum Paqstwowe w Szczecinie.
part 1: Szczecin: 1991, pp.1 -249 ; 20 cm Bibliogr.
part 2: Szczecin: 1991, pp. 250-565
Szczecinski Informator Archiwalny Nr. 7, Naczelna Dyrekcja
Archiwom Panstwowych w Warszawie, Archiwum Panstwowe w
Szczecinie, Szczecin 1992
Staatsarchiv Stettin - Wegweiser durch die Bestände bis
zum Jahr 1945
bearbeitet von R.Gazinski, P.Gut, M.Szukala
überesetzt von P.O.Loew;
Verlag Oldenbourg, München 2004.
http://www.bkge.de/archiv-stettin.php
Genealogival sources:
http://hinterpommern.de
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kbak-ae.html Sources A-E
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kbak-fg.html Sources F-G
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kbak-hk.html Sources H-K
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kblz-lo.html Sources L-O
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kblz-ps.html Sources P-S
http://www.feefhs.org/s&f/kblz-tz.html Sources T-Z
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/German_Genealogy/kbak.htm
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/German_Genealogy/kblz.htm
http://www.execpc.com/~kap/pommern1.html
http://www.szczecin.pl/Szczecin/insz/archiwa/archiwa.html
Q7: Is there a listserv for Pommern family researchers?
A7: There is a mailing list pommern-l for Pommern.
To subscribe send text: HELP or HILFE
to: pommern-L-request@genealogy.net
A more general list is PRUSSIA-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com
To subscribe send the word "subscribe" (without the
quotes) as the only text in the body of a message to
PRUSSIA-ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or
PRUSSIA-ROOTS-D-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode).
Other Mailing lists:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pomeranian_Griffin
http://hinterpommern.de/Genealogie/Foren/
Q8: When were civil registers introduced?
A8: Civil registers of births,marriages,deaths were introduced in October
1874. The Civil registry office is called Standesamt.
Before this time, the Lutheran church records (1815-1874) or special
Dissidenten-Register (1847-1874) served as official registers, and a
duplicate copy was deposited at the local court (Amtsgericht).
Most Standesamt (Polish: Urzed Stanu Cywilnego) records remained in the
old offices and were taken over by the Polish authorities in the areas annexed by Poland in 1945.
They are listed in the Gazetteer of Polish People's Republic Localities.
The full title is SPIS MIEJSCOWOSCI POLSKIEJ RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ LUDOWEJ,
published in Warsaw 1968, and on LDS microfilm #844,922.
Q9: Are there emigration records available?
A9: The state archives have many emigration records.
For details see:
Learned, Marion Dexter, 1857-1917:
Guide to the manuscript materials relating to American history
in the German state archives, Washington, D.C.,
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Publication no. 150 , 1912, 352 p.:
-also Kraus reprints NY 1965-
p.164-167:StA Stettin (AP Szczecin)
re: Ships leaving the port of Stettin:
Printed and handwritten ship passenger lists compiled by the various
shipping companies that transported emigrants to America survive
among the record groups Pommersches Polizeipräsidium and
Schifffahrtsdirektion Stettin in
Vorpommersches Landesarchiv
Martin-Andersen-Nex=F6-Platz 1
D-17489 Greifswald
Germany
Email: LAGreifswald@t-online.de
The lists cover the years 1869-1902, and contain about 500-800
passengers per year.
Q10: What books discuss hints and sources for East German searchers?
A10: Wegweiser für Forschung nach Vorfahren aus den Ostdeutschen und
Sudetendeutschen Gebieten sowie aus den deutschen Siedlungsräumen
in Mittel-,Ost- und Südosteuropa (AGoFF-Wegweiser):
Verlag Degener &Co, 91413 Neustadt, Germany (1991 and later)
(The out-of-print English edition is being revised presently)
Germanic Genealogy (by Edward R.Brandt et alii), 2nd edition.
1997, St.Paul MN, 517 pp.,1st edition, 1995.
Bibliographies:
Spruth, Herbert: (1962)
Landes- und familiengeschichtliche Bibliographie für Pommern
Neustadt a. d. Aisch (Degener & Co) 1962-1965.
Raspe 1966
Raspe, Rister 1966 Geschichtliche und Landeskundliche Literatur
Pommerns 1956-1960 Mit Nachträgen aus früheren Jahren Marburg/Lahn
1966. ( = Wissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Geschichte und Landeskunde
Ost-Mitteleueropas)
Raspe, Rister 1975
Raspe , Hans-Ulrich; Rister , Herbert Geschichtliche und
landeskundliche Literatur Pommerns 1961 - 1970 Mit Nachträgen aus
früheren Jahren Marburg/Lahn 1975. ( = Wissenschaftliche
Beiträge zur Geschichte und Landeskunde Ost-Mitteleuropas)
Q11: What German archives are available for Pommern?
A11: Geh.Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin-Dahlem has
XV HA Pommern
(Selective record listing)
Rep. 1 Herzogliche Urkunden
Rep. 2 Kirchliche Urkunden (Kloster Belbuck)
Rep. 4 Herzoglich Stettiner Archiv
Rep. 6 Schwedisches Archiv
Rep. 7 Staatskanzlei
Rep. 20 Kriegs- und Domänenkammerbehörden zu
Stettin bzw. Köslin
Rep. 28 Lehnsarchiv
Rep. 29 Tribunal zu Wismar
Rep. 33 Konsistorium zu Stettin
Rep. 38b Städte und Gemeinden (Belgard, Blankenhagen, Charbrow,
Dassow, Dummadel, Gartz, Güntersberg, Klempin, Kolberg,
Köslin, Krampe, Marienfelde, Nemitz, Pasewalk,
Rügenwalde, Rummelsburg, Saatzig, Sassnitz, Schlawe,
Stargard, Stettin, Stolp, Stralsund, Swinemünde,
Tempelburg)
Rep. 38c Kirchen (Kallies, Rügenwalde, Stettin)
Rep. 38d Güter und Familien (Demmin, Drosedow, Dummadel,
Faulenbenz, Kulsow, Lestin, Sinzlow, Sternin, Streckenthin;
von Manteuffel, von Puttkamer)
Rep. 38e Innungen (Belgard, Bütow, Köslin, Stettin, Stralsund)
Rep. 40 Handschriften
Rep. 60 Oberpräsident der Provinz Pommern
Rep. 62 Provinzialschulkollegium zu Stettin
Rep. 65 a bzw. b Regierungen zu Stettin bzw. Köslin
Rep. 65 c Regierung zu Stralsund
Rep. 66 Landratsämter und Kreisausschüsse (Bergen, Stolpe)
Rep. 68 Hafenbauamt zu Swinemünde
Rep. 68 a Katasterämter (Greifswald, Lauenburg, Rummelsburg,Stettin)
Rep. 71 Domänenamt zu Bütow
Rep. 75 a und 75 b Oberlandesgerichte (Stettin, Köslin)
Rep. 76 Landgerichte (Greifswald, Köslin, Stargard, Stettin, Stolp)
Rep. 77 Amtsgerichte (Altdamm, Anklam, Bärwalde, Bahn, Baldenburg,
Barth, Belgard, Bergen, Bublitz, Bütow, Cammin, Demmin,
Dramburg, Falkenburg, Fiddichow, Franzburg, Gartz, Gollnow,
Greifenberg, Greifenhagen, Greifswald, Grimmen, Jacobshagen,
Kallies, Körlin, Kolberg, Labes, Lauenburg, Loitz, Massow,
Naugard, Neustettin, Neuwarp, Nörenberg, Pasewalk, Penkun,
Pölitz, Pollnow, Polzin, Pyritz, Ratzebuhr, Regenwalde,
Rügenwalde, Rummelsburg, Schivelbein, Schlawe, Stargard,
Stepenitz, Stettin, Stolp, Stralsund, Swinemünde,
Tempelburg, Treptow a. d. Rega, Treptow a. d. Tollense,
Ückermünde, Wolgast, Wollin)
Rep. 77 Stargard Amtsgericht zu Stargard, Grundbuchblätter
Rep. 78 Kreisgerichte (Anklam, Belgard, Bütow, Gollnow, Greifenhagen,
Köslin, Kolberg, Labes, Neustettin, Pasewalk,
Schlawe, Stettin, Stolp, Treptow a. d. Rega)
For pre-1806 Praestations-Tabellen and Mahllisten see
HA II Generaldirektorium
Abt. 12: Pommern
Ämterverpachtungen
The Berlin Findbücher (Finding Aid Books) are
Abt.12: Pommern
- Bd . 1 : Bestallungssachen. Ämtersachen ( 41 )
- Bd . 2 : Städtesachen ( 42 )
- Bd . 3 : Materien ( 43 )
Landesarchiv Greifswald:
http://www.hinterpommern.de/Wegweiser/node27.html
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