Writing Letters to Germany
Attributed to KarlB; submitted by DearMYRTLE
The following are sample letters you can use in writing letters to German organizations. Please note that all dates should be written in the European format: Day Month Year.
LETTER TO SEND TO CHURCHES IN GERMANY
FOR GENEALOGICAL DATA
- Fill in the date in upper left-hand corner of the letter.
- After the word "ueber", fill in the name of your ancestor, after "geboren", his birth date, and after "in", his place of birth.
- Enclose the equivalent of 10 DM (or if in the States, a money order and 2 International Reply Coupons). Enclose an IRC if sending to country other than Germany.
- Address envelope to:
An das
Evangelische (or Katholische) Pfarramt
Zip Code Town
Country
Sehr geehrter Herr Pfarrer!
Zur Vervollstaendigung meiner Familiengeschichte benoetige ich naehere Angaben ueber___________ geboren___________ in ___________.
Ich bitte Sie freundlichst um Uebersendung eines vollstaendigen Auszuges ueber diesen Vorfahren aus dem Geburtenregister der Pfarrei.
Sollte es Ihnen moeglich sein, mir zusaetzlich Auszuege ueber Geburt, Heirat oder Tod seiner Eltern anzufertigen, die am selben Ort gewohnt haben sollen, so waere ich Ihnen auch fuer diese Bemuehungen sehr dankbar.
Ich lege Ihnen zehn Mark zur Begleichung anfallender Gebuehren bei. Sollten Ihnen weitere Auslagen entstehen, so bitte ich Sie, mir dies mitzuteilen.
Fuer Ihre Hilfe danke ich Ihnen herzlich im voraus.
Mit vorzueglicher Hochachtung.
Your name
Address
****TRANSLATION*****
Dear Pastor:
In order to complete my family history, I would need information about my ancestor ___________, born ___________ in ____________.
May I kindly ask you to send me a complete extract of the birth record from the parish register for the above named.
Should it be possible to send me extracts of the birth, marriage or death records for his parents, who are supposed to have lived in the same town, I would be most grateful for this help.
I am enclosing ten DM to cover the necessary fees. Should you incur additional expenses, please let me know.
Thank you in advance for you aid.
Respectfully yours,
Your name
Address
LETTERS TO SEND TO REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
AND ARCHIVES IN GERMANY
Address envelope to:Standesamt (Staatsarchiv or Stadtarchiv)
der Stadt (town)
Street Number
Zip Town
Country
Follow instructions for the church letter.
Sehr geehrte Dame, sehr geehrter Herr!
Zur Vervollstaendigung meiner Familiengeschichte benoetige ich naehere amtliche Angaben ueber die Familie des/der ______________, geboren am __________ in ___________.
Ich bitte Sie freundlichst um Uebersendung eines vollstaendigen Auszuges aus Ihrem Geburts-/ Heirats-/ Sterberegister zur vorstehend genannten Person.
Sollte es Ihnen moeglich sein, mir ebenfalls Auszuege ueber Geburt, Heirat oder Tod seiner/ihrer Eltern anzufertigen, die im gleichen Orte gewohnthaben sollen, so waere ich Ihnen fuer diese Hilfe sehr dankbar.
Zur Deckung Ihrer Gebuehren lege ich zehn Mark bei. Sollten Ihnen weitere Auslagen entstehen, so bitte ich Sie, mir dies mitzuteilen.
Fuer Ihre Hilfe danke ich Ihnen herzlich im voraus.
Hochachtungsvoll,
Your name
Address
*****TRANSLATION*****
Gentlemen:
In order to complete my Family History, I am in need of more precise official data on the family of ________ born ______________ in _____________.
I would kindly like to ask you to send me a complete excerpt from your birth-/ marriage-/ death registers for the person mentioned above.
Should you be able to let me have, in addition, the birth-,marriage- or death records of his/her parents who are said to have lived in the same place, I would be most grateful for your assistance in this matter.
To cover your fees, I am enclosing 10 DM. Should you incur additional expenses, please let me know.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Sincerely yours,
Your name and address
LETTER TO JOIN A REGIONAL
GENEALOGICAL ORGANIZATION
Shr geehrte Dame, sehr geehrter Herr!
Da meine Ahnen urspruenglich aus __________ stammen, moechte ich gerne Mitglied Ihrer Gesellschaft werden. Zur Deckung des Mitgliedsbeitrages lege ich Ihnen DM __________ bei.
Ich bin besonders an folgenden Familiennamen interessiert:
______________________________________________________________.
Auch wuerde ich gerne wissen, ob es schon Familienvereine zu den oben genannten Familiennamen gibt. Im Falle, dass solche Familienvereine bestehen, moechte ich Sie freundlichst bitten, mir deren Anschriften mitzuteilen.
Fuer Ihre Muehe bedanke ich mich herzlich.
Mit vorzueglicher Hochachtung
Your name and address.
*****TRANSLATION******
Dear Madam, Sir:
Since my ancestors originally came from __________, I would like to become a member of your organization. To cover the membership fee find ____ DM enclosed.
The family names for which I have the greatest interest are as follows:
___________________________________________________________.
I would also like to know whether there are any family organizations related to the the above mentioned surnames. If there are, would you be so kind to convey to me their addresses.
For your help I am most grateful.
With kindest regards,
Your name and address
The following information was also included with the above form letters which appeared in the MVGS bulletin. I have included it with this file since it will also be useful in researching German ancestors.
GERMAN RESEARCH ADDRESSES
Dr. Heinz F. Friederichs has published a booklet, "How To Find My German Ancestors And Relatives". It is printed in English and includes a map and lists addresses of German Archives in German states, cities, genealogical societies and collecting centers. You can order this publication from:
Verlag Degener & Co.
Inh. G. Gessner
Postfach 1380
8530 Neustadt/Aisch
Federal Republic of Germany
Die Heimatstelle Pfalz (Research Center) at Kaiserslautern, West Germany, is a record repository on over 300,000 persons who immigrated from the Rhineland-Pfalz area of Germany. Herr Roland Paul, the Assistant Director, would like help in enlarging the center's holdings.
Please submit a 3x5 card per person/ancestor, their name, where settled in the U.S., who they married, date/place of death, giving where buried, occupation and religion if known (perhaps including the village in the Pfalz where they immigrated from and date, if it is known.) The address is:
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Street addresses, E-mail addresses and telephone numbers shown in this document may change without notice. Please feel free to advise us of changes you discover by sending us the name or URL of this Web page, the name of the entity, and the new address and/or telephone number to GFSBrenda@aol.comDie Heimatstelle Pfalz
Benzinoring 6
Postfach 6
D-6750 Kaiserslautern
Federal Republic of Germany
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