PERSONAL LETTERS
PERSONAL LETTERS
I encourage everyone who writes to Germany to write in the German language, and to enclose German postage stamps so that the contacted person will more likely respond. Germans do not look with favor upon a letter written to them in a language other than their own. In the form letter which I provide I include a paragraph which asks the individual or family to respond, even if there is no family relationship. That way, you know that they received the letter, and you remove from your research those who are not related. Therefore, it makes sense to include return postage. If not knowing doesn't concern you, then that paragraph can be deleted from the form letter, and you can also remove the comment about enclosing return postage or cash in your inquiry.
I urge everyone to agree to pay the costs of any family tree that the contacted person may have already developed, and any costs they may incur while assisting you. During the Hitler era, 1933-1945, all Germans were required to complete a family tree so that the Nazis could determine if there was a Jewish ancestor in their family. Many Germans kept these family trees, others hated the Nazis so much that they destroyed them after the war, or will now refuse to discuss them or reveal their contents to anyone. They consider the information to be private, and are proud of the German Privacy Law.
If you write 5 personal letters you may receive one response, which means you invest $20.00 (5 letters, stamps @ $4 each), without a research fee deposit, and lose all but the single response. On the other hand, you may receive no responses, or as many as 5. Any form letter I have prepared can be personalized to reflect your wishes in these matters. You can ask me about making changes for you.
For more details on the cost of research, see
./payforit.htm.
(If you got here from Research 101, you need to go back
THERE after reading
this page. Use your back button
after you read the information at
payforit.htm)
CIVIL ARCHIVES
In writing to City Hall I encourage everyone to enclose a research fee deposit in the Euro, the equivalent of $40 (Euro 29,50), plus German postage stamps (order from dwat <a> cox. net). The LDS at Salt Lake City encourages enclosing $15.00, but their information is sadly out-of-date.
*The Germans use a comma (right up to the last place) where other countries use the decimal point. 29,50 in the German system is 29.50 in the American.
The $40 international bank check (which MUST be made out in the German currency, the Euro: Euro 29,50), costs $10 to purchase, from a source found here, about the cheapest rate around. You can check with your bank to see if they can provide an international check (NOT personal!) for less. Most persons balk at enclosing the $40 international check, so it certainly is optional with you. I consider it a courtesy which indicates that you are serious about your research and the costs involved on the German side. They aren't going to work for you for free! Remember, as well, that the U.S. dollar is now worth Click Here against the German Euro. Adjust the $40 amount to agree with today's exchange rate. Please understand that they MUST charge a fee for any documents that they produce, under German law, and they must assign someone to the task of doing the research. It is IMPOSSIBLE to indicate that you will pay the research fees ONLY if they find what you are looking for. German law sets the research fees, which are payable even if they DON'T find what you are looking for.
Whatever course you decide upon, DO NOT send a personal check drawn on your bank. Their check-processing machines do not use the same computerized check-processing-code that yours do. Each check has to be handled manually, returned to your country for verification before it will be cashed, and the addressee will have to pay not only an exchange-rate fee, but also a transaction fee, both sometimes equaling more than the face value of the check. Win friends and influence people? I don't think so......
In many cases no one on staff can read the old German script; therefore, they hire someone to do so. They obviously forward those costs to you. Normally, they will bill you before they will release any documents. In 1953 Germany declared all claims against it and its citizenry (property, valuables, cash) invalid and uncollectable, except where a Last Will and Testament clearly indicated that someone living outside the country was entitled to a private cash inheritance. You cannot inherit a castle, town, forest, lake, or anything that has been thusly identified by law.
CHURCH ARCHIVES
It is the same with the church archives. My very best advice is for you to check with your area Family History Center first. They may already have a microfiche covering the village, town, or city you are interested in, or at least the district. They can then order the microfilm from Salt Lake City, Utah, the LDS church archives, and you can view it at your area FHC for three weeks. Extensions are permitted. If the information isn't there, then a $40 international check (Euro 29,50) as a research fee deposit (optional - sometimes they reply without a deposit), plus German postage stamp. In many cases the church is small, with a Pastor and secretary (who may be part-time). They conduct all christenings, marriages, funerals, while preparing the weekly message to the congregation and acting as the local social service center. A letter from you will send the secretary into the basement where the aging birth, christening, marriage, and death records are stored; she'll be away from the Pastor for an extended time period. The secretary and the Pastor may be incapable of reading the old script, or they simply don't have the time to do it. When that happens, they hire someone to come in and read the script for them, so that they can determine if they have the right documents. Therefore, I suggest that the Euro 29,50 fee be enclosed. They may never respond, and you may lose the entire deposit, with no recourse. It happens. On the other hand, they may respond and readily enter into an agreement with you about additional research costs, and then gladly provide the information that you are looking for - after they receive payment. In some cases they respond that they have not been able to find anything and have accepted your Euro 29,50 plus 2,90 as payment in full for research and return postage. They are only following German law, not cheating you! You have no recourse when that happens. In some cases they reply that they have forwarded your letter to another church district or central church archive, and kept your deposit plus postage for their trouble. In other cases they forward your letter AND your money and suggest that you write a letter to the new source, to remind them that they have your letter and money. If you do not speak German and do not understand the German system, it is critical for you to know someone who understands all of the in's and out's of German research That's where Research 101 comes in!
TELEPHONE CALLS
In making personal telephone calls you MUST speak German! Simply determine in advance who will have the information you are looking for. You then tell them that you would like to have whatever information they have. You agree to write to them and to enclose return postage, and you assure them that if they go to the archives to obtain the information you will reimburse their expenses for time, obtaining document copies or extracts, and per diem. In some cases there are only minor expenses, in other cases none, and in some cases more than you had anticipated. You can set a limit, or ask them to wait until they receive a letter by regular mail, wherein you set the limit. For the E-Mail format, see THIS.
In huge cities and for military archives many offices will have to be contacted if you telephone. The German on the other end of the line will refer you to another number, and that person may refer you to another. While phone calls are cheap if you have certain international calling programs, it is very time consuming and requires a level of expertise in the German language that few persons have. Eventually, a letter will have to be written to a specific archive, unless someone locally agrees to obtain the information and forward it to you. You can use the form letters, or I can write one for you.
CREDENTIALS - AMOUNT OF TIME I CAN DEVOTE
I am retired now, with 5 university degrees. I lived in Germany, learned the language there, including how to read the printed Gothic and modern German. I have studied the old German script and I do translations as a hobby when the copy is legible. There are several varieties.
POTENTIAL
It is highly likely that your ancestor will have documents on file
at the church. There may also be documents on file at City Hall, or at another
church or civil location. All Germans are required by law to register with
City Hall and those records are maintained forever. There are other documents,
if the ancestor legally emigrated. The church and civil documents are available
for the cost of research and postage.
Official German Privacy Laws for civil records:
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Germany_Civil_Registration
Obviously, your success depends upon the availability of the documents and the cooperation provided by the Germans. You must also isolate the correct address in every instance. There have been cases where no documents were found (perhaps destroyed in WW-I or WW-II, or by fire, flood, etc.), and there have been cases where the Germans simply do not cooperate. In those cases clients have invested money and time with no return. In many cases documents are discovered and acquired which finally destroy the "brick wall" you have been pounding against. Germans are becoming more cooperative than less, over the last 17 years I have been doing online research. Be aware that there are certain areas that Germans are sensitive about. I can offer free advice, but I can't do the research for you.
All documents are mailed to you. That means that you may require someone to translate them, which is an additional cost. The last time I wrote to German civil archives for MY personal family records it cost $162.00 to get the information mailed to me. That is typical, and includes postage, copying fees, and the actual documents. Obviously, I did not need to hire anyone to do the translations. In this particular case they actually sent me the wrong family. I read German, instantly recognized the error, and had to write to them again. This time, I received the correct information, with an apology. In many cases the documents are too old to handle. Therefore, you must be willing to accept a typed extract, prepared by a clerk, who has to hire someone else to interpret the old script.
I conducted a poll of Germans living in Germany as to the proper procedures for writing to church and civil archives. Here are the responses for church and civil archives ONLY:
Include return postage (German stamps or the Euro)....... YES 100%
Include self-addressed envelope....... YES 25% NO 75%
Include research fee deposit....... YES 75% NO 25%
Include family history....... NO 100% (see note, below)
Include family or personal photo....... NO 100% (see note, below)
Include personal information (about yourself)........ NO 100% (see note, below)
Include ancestor names, dates of birth, location of birth, other known dates
in Germany........ YES 100%
Include WHO, WHERE, WHEN, FAITH, and WHAT....... YES 100%
Include what happened to them after they arrived in the USA........ NO 100%
Include an agreement to exchange information (if related)......... NO 100%
Here are the responses for personal (NOT church or civil) letters:
Include return postage (German stamps)....... YES 80% NO 20%
Include self-addressed envelope....... YES 25% NO 75%
Include research fee deposit...... NO 100%
Include family history....... NO 100% (agree to share, but include only a tiny portion, initially)
Include family or personal photo....... NO 100% (see note, below)
Include personal information (about yourself)........ NO 100% (see note, below)
Include ancestor names, dates of birth, location of birth, other known dates
in Germany........ YES 100%
Include WHO, WHERE, WHEN, FAITH, and WHAT....... YES 100%
Include what happened to them after they arrived in the USA........ NO, not initially, 100%
Include an agreement to exchange information (if related)......... YES 100%
NOTE: 1. Identity theft is the major issue in releasing some types of information. One should be very careful when writing to persons unknown.
2. The Euro 6,00 will cover postage AND one of their envelopes, and a short trip to the post office. Be certain to avoid excessive punctuation in the TO and RETURN addresses on the outside of your original envelope, and in the letter inside, on your return address. Don't make your address information difficult to read and understand. Print or type! German computers are used, exclusively, and they are fussy!
3. Civil and church archives normally limit the number of inquiries in each letter or E-Mail to three (3) ancestors. You probably can safely extend that to four. The forms I provide are for more than that - you decide.
I hope this answers your questions.
:-)
Don
RETURN TO QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 2-HESSEN (Q-A2.HTM)
GO TO QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 1 (Q-A.HTM)
RETURN TO RESEARCH 101 (HSSTORY.HTM)
GO TO THE INDEX / INTERFACE PAGE