German government has digitized 700,000 WWI documents

[elewis]

OK I know it is not a book, but this looked as good a forum as any to put this information on (please copy to another if there is a better option that I missed) and I thought that this might interest some members.

To mark the centenary of WWI, the German government has digitized and made freely available 700,000 documents related to the war on the website of the Federal Archive.

Fuller details can be found at the link below.

http://www.biblio.com/blog/2014/07/germany-digitizes-700000-world-war-documents/

Evan

[Guest]

Thanks Evan. I'm sure when I figure it all out, and when it all works, it will e very useful. Excellent panorama (click and drag)

Mike

[trajan]

Cheers! Looks like there could be quite a lot of interest in that!

[E Wilcock]

Thanks for this. I have people on my family tree who served in German and French armies. If they died (as with UK) it is easier to get details. But will look and see what is now on line.

[E Wilcock]

I would like some further guidance on this, please. I am not finding records on line, so far.

There is a possibility that one reaches a commercial site. As far as I can see you dont need to pay to read German government archives. Not entirely sure, as even Uk confuses me.

Following this link website of the Federal Archive. And we were using German language,

The section Great grandfather in the First World War led me to just a very few downloadable files - these look to be unit war diaries or reports, listed with unit number,dates and location.

The invitation to look for one's great grandfather, is a bit optimistic.

My searches to find individuals (both under Army headings and digitalised records), led only to information about notifying archives before one arrives to research and a list of local archives which may possibly hold records of soldiers. I carried out historical research in Germany for my work and this would be what I was used to doing. Germany was always a Federal State, each component State and each important City has its own archive of administrative papers and records.

I searched under the surname of a man known to have served in the German air force and came up with no hits.

Sometimes where a soldier died or is listed in the list of Jews who died in the Germany army, I do have their unit number and one could then read that document (much as we read unit war diaries).

I am not wonderful at web sites, so updates and guidance would be welcome.

[Guest]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. It looks to be in the very early stages. I'm more than happy to be corrected, but there's not much there yet?

Mike

[Ken S.]

This is incorrect, although I'm assuming he served with the unit later in the war. In the document he states that he's a member of the 4. Ersatz-Division, 3. gem. Brigade, Brigade-Ersatz-Batallion Nr. 14, 1. Komp.

MSg 2/8821

Westfront, Oktober 1914: Abschriften der Feldpostbriefe eines Kompanieführers im Infanterie-Regiment 362 an seine Familie. Die Abschriften wurden später einem Fotoalbum beigegeben.

[AOK4]

This is incorrect, although I'm assuming he served with the unit later in the war. In the document he states that he's a member of the 4. Ersatz-Division, 3. gem. Brigade, Brigade-Ersatz-Batallion Nr. 14, 1. Komp.

Hello Ken,

IR 362 was formed from 3 Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillone, one of these being Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon 14. This was only later in the war though.

Jan

[seaforths]

Thanks for posting these links. It looks very interesting indeed and will challenge my pidgin German no-end!

[Guest]

i wish I had a clue. For example, what is this document? Click Just out of interest.

Mike

[elewis]

I have only just got back to this site after OP.

Sorry that some of you seem to be having problems. Unfortunately I do not know German, nor do I know more than a few very basic bits about the German forces, so I am unable to assist.

Hopefully some of you are making progress and that those who speak German and know the organisation of the German forces can assist those with problems.

[bmwboxer]

i wish I had a clue. For example, what is this document? Click Just out of interest.

Mike

I is hard to read because cause the handwriting differs quite a lot of what it is now, but think I can help:

It is a report, dated 30.05.1915 from CO 1st Field Artillery Regiment 4 to 39. Artillery Brigade on the eastern Front. The Regiment assisted an Attack on Hill 221 near Hruszowice. The Regiment had to change Positions on the 28th to follow the 39. InfDiv. The following Objectives were met: Infantry took the Village Kalnikow, Hill 203 southeast of Kalnikow, a Forest east of Stubno.

[Guest]

Many thanks for taking the time to do that for me, I was just curious as to what type of documents these actually were. I have another 699,999 for you to translate. No rush.

Mike

[bmwboxer]

There seems to be no structure within the documents. As far as I looked up

the website, the Bundesarchiv processes Requests to find Ancesters manually. It is not possible to look up single Soldiers yourself. This is due to the mentioned fact that the Kaiserreich was not a United Kingdom. Bavaria and Württemberg were seperate Kingdoms within the Reich. Also many of the files were lost during the WW2 Bombing Campaigns.

Also there is by far not the strong interest in WW1 in German Public as compared to Britain. The Losers always try to forget.

[Guest]

The Losers always try to forget.

I suppose that is true. Thanks again.

Time is a great healer though?

Mike

[seaforths]

There seems to be no structure within the documents. As far as I looked up

the website, the Bundesarchiv processes Requests to find Ancesters manually. It is not possible to look up single Soldiers yourself. This is due to the mentioned fact that the Kaiserreich was not a United Kingdom. Bavaria and Württemberg were seperate Kingdoms within the Reich. Also many of the files were lost during the WW2 Bombing Campaigns.

Also there is by far not the strong interest in WW1 in German Public as compared to Britain. The Losers always try to forget.

Thank you for posting this information. I was already aware that Germany lost many records in WW2 bombing as we did too. I also understand that the regional division of Germany meant that some records such as the Bavarian ones survived but what of other areas such as Thuringia? For example, I am interested in a particular Infanterie Regiment that was based in Thuringia - would their diaries and service records survive? If they do survive, how easy would it be to search for a particular incident on a given date and to find the records of individuals for which I only have a name (I don't even know if they survived the war)??

[bmwboxer]

Thank you for posting this information. I was already aware that Germany lost many records in WW2 bombing as we did too. I also understand that the regional division of Germany meant that some records such as the Bavarian ones survived but what of other areas such as Thuringia? For example, I am interested in a particular Infanterie Regiment that was based in Thuringia - would their diaries and service records survive? If they do survive, how easy would it be to search for a particular incident on a given date and to find the records of individuals for which I only have a name (I don't even know if they survived the war)??

Here comes the next problem: Thuringa lies in the former east german part. The soviet influenced government opposed any militarism and preserving of historic remains regarding the kaiserreich. The East German Forces didnt take over any of the traditions of there former comrades and the was no one preserving historic materials. So you would rely only on personal accounts and diaries. After the reunification the NVA was integrated in the existing Bundeswehr Divisions. Many Battalions were shut forever, if there has been someone keeping stuff - it is with them.

[seaforths]

Here comes the next problem: Thuringa lies in the former east german part. The soviet influenced government opposed any militarism and preserving of historic remains regarding the kaiserreich. The East German Forces didnt take over any of the traditions of there former comrades and the was no one preserving historic materials. So you would rely only on personal accounts and diaries. After the reunification the NVA was integrated in the existing Bundeswehr Divisions. Many Battalions were shut forever, if there has been someone keeping stuff - it is with them.

Thank you for improving my German geography/history or I should say reminding me of the effect of later geographical and historical happenings in Germany!

Of course you have pointed out something I hadn't (but should have) considered. For more than a year my research is in the area of Lorrach/Haltingen/Waldshut and only recently have I also been looking at Cassel/Ohrdruf/Erfurt but using old maps of 1913 so the division of Germany post WW2 has escaped my thoughts until now.

It would be unlikely that I would find anything for this regiment or soldiers unless they were suddenly discovered hidden away somewhere.

[E Wilcock]

This was written in reply to bmw boxer.

It is 10 years since I retired, but in those days official papers from both parts of Germany were very professionally handled and archived methodically - tho not according to the classifications which we might use. Since local boundaries (e.g. in education and policing) and local capital cities changed, one might be obliged to visit more than one archive.

At that time Government (Federal national government) papers were being amalgamated in the existing West German National archive in Berlin.

However there was also a specialist Military archive in Freiburg - which provided a suitable depository for personnal memoirs and photographs. This is the main military archive in Germany.

This German archives website gives details of the three (national) archives.

https://www.bundesarchiv.de/benutzung/sachbezug/militaer/index.html.en

My experience is that German archives in the former East continued to maintain the existing German archive system.

In your place I would send a letter or e-mail enquiry to Freiburg, asking whether they hold the records of the military unit which interests you, (be specific about type of record and dates). And if not whether they can tell you where they might be held.

It is fine to write in English if you cant write German but the reply will be in German. Government organisations in Germany are not allowed to reply in languages other than German.

However, if you locate handwritten German unit war diaries or reports from the front, you may not be able to read them. They will be in old German script. I know from experience that it is a temptation when researching and short of time to turn to typed material, simply because it is more accessible. Even in German archives, reading old German script is a specialised skill. It is hard to read handwriting even in one's own language and a familiar script. And lists of names such as birth registers are particularly hard - because the words are not in a context and not always recognisable.

However, you might have an alternate source of information. Each area in Germany has a local history archive. And many local historians have written doctoral theses on local history. It could be that there is a study of your unit, or a memoir of someone who served in it - and that copies will be held in the local history archive of that town or village. You would do best to start by writing to a larger town archive, as village archives when I was working may be managed part time and not be open except by special appointment.

I am not expert on German records of World War One. I learned about German family history research and approaching German archives from the Anglo German Family History Society. In those days I did not speak German and I seem to remember that they had help with writing letters to Germany.

http://www.agfhs.org/site/index.php

I hope this may be helpful to you.

[seaforths]

This was written in reply to bmw boxer.

It is 10 years since I retired, but in those days official papers from both parts of Germany were very professionally handled and archived methodically - tho not according to the classifications which we might use. Since local boundaries (e.g. in education and policing) and local capital cities changed, one might be obliged to visit more than one archive.

At that time Government (Federal national government) papers were being amalgamated in the existing West German National archive in Berlin.

However there was also a specialist Military archive in Freiburg - which provided a suitable depository for personnal memoirs and photographs. This is the main military archive in Germany.

This German archives website gives details of the three (national) archives.

https://www.bundesarchiv.de/benutzung/sachbezug/militaer/index.html.en

My experience is that German archives in the former East continued to maintain the existing German archive system.

In your place I would send a letter or e-mail enquiry to Freiburg, asking whether they hold the records of the military unit which interests you, (be specific about type of record and dates). And if not whether they can tell you where they might be held.

It is fine to write in English if you cant write German but the reply will be in German. Government organisations in Germany are not allowed to reply in languages other than German.

However, if you locate handwritten German unit war diaries or reports from the front, you may not be able to read them. They will be in old German script. I know from experience that it is a temptation when researching and short of time to turn to typed material, simply because it is more accessible. Even in German archives, reading old German script is a specialised skill. It is hard to read handwriting even in one's own language and a familiar script. And lists of names such as birth registers are particularly hard - because the words are not in a context and not always recognisable.

However, you might have an alternate source of information. Each area in Germany has a local history archive. And many local historians have written doctoral theses on local history. It could be that there is a study of your unit, or a memoir of someone who served in it - and that copies will be held in the local history archive of that town or village. You would do best to start by writing to a larger town archive, as village archives when I was working may be managed part time and not be open except by special appointment.

I am not expert on German records of World War One. I learned about German family history research and approaching German archives from the Anglo German Family History Society. In those days I did not speak German and I seem to remember that they had help with writing letters to Germany.

http://www.agfhs.org/site/index.php

I hope this may be helpful to you.

Yes and thank you. My work with old German script is painfully slow. I have a crib sheet for print and handwriting which I use and slowly, I get there. I think as we talked on Wednesday evening, the cost of getting professional translation is an expensive one and not an option for me. I have emailed local archives in Germany both in English and German (helped by a kindly forum member) and have never received any response. I even tried phoning one of them and they hung up (twice).

However from the link you posted I noted this information: https://www.bundesarchiv.de/benutzung/sachbezug/militaer/00186/index.html.en

which indicates that information is very spread out even mentioning Moscow and Prague and as my German is very poor, so my Russian is non-existent

Perhaps one day, steps will be taken to reunite all of the surviving German records at one archive...

[SiegeGunner]

Reading/deciphering/transcribing German manuscript docs of the Great War era is difficult enough when you speak German, know the subject matter and have many years of experience, so I take my hat off to those who are bold enough to attempt it without those advantages. Unfortunately there are not enough translators (professional or otherwise) with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to go round, and character-recognition and machine-translation software will not solve the problem any time soon. Most professional translators do some work pro bono, but, like everyone else, we also have to earn our living.

One tip for those researching in German military archives is that the lower down the hierarchy you go, the more likely documents are to be in manuscript. If your document is something that went any distance up the chain of command, it is quite likely to have been typed at some stage .... so look upstream of your handwritten document to see if you can find a typed version in the records of a higher echelon. A handwritten 'after action' report by a company commander, for example, is very likely to be incorporated, in typescript, in his battalion commander's report up the line.

Mick

[seaforths]

Reading/deciphering/transcribing German manuscript docs of the Great War era is difficult enough when you speak German, know the subject matter and have many years of experience, so I take my hat off to those who are bold enough to attempt it without those advantages. Unfortunately there are not enough translators (professional or otherwise) with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to go round, and character-recognition and machine-translation software will not solve the problem any time soon. Most professional translators do some work pro bono, but, like everyone else, we also have to earn our living.

One tip for those researching in German military archives is that the lower down the hierarchy you go, the more likely documents are to be in manuscript. If your document is something that went any distance up the chain of command, it is quite likely to have been typed at some stage .... so look upstream of your handwritten document to see if you can find a typed version in the records of a higher echelon. A handwritten 'after action' report by a company commander, for example, is very likely to be incorporated, in typescript, in his battalion commander's report up the line.

Mick[/quote

Mick. Thanks for those tips. Sometimes the case with British records too. In the case of trench raids which is what I would be looking for, I'm guessing that like ours, some made into type higher up and some didn't. I'm at work on break at the moment but happy to post my crib sheet later for those wanting to have a crack at German records.

Marjorie

[SiegeGunner]

Is it this one, Marjorie?

[seaforths]

No - similar though. Mine is a mish-mash of a couple of different ones thrown together into a PDF. I have separated the pages here because it's too big to post as a single document.

German Gothic & Fraktur Scripts 1.pdf

German Gothic & Fraktur Scripts 2.pdf

First two pages above.

3rd page:

German Gothic & Fraktur Scripts 3.pdf

last page:

German Gothic & Fraktur Scripts 4.pdf

[seaforths]

At the moment, I am only working with small pieces of German text from service records of soldiers or extracts from Meyers Orts. However some of the records from the Bundesarchiv will be more challenging!