Adalbert Goertz (goertz@cyberspace.org)
Back to Regions
CONTENTS:
Q1: What and where was Prussia?
Q2: What about the kings in Germany?
Q3: Who were the Prussian kings?
Q4: Where does the name Prussia come from?
Q5: What were the administrative areas of Prussia in 1895?
Q6: Where do I write for birth certificate for someone born in Prussia?
Q7: How do I find locations and maps for Prussia?
Q8: When were civil registers introduced?
Q9: Where can I get more information on the Prussian provinces?
Q10: Are there emigration records available for Prussian emigrants?
Q11: Is there a listserv for Prussia?
Q12: What are the main genealogical sources for Prussia?
Q13: Where can I find military records?
Q14: Can you describe the Prussian school system before WWII?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q1: What and where was Prussia?
A1: The answer depends on the time frame:
1) pre-1806 2) 1806-1871 3) 1871-1918 and later.
1a) Prussia was a region which before 1772 consisted of what was
later known as East Prussia (Ostpreussen) with capital of
Königsberg, a duchy since 1525,
a kingdom of the Hohenzollern dynasty since 1701
and
West Prussia (Westpreussen) with the Hanseatic cities of Danzig,
Elbing, Thorn, and Culm, part of Poland referred to as Polish Prussia before
1772
The German literture refers to this area (East and West Prussia) as
Old or Original Prussia or (Altpreussen).
1b) In 1772 King Friedrich II of Prussia annexed Polish Prussia
(without the Danzig Territory) calling it West Prussia (Westpreussen) and
united it with East Prussia. In 1793 King Friedrich Wilhelm II also annexed
the Danzig and Thorn Territories, and 1793/1795 larger areas of Poland which
were called South Prussia (Sndpreussen) and New East Prussia
(Neu-Ostpreussen).
In 1806 the old adminitrative areas were
I. Ostpreussen with 983,034 Einwohner:
1.Ostpreussisches Kammer-Departement included the Kreise of Samland (
Schaken), Tapiau, Brandenburg, Rastenburg, Braunsberg, Heilsberg,
Morungen, Neidenburg.
2.Litauisches Kammer-Departement included the Kreise of Insterburg,
Olezko, Sehesten.
II. Westpreussen with 915,935 Einwohner:
3.Westpreussisches Kammer-Departement included the Kreise of Marienwerder,
Marienburg, Kulm, Michelau, Dirschau, Danzig, Stargard, Konitz.
4.Westpreussisches Kammer-Departement fnr den Netzdistrict
included the Kreise of Bromberg, Inowraclaw, Kamin, Krone.
III. Sndpreussen with 1,503,508 Einwohner:
5.Departement der Kriegs- und Domainen-Kammer zu Posen included the
Kreise of Posen, Oborniki, Meseritz, Bomst, Fraustadt, Krebe, Schrimm, Kosten,
Krotoschin, Peisern, Schroda, Gnesen, Wongrowitz, Powitz, Brzesk, Radziejow,
Kowal.
6. Departement der Kriegs- und Domainen-Kammer zu Kalisch included
the Kreise of Kalisch, Adelnau, Konin, Ostreschow, Wielun, Lumtomiersk,
Warta, Schadek, Sieradz, Petrikau, Radomsk, Czenstochau.
7. Departement der Kriegs- und Domainen-Kammer zu Warschau included the
Kreise of Warschau, Blonin, Tschersk, Rawa, Sochaczew, Gostin, Orlow, Lenczyca,
Zgierz, Brzezin.
IV. Neu-Ostpreussen with 914,610 Einwohner:
8. Departement der Kriegs- und Domainen-Kammer zu Bialystok included
the Kreise of Lomza, Drohicin, Bielsk, Surasz, Bialystok, Bobrz, Dombrowa,
Wygry, Kalwary, Marianpol.
9. Departement der Kriegs- und Domainen-Kammer zu Plozk included the
Kreise of Wyszogrod, Lipno, Mlawa, Przasnik, Pultusk, Ostrolenka.
The concept of Kreis was different in pre-1806 Prussia and referred to the
districts of the noble families ("Die Adeligen Kreise of the
Rittergutsbesitzer") as well as the ImmediatstSdte and royal
Domainen--mter. The term "Regierung" referred to the judicial (court)
system before 1806 and to the district government after 1815. This is important
to understand, if researchers want to judge the relevance of records in the
Berlin and Polish archives.
For historical maps see
Adalbert Goertz: "Geographical Primer of Prussia", published in
Mennonite Family History, April 1984, pp.58-61.
(Address:R#1,Box 20 Morgantown PA 19543-9701;email:masthof@masthof.org)
The kingdom of Prussia at this time was not part of Germany.
Königsberg was capital and coronation city of the Prussian kings. Terms
like German government or German army have no meaning for this time period.
2) In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Europe and abolished the
German empire and the title of Kaiser for Germany (capital:Wien or Vienna).
The Kaiser in Wien-Vienna became Kaiser of Austria with no power in the rest
of Germany. After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 the kingdom of Prussia
became known as "Die Vereinigten Preussischen Staaten" (United Prussian States)
which now also included provinces like Schlesien/Silesia, Brandenburg,
Pommern/Pomerania and areas as far west as the Rhine province.
Berlin now became the Prussian capital.
Until 1806 the Hohenzollern sovereign had many titles and hats from
Head of the Evangelic Church to King, Elector, Grandduke, Duke for the
various regions (like Silesia) and realms under his rule. After 1806 he simply
was King of Prussia.
Terms like German government or German army have no meaning for this time
period until 1871.
3) In 1871 Germany as an empire with a Kaiser was reestablished
with Berlin as the capital of Germany and Prussia and with the Prussian king
also having the title of German Kaiser.
All monarchies in Germany were abolished in 1918, Prussia was declared
defunct in 1947 by the Allied victors. The original (East and West) Prussia
was cleansed of its ethnic German population and given to Poland and Russia
The Western powers were silent on the ethnic cleansing of original
Prussia and Eastern Germany resulting in 12 millions of German refugees and
expellees. Germany was made to accept the new boundaries in 1990.
There have been some calls recently for books in English on
the German exodus and ethnic cleansing in East Germany and
Eastern Europe:
Thorwald, Jurgen: Es begann an der Weichsel. 1951
Das Ende an der Elbe. 1952.
English: Flight in the winter;
[New York] Pantheon [1951] 318 p. 22 cm.
CALL #: 940.542 T52F
De Zayas, Alfred M.
Anmerkungen zur Vertreibung der Deutschen aus dem Osten.
English: The German expellees : victims in war and peace /
Alfred-Maurice De Zayas ; [original German version
translated by John A. Koehler].
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1993.
xlii, 177 p., [24] p. of plates : ill., map ; 22 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [161]-169) and
index. CALL #: DJK 28.G4D413 1993
De Zayas, Alfred M.
Anmerkungen zur Vertreibung der Deutschen aus dem Osten.
English: A terrible revenge : the "ethnic cleansing" of the
east European Germans, 1944-1950 /Alfred-Maurice de Zayas;
[original German version translated by John A. Koehler].
1st pbk. ed. with additions.
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1994.
xlii, 179 p. : ill., maps ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-171) and
index. CALL #: DJK 28.G4D413 1994
OTHER ENTRIES: Germans Europe, Eastern History 20th century.
World War, 1939-1945 Refugees.
World War, 1939-1945 Atrocities.
Population transfers Germans.
The Federal archives in Bayreuth has compiled the most detailed
documentation on the German ethnic cleansing from Eastern Germany
and Easteren Europe.
Address:
Bundesarchiv Bayreuth
Postfach 5025
95424 Bayreuth
Ph.: 0921-57087
The following material is available for research and copying:
1. Gemeindeseelenlisten (name lists), incl. village maps comprising
15568 population lists for 12083 towns and villages, 7745 village
maps for 6750 communities.
2. Ost-Dokumentation
- Fragebogenberichte (Gemeindeschicksalsberichte) zur
Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus
Ostmitteleuropa und aus den deutschen Siedlungsgebieten
in Sndosteuropa (Questionaires on ethnic cleansing)
- Erlebnisberichte zur Dokumentation der Vertreibung der
Deutschen aus Ostmittel- und Sndeuropa
(First hand reports on ethnic cleansing)
- Erhebungsbögen (Auswertungsbögen) der Dokumentation
der Vertreibungsverbrechen (Evaluation on crimes against refugees)
- Unterlagen der Flucht nber die Ostsee (Flight via the Baltic
sea)
- Dokumentation nber das Leben deutscher Flnchtlinge in
DSnemark
(Refugee life in Denmark)
- Berichte nber das Leben der deutschen Volksgruppen
jenseits der östlichen und sndöstlichen Reichsgrenzen
(Reports on life in German communities outside Germany)
- Berichte von Persönlichkeiten des +ffentlichen Lebens
aus den Gebieten östlich von Oder und Neisse zum
Zeitgeschehen 1919-1945 (Reports by public figures from areas
east of Oder and Neisse on life during 1919-1945)
- Berichte nber Verwaltung und Wirtschaft in den Gebieten
östlich von Oder und Neisse sowie in Böhmen und MShren
(Reports on administration and business in the areas east of Oder
and Neisse as well as Bohemia and Moravia).
Q2: What about the kings in Germany?
A2: Before 1806 Germany was one kingdom and empire with one Kaiser and one
king who resided in Wien (Vienna). He was elected by the collegium of
Kurfnrsten (electors) who in 1800 were the
3 archbishops of Köln (Cologne), Mainz and Trier and the
4 secular electors of Rhine-Pfalz, Brandenburg, Sachsen(Saxony), and
Böhmen(Bohemia).
The electors of Brandenburg and Sachsen had also ambitions to acquire
the title of king. Since they could not acquire this title inside Germany they
succeeded outside Germany:
Brandenburg by declaring themselves "King in Prussia" at Königsberg
in 1701, Sachsen by getting elected as King of Poland in 1697.
The Kaiser in Wien was powerless to prevent this ploy.
By 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte changed all that. Germany no longer was a
kingdom and empire. The titles of Kurfnrst (elector) became meaningless
and was abolished and changed to Kings of Bohemia, Prussia, Saxony,
Bavaria, Wnrttemberg, and Hannover by Napoleon's grace.
The archbishops and catholic church lost all their secular power in 1803.
Q3: Who were the Prussian kings?
A3:
* Kurfnrst (Elector) Friedrich III was crowned first king
Friedrich in Königsberg in 1701, died 1712, his son was
* King Friedrich Wilhelm I, 1712-1740, intolerant, his son was
* King Friedrich II the Great (Old Fritz), 1740-1786, his nephew
was
* King Friedrich Wilhelm II, 1786-1797, intolerant, his son was
* King Friedrich Wilhelm III, 1797-1840, his son was
* King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, 1840-1861, his brother was
* King Wilhelm I, 1861-1888, became Kaiser 1871, his son was
* Kaiser and King Friedrich III, 1888 (99 days), his son was
* Kaiser and King Wilhelm II, 1888-1918.
Q4: Where does the name Prussia come from?
A4: The Baltic tribe of the Prussen or Pruzzen gave the name to the region
called Prussia. The name means Po-Russia (close to Russia).
The Latinized name was Prussia or Borussia.
Q5: What were the administrative areas of Prussia in 1895?
A5: There were 14 provinces in Prussia in 1895 with their respective
capitals and Reg.Bezirke (districts):
The head of the province was the OberprSsident who presided over the
OberprSsidium office.
The head of each district was the RegierungsprSsident who presided
over the Regierung office.
- * marks the provinces outside the old pre-1806-Germany
Ostpreussen (East Prussia)* Königsberg -Ermland since 1772-
(Königsberg,Gumbinnen)
Westpreussen (West Prussia)* Danzig since 1772/1793
(Danzig-Gdansk,Marienwerder-Kwidzyn)
Note: West Prussia geographically was NOT in the western part of 19th
century Prussia.
Berlin (Stadtkreis) Berlin
Brandenburg Potsdam (Potsdam,Frankfurt an der Oder)
Pommern (Pomerania) Stettin (Stettin,Köslin,Stralsund)
Posen* Posen (Poznan) since 1793 (Posen-Poznan,
Bromberg-Bydgoszcz)
Schlesien (Silesia) Breslau since 1742 (Breslau,Oppeln,Liegnitz)
Sachsen (Saxony) Magdeburg (Magdeburg,Merseburg,Erfurt)
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig since 1865/1866 (Schleswig)
Hannover Hannover since 1866 (Hannover,
Hildesheim,Lnneburg,Stade,Osnabrnck,Auri ch)
Westfalen (Westphalia) Mnnster since 1815 (Mnnster,Minden,Arnsberg)
Hessen-Nassau Kassel since 1866 (Kassel,Wiesbaden)
Rheinland Köln since 1815 (Koblenz,Dnsseldorf,Köln,
Trier,Aachen)
Hohenzollern Sigmaringen (Sigmaringen)
In 1890 the population figures were for
Germany: 49 millions, and
Preussen: 31 millions.
This corresponded to about 63% of the total German population.
Q6: Where do I write for birth certificate for someone born in Prussia?
A6: The answer depends on the time frame:
Before 1772 this would mean East Prussia, for 1772-1806 this could be
anywhere in East or West (or even South or New East) Prussia.
After 1815 this could be anywhere in the provinces listed above in A4.
But then, if I ask you: where do I write for birth certificate for someone
born in the USA in 1772 or 1840 or 1895, what would you answer?
If all you know is Prussia as a birth "place", nobody would be able to
help you.
If you are looking for a certain name in Germany, consult the International
Genealogical Index (IGI) for Germany at your local LDS Family History Center.
This will give you some idea of the past geographical distribution of the name
in Germany.
Q7: How do I find locations and maps for Prussia?
A7: 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.
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.
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 (MesstischblStter 1:25000) may also be purchased from
Bundesamt fnr Kartographie und GeodSsie
Stauffenbergstr.13
10785 Berlin, Germany
E-mail: kart@ifag.de
http://www.ifag.de/Kartographie/Kartenverzeichnis/I_alte_K.h tm
http://www.ifag.de/Kartographie/Verz_Veröffentlichungen /versond.htm
or from some regional institutes in the western parts of former Prussia.
For German-Polish place name dictionary, see
http://www.calle.com/world/poland/index.html
http://www.atsnotes.com/other/gerpol.html
One US source of maps is
the American Geographical Society Collection
of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library
P.O. Box 399
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Telephone: 414-229-6282
WATS: 800-558-8993
FAX: 414-229-3624
If you are not able to visit the library yourself, they will photocopy
maps in their collection for a minimum fee.
Do not overlook the obvious place to do your homework:
A general encyclopedia in your local library. The Encyclopedia Britannica
may just do fine for general questions and maps.
http://www.britannica.com
Regional gazetteers with MAPS (Kt.-Beil.= maps added).
* Historisches Ortschaftsverzeichnis : Reihe historischer
Ortschaftsverzeichnisse fnr ehemals zu Deutschland gehörige
Gebiete - Zeitraum 1914 - 1945 / bearb. u. hrsg. vom Institut fnr
Angewandte GeodSsie. - Frankfurt am Main : Verl. des Instituts
Angewandte Geoddsie Anzahl BSnde : 10
* Oberschlesien/Upper Silesia - 1994. - 9, 316 S. + 3 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-004-6, DM 84
* Niederschlesien/Lower Silesia. - 1994. - 9, 316 S. + 3 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-006-2, DM 84
* Ostbrandenburg/East Brandenburg. - 1994. - 8, 95 S. + 3 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-007-0, DM 40
* Hinterpommern/Trans Pomerania - 1994. - 8, 267 S. + 3 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-008-9, DM 78
* Ostpreussen. 1,E.Prussia 1 (Kernland).-1995. -9, 663 S.+ 5 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-009-7, DM 130
* Ostpreussen. 2,E.Prussia 2(Randbebiete).-1995. -9, 507 S.+ 3 Kt.-Beil.
ISBN 3-88648-010-0, DM 65
* Danzig - Westpreussen. - 1997. - 9, 547 S. + 3 Kt.-Beil.,DM 104
* Luxemburg, Eupen-Malmedy und Nordschleswig.-1997, 98 S., DM 40
In preparation/Vorbereitung: Band VIII: Wartheland
Q8: When were civil registers introduced in Prussia?
A8: Civil registers of births,marriages,deaths were introduced in
October 1874. The Civil registry office is called Standesamt.
In some provinces civil registers were introduced by the French before
1874,
* Rheinland in 1792,
* Hessen-Nassau in 1803,
* Westfalen in 1808,
* Hannover in 1809.
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.
Prior to 1874, the church records (Kirchenbncher) of the official
churches (Evangelic and catholic) served as recognized documents for the
purpose of proving one's birth, marriage, and death and had to meet
certain standards of accuracy and completeness which were set and supervised
by the Ministery of Church,School,and Medical Matters in Berlin.
Members of minor (unrecognised) churches had to record their vital
statistics with the pastor of the official churches.
Duplicates had to be deposited at the local court (Amtsgericht).
At this time I would like to point to the Grundakten, Erbrezesse,
Erbvergleiche (probates) and Pupillenakten (orphan records) of the Prussian
courts (Amtsgerichte) since 1783. They give detail whenever death occured and
heirs were involved. Children usually are listed with their parents and birth
dates etc.
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).
In many cases, if not most, these records have survived the wars, and
are deposited at the German and Polish archives.
Any real estate holding usually means that there were and often still are
today deed and mortgage records (Grund- und Hypotheken-Acten) which were
administered by the Amtsgericht.
They are vital to further research of families with land holdings,
especially for the period pre-dating the church books. They usually start with
a land title history (=tituli possessionis) going back 50 or more years from
the beginning of the first deed book (Grundbuch or acta judicialia). Legal
basis for these land records are the Prussian Hypotheken-Ordnung of 1783.
Land reform changed the ownership structure of the rural populace
which is reflected in the records of the General-Kommission set up in 1812 for
this purpose and a prime genealogical source. They often give summaries of
title histories with deed references and, thus, serve as keys to the
Grundakten of all Prussian courts for further study. In some cases they may
even be the only records available, if relevant court records perished. They
are also to be found in state archives under the "Regierung" records and the
keywords "Regulierung, Ablösung, Austuung" of the estates etc.
The whereabouts of the Amtsgericht records is unknown.
Nobody published inventories and listings of court records.
Ribbe-Henning's "Taschenbuch fnr Familiengeschichtsforschung" is
silent on them. The law seems to say that there is no statute of limitation
for preserving or discarding them.
The location of the courts (Amtsgerichte) are listed in my various
regional FAQs. For more on court records, see
http://www.mmhs.org/prussia/mmhsgen3.htm
Q9: Where can I get more information on the Prussian provinces?
A9: Try some of the web sites like
http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/reg/rindex.htm
http://www.adnc.com/web3/lynnd/gfaq.html
http://members.aol.com/genpoland/genpolen.htm
http://www.worldgenweb.org/Prussia/prussia.htm
http://www.genealogy.net/gene/www/ghlp/AGoFF-d.html
http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/edatbase.htm
http://www.bundesarchiv.de/index.html
http://www.ezab.de Evang.Zentralarchiv Berlin, Email:archiv@ezab.de
For diseases in church books:
http://www.danzig.de/krank.htm
For mailing lists:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~maillist/europe/index.html#germany
For keyword searches in soc.genealogy.german:
http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/searches/
Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.
Archivstrasse 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
http://dg3.chemie.uni-konstanz.de/~stuebs/pommern/Archive/be rli-geh-st*
Evang. Zentralarchiv Berlin.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/eza
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/eza/eza3e.htm
Email: eza@snafu.de
Libraries in Berlin and Brandenburg.
http://www.sbb.spk-berlin.de
http://www.ub.fu-berlin.de/
http://www.kulturbox.de/zlb/
http://www.ub.fu-berlin.de/index.html
http://www.fh-brandenburg.de/bibliothek/www.htm
http://www.fh-potsdam.de/~ BiB/bio_home.htm
http://www.bbaw.de/index.html
Monthly acquisitions of history books at Humboldt University.
http://www.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/biblioth/Neuerw/
If you have no access to the Web (www), you can direct web files to
your email box by sending the request
get http://.....
to
www4mail@unganisha.idrc.ca
OR
www4mail@web.bellanet.org
You can expect to receive the www-document in your email box.
You also may simply send message HELP to above addresses, if your request
fails. This way you will find out whether or not you made a mistake in sending
your request.
( This may not work for home pages with "frames")
Consult also
Germanic Genealogy (by Edward R.Brandt et alii), 2nd edition.
1997, St.Paul MN, 517 pp.,1st edition, 1995.
Q10: Are there emigration records available for Prussian emigrants?
A10: The Geh.Staatsarchiv in Berlin has many emigration records which were
filmed by the LDS FHL (mostly 19th century).
There are also provincial archives which need to be consulted.
Each Kreis (county) 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 OberprSsidium.
M.D.Learned gives a listing of many emigration and passport records on the
Landrat, Regierung, and provincial OberprSsidium level.
The records are often called emigration consense (permits).
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-
(there are a number of updates in two volumes done by the LOC
Manuscript Division,call no.L173.L4 Suppl. 1929-1932).
-also Kraus Reprints, NY 1965-
http://genealogy.net/gene/www/emig/GermansToAmerica.html
There is a mailing list:
emigration-ships@listserv.northwest.com
Q11: Is there a listserv for Prussia?
A11: There is a mailing list for anyone with a
genealogical interest in Prussia:.
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).
Q12: What are the main genealogical sources for Prussia?
A12: The main sources are
1) Civil registers of the Standesamt, mentioned above
2) Church records (Kirchenbncher)
3) Court records (land and other records)
Q13: Where can I find military records?
A13: Military records:
In 1867 the armies of all but four German states were integrated into the
armies of Prussia. From that time on, soldiers of any German state (except
Bayern, Sachsen, Baden, Wnrttemberg) were recorded only in the military
records of Prussia. Unfortunately, most Prussian military records of the
Heeresarchiv were completely destroyed in 1945 by British planes.
For Prussian military information, one has to rely on pre-1945 publications
There are, however, military church books maintained by the military
chaplains for individual regiments which have been filmed by the LDS FHL.
Q14: Can you describe the Prussian school system before WWII?
A14: Between WWI and WWII:
Everyone started at primary or Volksschule, grades 1-4 (age 6-10)
At age 10, grades were split:
1) continue Volksschule, grades 5-8 (ages 11-14) followed by a
Berufsschule and Lehre of 2 years to learn a trade (ages 15-16)
2) OR continue secondary school (Ober-Realschule, Oberschule or classic
Gymnasium, OberlycSum for girls) after passing an entrance exam.
Grades were called Sexta (5), Quinta (6), Quarta (7), Unter-Tertia (8),
Ober-Tertia (9), Unter-Sekunda (10), Ober-Sekunda (11), Unter-Prima (12),
Ober-Prima (13). Students were called Sextaner,...,Ober-Primaner.
After passing the final exam (Reifeprnfung), you had earned the
Abitur and qualified for university admission and military officer training.
3) OR continue secondary school (Realschule, Mittelschule, LycSum
for girls) for 6 grades giving you Realschulreife, Sekundareife,
Mittelschulreife or "das EinjShrige" which was required for
higher schools of learning below university level and for reduced military
service ("einjShrig Freiwillige").
Oberschule usually offered 3 foreign languages English (starting in grade
5 French (7), Latin (9,Kleines Latinum); Gymnasium offered Latin (starting in
grade 5, grosses Latinum), Greek (7), English or French (9).
Grosses Latinum was required for students planning to major in theology,
history etc. If you had Kleines Latinum only, you had to take additional Latin
courses whenever Grosses Latinum was required. Language studies continued to
final graduation, not just for a semester or a year.
Realschule usually offered two foreign languages English (5) and French (7).
Old report cards or transcripts (Schulzeugnis) are often still available
at the schools or state archives (under Schulsachen back to the 1800s).
Write to Schulverwaltung, city, Germany and be as specific as possible.
In Prussia the Schulsachen would be deposited under the Regierung records.
Universities have their own archives where records on faculty and students
may be deposited.
Suggestions for improvements are appreciated.
Adalbert Goertz (goertz@cyberspace.org)
Sponsored by the VU German Study Group Page
Go to Top