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Information about Address Finding, Searching for Persons, Family History (Genealogy)

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Einwohnermeldeamt
Online telephone book
German birth, marriage or death certificates
Family tracing services (not for genealogical research)
Assistance in commercial matters
Detective agencies
Information about German soldiers of World War I and II, incl. German POW in Britain:
Family History Research, Heraldry & Genealogy
Genealogy websites
Specialist Magazines

The German Embassy cannot assist you in finding a person in Germany. However, the following information is meant to be helpful when seeking a person in Germany on your own initiative.

It is recommended that enquiries to German institutions are made in German or with a German translation attached. You can find translation services near your home town through the “Yellow Pages” or through the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

If enquiring by post, please always enclose a self-addressed envelope and international post reply coupon. Charges may apply.

Einwohnermeldeamt

In Germany every resident, regardless of the nationality, is legally obliged to register with their local council. In the case of a person who was recently registered in Germany, you can enquire to the local registration office (“Einwohnermeldeamt”) at their last known town of residence. You should explain that your enquiry is for private reasons and provide proof of this. If the person has moved within Germany, the registration office will know their new address. The information will only be given to you if the provided data fits to only one single person registered in that town. Otherwise, due to data protection the local authority must not tell you any address. Therefore it is useful to specify the person’s identity with as much personal data as possible.

Addresses of the local “Einwohnermeldeamt” can be looked up on the website of each city, i.e. www.[nameofcity].de or the local telephone directory.

The following German sentence contains the essential information needed by the local registration office to locate a person who was recently registered in Germany:

Der Name der Person ist … (full name of person you are looking for), geboren am … (date of birth), mit letztem mir bekannten Wohnsitz in … (last known town of residence in Germany).

Online telephone book

You may also be able to find someone through the German telephone directory: www.dastelefonbuch.de

German birth, marriage or death certificates

Please contact the local registrar`s office (“Standesamt”) as there is no central registry in Germany. The German Embassy is unable to provide you with certificates or to contact the German registrar´s office on your behalf.

Family tracing services (not for genealogical research)

Salvation Army
Family Tracing Service
101 Newington Causeway
GB – London, SE1 6BN
Tel: +44 (0)845 634 4747
www.salvationarmy.org.uk

Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (German Red Cross)
Suchdienst München
Chiemgaustr. 109
81549 München
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)89 680 7730
www.drk-suchdienst.de/en

Assistance in commercial matters

German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce
Mecklenburg House
16 Buckingham Gate
GB - London, SW1E 6LB
Tel. +44 (0)20 7976 4100
www.germanbritishchamber.co.uk

Detective agencies

Bundesverband Deutscher Detektive e.V.
P-H-Albers Str. 2c
21244 Buchholz / Nordheide
Tel +49 (0)151 2054 8742
www.bdd.de
www.drk-suchdienst.de/en

Information about German soldiers of World War I and II, incl. German POW in Britain:

Bundesarchiv, Abteilung PA
Eichborndamm 179
13403 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)30 41904-440
www.bundesarchiv.de
(search for “Abteilung PA”) formerly known as Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt)

Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. (German War Graves)
Werner-Hilpert-Str. 2
34117 Kassel
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)561 7009-0
Fax: +49 (0)561 7009-221
www.volksbund.de (German only)