[Leica] Civil records

["EcoMan" <larsplan@ocsnet.net>]

The official story for Germany is local records. The word
Standesamt was meant to record the status or state of the
people
who had to report there by law. In larger towns they also
have an
Einwohnermeldeamt which is closely connected and usually
right
next to or part of the local police station. One has to go
to this
office (or to the police) and report in as one moves into
the
neighborhood. The idea is to tell where you came from and
everything is nicely tracked so that no one gets lost to the
people
data base which the system requires. All this is computer
driven
and they can track your every move and know everything there
can
possibly be known about you and your family. This is why
they
worry so much about this data getting out into the open.

I watched the clerks who work in these agencies and how they
were able to access the whole life history of my cousin on
the
other side of the desk but they wouldn't tell me anything
about
what they saw. Very frustrating. His divorce was there, his
remarriage, his various moves. By hook or by crook I got
some of it
out of them after I mentioned an inheritance for him. They
pushed a
print key and out printed probably more than I was supposed
to get.

Anyway, the local Standesamt is the official record keeper
of the
various life events which happen in the area assigned to
that
particular district. I'm not sure how the Einwohnermeldeamt
figures
into the scheme but that's where they seem to have the same
database as the Standesamt. So, don't look for any data on a
regional basis like a county or Kreis. It's usually at the
local level.


****genealogists live in the past lane****