From: Adalbert Goertz, Waynesboro PA Re: FAQ.Pommern Please, send any correction and suggestions to be404@yfn.ysu.edu ------------------------------ Contents: Q1: Where is Pommern (Pomerania)? Q2: What was Pommern's recent history? Q3: What were the administrative areas of Pommern (Pomerania)? Q4: What were the court districts in Pommern province before 1900? Q5: Are there maps available for the Pommern area before 1945? Q6: Are there web sites of interest to Pommern researchers? Q7: When were civil registers introduced? ======================================= Q1: Where is Pommern (Pomerania)? A1: Pommern was a Prussian province. Its capital was Stettin (pronounce:stet-TEEN). Pommern was cleansed of its ethnic German population and given to Poland in 1945. The Western powers were silent on the ethnic cleansing. Stettin was renamed Szczecin. Q2: What was Pommern's recent history? A2: At the end of the 30-Years-War (1648) Pommern consisted of two areas: Schwedish-Pommern in the West under Swedish rule and the Eastern area under the rule of the Brandenburg Electors. After the defeat of Napoleon, Sweden in 1815 renounced all her claims to areas in Germany incl. Pommern. Pommern West of the Oder River was also called Vorpommern, East of the Oder River Hinterpommern. In 1938 areas from the former provinces of Westpreussen and Posen which were lost after WWI were added in an administrative reform. In 1945, Poland took all Pommern East of the Oder River (Hinterpommern). Q3: What were the administrative areas of Pommern (Pomerania)? A3: In 1900 the province of Pommernn had the following districts and Kreise (counties): Regierungsbezirk (district) of Stettin with 13 Kreise (counties): Anklam,Demmin,Greifenberg,Greifenhagen,Kammin,Naugard,Pyritz,Randow, Regenwalde,Saatzig,Stettin-Stadt,Ueckermuende,Usedom-Wollin. Regierungsbezirk (district) of Koeslin with (12) Kreise (counties): Belgard,Bublitz,Buetow,Dramburg,Kolberg-Koerlin,Koeslin,Lauenburg, Neustettin,Rummelsburg,Schivelbein,Schlawe,Stolp. Regierungsbezirk (district) of Stralsund with (5) Kreise (counties): Franzburg,Greifswald,Grimmen,Ruegen,Stralsund-Stadt. (This area was the former Swedish-Pommern). Q4: What were the court districts in Pommern province before 1900? A4: The highest provincial court was the Oberlandesgericht in Stettin. The lower courts were Landgericht Greifswald with (11) Amtsgerichte: Anklam,Barth,Bergen,Demmin,Franzburg,Greifswald,Grimmen,Loitz, Stralsund,Treptow,Wolgast. Landgericht Koeslin with (12) Amtsgerichte: Baerwalde,Belgard,Bublitz,Kolberg,Koerlin,Koeslin,Neustettin,Polzin, Ratzebuhr,Schivelbein,Tempelburg,Zanow. Landgericht Stargard with (14) Amtsgerichte: Dramburg,Falkenburg,Gollnow,Greifenberg,Jakobshagen,Kallies,Labes, Massow,Naugard,Noerenberg,Pyritz,Regenwalde,Stargard,Treptow. Landgericht Stettin with (15) Amtsgerichte: Altdamm,Bahn,Fiddichow,Gartz,Greifenhagen,Kammin,Neuwarp,Pasewalk, Penkun,Poelitz,Stepenitz,Stettin,Swinemuende,Ueckermuende,Wollin. Landgericht Stolp with (7) Amtsgerichte: Buetow,Lauenburg,Pollnow,Ruegenwalde,Rummelsburg,Schlawe,Stolp. The whereabouts of the records for the Landgerichte and Amtsgerichte is unknown. Of special interest are the land deed records (Grund- und Hypotheken-Acta) with no published survey known todate. Q 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 (Messtischblaetter 1:25000) may also be purchased from Institut fuer Angewandte Geodaesie Stauffenbergstr.13 10785 Berlin, Germany (Ask for their map catalog for Posen) see also http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/gifs/maps/ Q6: Are there web sites of interest to Pommern researchers? A6: Here is a sampling of web sites: + Pommern/Pomerania: http://dg3.chemie.uni-konstanz.de/~stuebs/pommern/ http://feefhs.org http://home.aol.com/myrondpl + Information on German archives: http://www.bawue.de/~hanacek/info/darchive.htm + Maps online of German regions: http://w3g.med.uni-giessen.de/gene/gifs/maps/ + Information on Polish archives: http://www.man.poznan.pl/~bielecki/geninfo6.htm If you have no access to the Web (www), you can direct web files to your email box by sending a request to agora@info.lanic.utexas.edu with the message HELP or send http://..... Q7: When were civil registers introduced? A7: Civil registers of births,mariages,deaths were introduced in October 1874. The Civil registry office is called Standesamt. Before this time, the Lutheran church records (1815-1874) or special Dissidenten-Register (1847-1874) served as official registers, and a duplicate copy was deposited the the local court (Amtsgericht). -- *************** Adalbert Goertz ****** ph 717-762-7378 ******** retired in Waynesboro PA (65 miles from Baltimore/Washington DC Mennonite genealogy of East and West Prussia prior to 1945. Wanted: house in Colorado/New Mexico/Arizona for us retirees