Bessarabia Resettlement Records

Quick links: Intro, Allen Konrad's Korner records, EWZ records, Koblenz records, Christian Fiess files, DAI lists, main Bessarabia research page

 

Intro

Bessarabian Germans (and those from Dobrudscha and Bukovina) who were resettled in 1940 filled out many records proving their German ethnicity. These contain family information back to the original emigrants from Germany, so they are valuable even if your direct ancestral line left Bessarabia before 1940.

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Allen Konrad's Korner records

Allen Konrad's Korner (Bessarabia Resettlement) has a large collection of documents about the 1940 resettlement. These include lists of villagers resettled, as well as translated documents with discussions of the history and logistics of the resettlement, and even a letter written while in one of the transit camps.

 

EWZ records

EWZ stands for Einwanderungszentralstelle or Central Immigration Control department. The EWZ 51 series is most important for Bessarabia & Dobrudscha research.

Each EWZ file includes that person's pedigree chart, and sometimes includes personal statistics, a Lebenslauf (life history), citizen application forms, passports, and photos.

GRHS has a growing collection of the EWZ 51 series. If you find a film in the index, you can view it at the GRHS Library or get help from GRHS research services. Please Volunteer if you'd like to help with the project indexing these films.

• EWZ Q&A - how to use EWZ films in your research from the Heritage Review (December 2007)

• EWZ 51 film indexes (3 different versions)

• Index of EWZ 50 films (Odessa area, Crimea)

• Index of EWZ 57 and 58 films (scroll to bottom of page)

• EWZ databases for the Grossliebental District and Hoffnungstal, Odessa and Glückstal area

• Elli's Korner has indexes to the T354, 544, and W Series films

• Samples of EWZ records

• More background on the EWZ records

• Conversion table for EWZ films & LDS film numbers (EWZ 58 only)

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Koblenz records

These are questionnaires filled out by Germans who were being resettled from Bessarabia, Dobrudscha, and Bukovina, and were completed prior to the EWZ records. These records come from the German Bundesarchiv. Most files include an Ahnentafel (family tree) and other personal information. If you find a film in the index, you can view it at the GRHS Library or get copies from GRHS research services.

• Koblenz records Q&A - how to use Koblenz records in your research from the Heritage Review (March 2008)

• Links to Koblenz indexes

• Download copies of Koblenz indexes (zip)

• Sample of a Koblenz record

 

Christian Fiess films

Christian Fiess was born in Sarata, Bessarabia, and was a school teacher in 1940 when the Bessarabian Germans were resettled back to Germany. After WWII, he began collecting documents and other items from his fellow Bessarabians in Germany. He was the first archivist and curator of the Bessarabien Heimatmuseum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The family documents he collected have been filmed by the LDS. Film numbers are: 1476492 thru 1476497.

• Background on the Christian Fiess collection

• Elli's Korner has links to indexes for Bessarabia, Odessa-area villages, and German villages (Orts)

• Download copy of Christian Fiess collection index (zip)

 

Misc. DAI lists

The Deutsches Ausland Institut collected many records during WWII. Some of these have been indexed and include lists of families.

• Misc. DAI films

• Elli's Korner has additional DAI film indexes showing lists of Bessarabian & Dobrudscha families in 1940-1941

• Allen Konrad's Korner has indexes and some translations of DAI films