Research & Educational Resources

A compilation of various research and educational resources. Many of these resources are not primary resources, meaning that they should guide your research but not be considered 100% fact.

Germans before Russia

The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862 by Dr. Karl Stumpp - This is a classic reference book for German-Russian research. But the data for Bessarabia is weak because much of it was based on original settler lists rather than actual census data. It is available at the GRHS Bookstore.

Germans in and around Bessarabia

Bessarabia and Dobrudscha village data sheets (which include basic info about each village and research help)
Bessarabian village list (includes postal area, Kreis, parish, founding year)
Index of the Bessarabian Newsletter features articles on a number of topics.
Bukovina Koblenz records (by head of household surname)

Germans after Russia

Obits held in GRHS Library (index online but must contact GRHS to get a copy of the obit, many sources)
Timeline of Bessarabian Germans to North America
Town Histories (Odessa3 and scroll down to /u2/odessa/towns
Surname to Source (Town history books) list - shows surnames and the town they were in.
GRHS Area Coordinators (ACs) provide assistance with research in North America

Other Links

The Bessarabien Heimatmuseum (Stuttgart, Germany) publishes an annual Heimatkalendar with articles about Bessarabian families and life in Bessarabia.
If you can read German, you can purchase Village Chronicles (Heimatbücher)from the Bessarabiendeutscher Verein e.V. A few of the village books are also available in the GRHS library. Some are excellent sources for detailed family information. Several of them have been indexed.
The Bessarabien Verein in Stuttgart publishes a monthly newspaper, the Mitteilungsblatt, and sponsors many meetings and activities for Bessarabian Germans in Germany.
Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg online search engine for emigrants from Baden, Württemberg, and Hohenzollern
Alsace (aka Elsaß) Genealogy Genwiki
Trinity Lutheran Church, Lublin - online search of church records
Poznan/Posen marriage database 1820-1889 (which is a bit late for most Bessarabians, but you never know...)
SGGEE Members Only area has extractions from church records from about 60 towns in Poland plus a database of pedigree charts from members
Downloadable books on the German Lutheran church in Poland by Dr. Eduard Kneifel (includes Gemeinde Brzeziny by Lodz)
Lutheran church records in Russian Poland (with links to FHL film info for each village)
Netze District - list of available church records by town (no FHL film numbers listed)
Netze District land records 1772
West Prussian land records 1772-1773
South Prussia land records 1793-1794
Links to archives in Poland
Description of Polish church records (FamilySearch LDS)
Description of Polish civil records (FamilySearch LDS)
Maps of Russian Poland
SGGEE miscellaneous databases and research aids
Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE) - tons of resources for researching ethnic Germans in Russian Poland (where most of the Bessarabians came from) and Volhynia. Much data is free, but some is reserved only for their members.
Bessarabiendeutscher Verein (in German) - The Bessarabiendeutscher Verein manages the Bessarabian Heimatmuseum in Stuttgart, maintains a research library for materials for Bessarabian research, sells books on many of the Bessarabian villages, and publishes the monthly newspaper, the Mitteilungsblatt.
Landsmannschaft der Dobrudscha- und Bulariendeutschen - This organization is located in Stuttgart (Mainstr. 54, 70376 Stuttgart, Germany) and publishes Der Dobrudscha Bote.
History of Bessarabia by the Bessarabiendeutscher Verein (in German)
Russification and Ethnic Consciousness of Romanians in Bessarabia (1812-1991) from a Case Study trip to Moldova
Moldova and Romania: The Broken Engagement from a Case Study trip to Moldova
Moldovan Vines and Their Polluted Environment from a Case Study trip to Moldova