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Germanic
Genealogy: A Guide to Worldwide Sources and Migration PatternsReview by Edward David Luft in Avotaynu: The Internal Review of Jewish Genealogy:
Brandt and his team have produced a useful, comprehensive and convenient source of reference when searching for almost anything involving Germanic genealogy, including that of Jews. It is the only compilation of its type in English or German.
Germanic Genealogy includes a chapter devoted exclusively to German Jews, including comprehensive discussions of Jewish names, communal records, libraries and archives, cemetery records, family histories, genealogical societies and periodicals, computer genealogy, Holocaust research, yizkor books and research in Austria and Switzerland. Discussions of specific regions in other chapters often turn up references to Jews and books about them for that region as well. For example, four paragraphs are devoted to German-speaking Jews in Australia. Despite the slip-up in saying of Australian Jews that “The largest number of Jews, including Jews with German-speaking ancestors, are in Sydney and Australia,” when a second city (probably Melbourne) instead of the country was clearly intended, the reference is still useful, providing two sources dealing with the immigration of Australian Jews. Similar analysis occurs for the United States. In addition, each province of the German Empire is separately treated with its own ample bibliography.
AVOTAYNU sources are extensively cited and analyzed, although AVOTAYNU is not mentioned in the index. Since many AVOTAYNU readers already are familiar with articles published in this periodical, the value of Germanic Genealogy to regular readers of this journal is that it summarizes the various topics all in one place. More importantly, [it] provides other practical sources, such as hints for writing to obtain information from an archive in Germany or elsewhere, tips on sending money to foreign countries, sample letters in German (some items, such as ancestor tables, called ahnentafeln, are reproduced in French and Polish, as well), a German Gothic script alphabet, a chapter devoted to an annotated bibliography and useful addresses, such as those of publishers.
Appendix A has a timeline of Germanic history with numerous references to Jews, while Appendix B is an extensive collection of maps for various time periods and locations relevant to German history. In addition to the chapter on Jews and the timeline, the book contains references to Jewish genealogical societies and Jewish migration, even including a brief treatment of Sephardic immigration to the United States, along with a specific bibliographical reference to Jewish migration, useful for further research.
Jewish immigration patterns from the Old World to the New World did not differ greatly from those of German Christians Thus, a reading of general information in the book, intended to apply to non-Jews, would also generally apply to Jews. The main distinction in immigration was that, once in the United States, Jews were less likely to pursue rural occupations as farming or animal husbandry, although many did. Many Jews did the same thing that they did in the old country, such as operating a hotel in a rural area. In short, an understanding of the German language was often as relevant in determining settlement location in the United States or Australia, as was religion.
While few readers will want to study Germanic Genealogy cover to cover, a careful use of the index to find relevant topics will reward the reader with many ideas and resources. The great strength of the book is that it is so exhaustive in scope and offers so many bibliographic sources. It is an idea reference tool for those trying to understand migration patterns of one’s ancestors but also provides many sources specifically for German Jews.
Review by Don Litzer, Reference Librarian at the Genealogy Center in the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana (July 17, 2007)
Owing largely to the complexity of German geography, history and identity, beginning German genealogical books are common, while those for advanced researchers (in the English language, at least) are rare. That Germanic Genealogy fills this void is, in and of itself, cause for celebration among Germanic genealogists.
Germanic Genealogy is also remarkable in that its scope is not geographically hamstrung – the German language is the defining criteria for “Germanic” in this work. Included, therefore, besides Germans from the territory of present-day Germany and other principally German-speaking countries, are German-speaking minority populations far beyond the furthest boundaries of Germany, however defined, including colonists of Russia and other remote locations. Germanic Genealogy is just as comprehensive for German-speaking emigrants, reaching not only the U.S. and Canada, but every other corner of the globe, including significant communities in South America, Australia and South Africa.
Researchers familiar with Germanic Genealogy will find significant upgrades in the third edition. The work has grown by over 27% to 658 pages. Chapters describing general research method, while emphasizing the same techniques, have been updated with URLs and other Internet references. The most striking differences are found in the Germanic ancestors in Europe section, which has expanded from 115 to 269 pages. The Germany section includes separate discussions of the various pre-1820 emigrant populations, former eastern Prussian provinces, the German Empire and its predecessors after 1815, and states in modern Germany – providing valuable context and contacts for researchers seeking to place their ancestor in a particular place and time.
The work’s layout, presented in two-column format and sprinkled with photographs, is more visually appealing and inviting for users. Its appendices, including a timeline, multi-lingual terminology tables, a substantial index, an annotated bibliography citing many German-language works, serviceable maps, and an address list with frequent Web references and annotations, all support the editors’ ambitious goal of making Germanic Genealogy a first resource for Germanic genealogists. They have, indeed, succeeded in creating a volume that should be on the bookshelf of every genealogist and every library interested in researchers of German-speaking ancestors.
Excerpts from two reivews by Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D., President and founder of The Genealogical Institute. Arlene Eakle is best known as a co-editor, with Johni Cerny, of the 1st edition of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (1984), an award-winning guide.
NOTE: I have excerpted these two reviews to focus on the subjects for which I was solely or primarily responsible in the book. For example, Eakle also singled out for special value the indexing (done by Kermit Frye) and the maps (prepared by Mary Bellingham). Reading her entire review will give you a more complete picture of the contributions of these co-authors and the other contributors. See the Acknowledgments section in the book for a full listing of contributors.
Excerpt from review posted at www.arleneeakle.com (June 5, 2007):
Germanic Genealogy is an awesome guidebook! There is no other way to describe it – all 600+ pages of it. This is actually the 3rd edition of the book published by the Germanic Genealogy Society …. The six authors of this encyclopedic work come from that group.…
Geography is a forgotten school subject for most of us .… since European areas often have more than one set of place names to contend with, we need precise directions on where this geographic knowledge can be obtained. Chapter 7 provides us with an introduction to political and physical geography. I recommend that this be must reading for tracing German ancestor – wherever they originate. …
This is one of those guidebooks that if you must limit yourself to only one, make it this one.
Excerpt from review at www.arleneeakle.com (June 18, 2007) of chapter 9, pp. 98-130, History, Migration, and Genealogy of Various Religious Denominations:
“While this chapter focuses on records in or from Europe, we began to realize that the standard works on American genealogy might not be adequate for tracing ancestors back to Europe, at least as far as the records of historically German parishes in North America are concerned. Thus we broadened the scope of this chapter to include all churches in North America known to have had any German-speaking congregations.” (Germanic Genealogy, p. 98)
The italics are mine [Eakle’s]. This is exactly the problem. Most American genealogists … have little experience in searching beyond American sources. We are literally clueless as to where to find records we need to extend our ancestry to Europe. This is a major handicap….
Remember that the major difference between this guide and all other European and American genealogy reference books is migration. Populations are not static and, most of all, are not stable…. Your people and mine, seeking peaceful and profitable pursuits of happiness, moved. …
Specific churches, especially the smaller denominations, get definitions, changes in name and affiliation, schisms and mergers, migrations of their populations before and after – all are anchored to particular time periods. This is one of the strengths of this chapter.
Review by Tom Upshaw of the Irish Palatine Association:
Not many guides to genealogy are as comprehensive as Germanic Genealogy – A Guide to Worldwide Sources and Migration Patterns, by Edward Brandt and five co-authors. . . . However, this substantial volume of 658 pages, now in its 3rd edition . . ., goes much further in taking on the monumental task of describing global migration patterns. The sheer scope of this endeavour can be seen in the extensive range of experts and sources cited in the acknowledgement section. . . . Click here to read the rest of this review.
ONE OF TWO MAJOR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE GUIDES on list of "Twenty-five of the most useful books for German genealogical research" by Horst Reschke, German-born columnist for Heritage Quest (Sept.-Oct. 1998). Twelve of the 25 are in English. The other English-language books, except for one very short introductory guide, are of a more specialized nature.
ONLY GENERAL GUIDE among the four books for GERMAN GENEALOGY recommended by Thomas Jay Kemp, "The Roots of Genealogy Collections," in the Library Journal (April 1, 1999), for development of a library collection on genealogy (including 26 on ethnic genealogy) and among those he has starred for a core collection (2 for German; 9 for all ethnic groups). His list also includes 24 other books, 7 periodicals, 3 e-newsletters and 2 general websites.
© 2005 Edward R. Brandt.
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