Bibliographie zur deutsch-jüdischen Familienforschung und zur neueren Regional- und Lokalgeschichte der Juden (Bibliography on German-Jewish family research and on the recent regional and local history of the Jews) by Angelika Ellmann-Krüger and Dietrich Ellmann, (Berlin: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006), ISBN 978-3-05447-8. €49.80, (approximately $65). Available through Avotaynu for $65 plus shipping/handling.
Without exaggeration, it is fair to say that this is the ultimate source for published German-Jewish genealogical research. With admirable thoroughness and precision, Angelika Ellmann-Krüger has researched every important publication of genealogical interest as well as many obscure ones on the Jews of Germany written in German and in English, making all easily available in this remarkable database. This CD is unique in that it contains the only comprehensive bibliography covering German-Jewish family research and regional and local history in Germany within its historical borders from early modern times until the end of the Nazi era. It is based upon both authors’ practical experience as retired librarians, doing family research in archives and libraries.
The sources include not only books, but also articles from old and current journals, newspapers and collective works taken from more than 32,000 published sources, mostly in English or in German. Unlike most other bibliographies, this one almost always includes one or more locations that hold the book or periodical, including the address of a library. Sometimes listed are the U.S. Library of Congress, the library of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York or that of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The CD also provides links to websites useful for Jewish family research, such as JewishGen and the libraries just listed above.
The information technology techniques offered are particularly easy to use. On the opening page, the reader may choose to search in German or in English, although the result will display in the language of the publication. Use of the browser requires no special skills or extensive experience. All help texts are integrated within the user interface.
Researchers may conduct an index search in seven different ways:
- Individuals and families. This selection provides access to approximately 50,000 individuals and families. A search of one version of a name will return other versions, so that a search for “Abrahamson, Abraham” will also return “Abramson, Abraham.” A married woman may be searched by her maiden name as well as by her husband’s name (“Aaron, Mina, née Lippmann” and “Lippmann, Mina”). Double names can be searched by each component (“Loew-Leo, Fritz” and “Leo, Fritz”).
- Countries and towns. These names may be searched by the older German name and by the current Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian or Hungarian name, and also, frequently, under the English name. Thus, Hohensalza may be searched as Hohensalza (Provinz Posen) or as Inowroclaw; Osterode (Ostpreußen) can also be searched by Ostroda; and Nürnberg can be searched as Nürnberg, or as Nuremberg. Different places with the same name (for example, Naumburg) have a supplement, such as Naumburg (Hessen) and Naumburg an der Saale. A place that in the past was independent and now is part of a town can be searched under its original name, such as Jebenhausen, although it is now part of Göppingen.
- Subject headings. This selection includes more than 1,700 keywords covering multiple aspects of history, legal status, Jewish life, professions, occupations of the Jews and other categories.
- Corporations
- Classification codes
- Words from titles
- Authors, editors
For all seven indexes, the researcher can start with the beginning of the keyword or with any desired character string, a great convenience if one does not know the exact spelling of the term to be searched (such as if one only knows that a person lived in a place ending with “leben”). Choosing the option “includes the entered character string” in the index of countries and towns yields 15 places with the suffix “leben.”
An exhaustive list of variations on a place name is possible when parts of the names are used for a search. Some limited knowledge of German orthography is necessary, however, when choosing the partial names to enter. Researchers must either use umlauts or the two-vowel equivalents in some cases. For example, one must search for “göppingen” or “goeppingen” but not “goppingen.” Using the initial vowel (here o) will not yield the name. However, if one enters “ppingen,” after choosing the option “includes the entered string,” the program will return “eppingen,” “goeppingen,” “richen (baden), now part of eppingen,” and “schoeppingen.” The engine is case insensitive so capitalization is unnecessary. The Göppingen example is important because it shows the agility of the search engine in handling letters in German or in English for the same search, while at the same time retrieving all possibilities using an incomplete name. When searching under “Individuals and Families,” the same concepts apply to personal names.
The authors have a good command of English, and they have generally conformed to both German and American library conventions in the information offered and its mode of presentation. The database yields a treasure trove of names and locations, often with both an American and a German library call number. There is even a list of family names changed subsequent to the initial family name adoption. That list includes some names adopted upon immigration to English-speaking countries. Many entries link to short biographical sketches about the person mentioned. Nearly half of the bibliographical descriptions have additional notes, giving information either about the content of the publication or about the individuals or families (parents, spouses, children or data on birth, death, etc.). Although these short notes are only in German, most researchers will be able to understand the general tenor even without a knowledge of that language.
Sources of the information include:
- Publications related to persons
Regional and local historical contributions on Jews in Germany and in areas that were part of Germany until 1945, plus Jews in other German-speaking countries, such as Austria, Switzerland and Alsace
- Publications on emigration and the life of Jews in the countries to which they migrated
- Entries concerning the legal status of Jews; their importance in economy, politics, science, art and culture; their living conditions and their daily life
- Topographical and geographical dictionaries
The indexes, as well as the detailed classification, offer fast access to bibliographical information. The researcher may choose an index search, basic search (one search term per query) or advanced search (a combination of two or three search terms per query). Annotations of 11,000 publications provide additional details on persons: dates of birth, marriage, and death; parents and other categories. They also give more information about the content of a given source.
Although the primary focus of the database is genealogical, the work is also useful for historians, librarians, bibliographers and others. The ultimate picture that the database produces is the history of how the Jews contributed to the German economy, academic development, social development and culture until Nazis times.
Because searches can be done by theme, a researcher may examine general trends by using the various search options and is not restricted just to a search for individuals. Most genealogists will want individuals, but a basic understanding of the situation in which those individuals lived, not just simple family history, will enrich the experience and lead to new avenues of search for other relatives. Frequently, the source materials identified will enable further research into relatives, neighbors and the like. Those who read German can use an introduction to special options, sources and literature on Jewish family research (accessible in the German version of the bibliography).
AVOTAYNU readers already are familiar with Ellman-Krueger’s book, Library Resources for German-Jewish Genealogy (Avotaynu, 1998). This CD, nearly 20 years in preparation, is their magnum opus.
Edward Luft
