Online Research for Ancestors in Poland, Prussia, and Pommern

The ability to search for birth, marriage and death records in regions now in Poland, Prussia, and Pommern has enabled research most of us never thought possible. However, to many, these resources are a perplexing maze of random searches. 

This presentation will provide a brief overview of the large, free Szukajwarchiwach database.  This powerful database offers data from the Program for the Registration of Records from Parish and Civil Registration Offices (PRADZIAD), which collects information on genealogical materials kept in the state archives. Scans of archive materials from other cultural institutions are also included. These records encompass many Polish, German and Jewish residents.  A handout with links, basic word list, and suggestions of additional resources will be provided as a pdf. 

Our presenter, Sigrid Pohl Perry, Ph.D., was born in Wedel, Germany to a family whose ancestors lived in the Lubelskie province for almost a century before being resettled to the Wartheland region of northern Poland in 1940 and Hamburg in 1945. Her immediate family immigrated to Illinois in 1952 while other members of the clan homesteaded on the Alberta prairie or remained in Germany. Sigrid worked with archives and special collections at Northwestern University Library for 40 years until retiring in 2020. A member of the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE) since 2003, Sigrid has served on the Board of Directors; been actively involved in Lublin Project indexing; and given various presentations at SGGEE Conventions, the International German Genealogy Partnership, and a local Illinois Family History Center. 

For this online program, we will be using Microsoft Teams. You will need a computer with a microphone (or headphones) and webcam, or your smartphone, or an iPad/tablet.