Useful Tips for Searching in Germany

Useful Tips for Adoptees Searching in Germany General Information: German Adoption-Law is relatively liberal regarding search and reunion issues provided the Adoptee is of age. Though there are private Adoption-Agencies, most adoptions are handled by the German Youth Welfare Offices, ie. (JUGENDAMT) of 1. the town in which the adoptee was born, or 2. location of the Orphanage /Children֒s Home in which the child was placed until adoption. The Adoption-Files held by the Jugendamt contain the ff. 1. Name, DOB, Place-of Birth, the then address of Birthmother, sometimes also info on Birthfather if this info was given. 2. Birthname of Adoptee if applicable 3. Information regarding the circumstances leading to adoption if known. Searching for Orphanages in order to obtain information is generally not very productive because Adoption-Files containing relevant information reside with the relevant Youth-Authority. The Orphanage can generally only tell you how long you remained there or perhaps tell you which adoption-agency handled your adoption. Please note: If a search through relevant Youth Welfare Offices proves negative this could be because they are not bound to keep records indefinitely. 25-30 years appears to be the norm. In this case one should definitely get hold of one֒s original Birth-Certificate. Birth-Certificates: original birth-certificates are available from the STANDESAMT of the town/city of birth. All Births, Marriages etc. are registered here. The Standesamt will provide a copy of the original birth-certificate upon written request. This document provides names of Birthmother, her town of residence, possibly address at the time. For tips on how to search for Jugendamt / Standesamt in Germany please see attached text-file. Searching when you have all the necessary information: Possession of the name, last known address, date-of-birth and place-of-birth of birthmother or father, gives you several search-options: 1. Einwohnermeldeamt: This is an Authority that registers every person in the country. Every town/city has one and above that there are archives with information on the movements of all persons at all times. Background: In Germany, everyone is required by law to carry an Identity-Card and also to register with the Einwohnermeldeamt of the town in which one lives. One is required to inform the registry anytime one changes address, moves to another city etc. The registry therefore holds the names, maiden-names, addresses, date-of-birth etc. on every person. 2. Writing to the Einwohnermeldeamt responsible for the town in which your birth-family lived and asking for information could produce good results and provide you with a current address. There is a service-charge for this search. Remember: you always need to provide proof of ID in order to obtain personal information from any of these authorities. Other searches: Telephone directory: [url]www.dastelefonbuch.de[/url] Churches in town of birth: info: date of Christening, Godparents Hospitals: info only if hospital set up a file for you at the time. Military-Adoptions from Germany to USA Try the German-American Community Office for further help in your search. [url]http://www.gaco-kl.de/[/url] This information + tips on how to find the relevant Jugendamt etc. is available in the attached txt file. Good Luck with your search!