EWZ Records

 Gwen Oryall presented on the EWZ (Einwandererzentralstelle) Records.  We all learned from the presentation.  The following are a few notes that will hopefully help you do some research on your own.  The most detailed source of information is on the FamilySearch website.

       The EWZ records were kept from 1939-1945.  Many factors led to their creation, among which were the Nazi’s wanting ethnic Germans to return to Germany to support the war effort and the Soviets wanting to get rid of the Germans.  Countries included were Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (southern and eastern part), Romania, USSR (western Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine) and Yugoslavia.

 

        Many of the records have personal information, photographs and other information.  For the people proven to be ethnic Germans, new birth and marriage certificates were issued with information on them as well.  However, deceased children are not listed.  We all know what happened to those with Jewish ancestry.

 

      The largest collection is at the FamilySearch Library in downtown SLC on Microfilm, and only available downtown. (If you are near a family history center you can possibly request a film loan.)  More information can be found by going to Research Wiki, Catalog, EWZ Records, but basically: Race Cards (EWZ 56), Immigration and Health cards (EWZ 57), Family tree charts (EWZ 58)      

               Immigrant card Index (filed alphabetically by surname, every immigrant age 15

                   and older)

               Health Cards (filed alphabetically for every immigrant over age 6)

              

       However, there are other options

 

1.      Odessa3.org has a lot of records for use, but very few are Volga Records.  To find the EWZ records go to Collections and then War Documents.

2.      BlackSeagr.org has extensive records but just for the Black Sea.

3.      Galizien German Descendants (www.galiziengermandescendants.org)

4.      IAGL, online indexing records (https://index.germansfromlithuania.org/)

5.      Invenio: The Bundesarchiv system to find the EWZ number of an applicant

6.      NARA (possible fees) 

 

Also, if you are interested, there are some interesting videos on YouTube about the Germans in Russia.  Search Germans Deported from Russia WW2.

 

Happy hunting, if you have questions, we can TRY to answer them.

 

Viki Strong, President

Intermountain Chapter, AHSGR

REMINDER

This coming Thursday, April 30, we will meet anyone interested at 10:00 a.m. in the map area (I think it is B-1 floor) of the FamilySearch Library. We are willing to stay as long as anyone needs us.  We will be wearing red jackets so you can identify us.  Please let us know if you plan to attend, so we know who and how many people to watch for.

Looking forward to meeting with you.

Viki Strong, President

Intermountain Chapter AHSGR

Annual Picnic

Get out of doors to visit old friends and make new ones.  Our annual picnic will be held on Saturday, June 21, at noon, at Buttercup Park in Sandy, Utah.  More reminders will come as we get closer and try to put together a list of those planning to attend.  Please mark your calendar and set aside time to chat with each other.

Viki Strong, President

Free Gift

 I'm interested to know if anyone reads this blog.  I have a new and unused copy of German Migration to the Russian Volga (1764-1767).  If you are interested in it and will use it, please respond in the comment section of this post with your mailing information, and I will send it to you.  Because of mailing costs, U.S. residents only.

* Remember RootsTech, March 6-8, 2025.*

February 20th at FamilySearch Library

Thursday, February 20th, we plan to meet anyone interested in joining us at the FamilySearch Library to search, discuss, and share.  We decided not to reserve a room.  PLEASE let us know if you plan to come so we can watch for you.  If we don't hear from you we cannot promise to stay at the Library once our personal work is done.

Dee Hert will be at the Library from 10 am to 4 pm.  When you arrive, call her at 801-821-8330, and she will meet you and take you to her workstation.

Viki Strong will be at the Library from 4 pm to 8pm.  When you arrive, call her at 801-671-0629, and she will meet you and take you to her work station.

They look forward to meeting with you, but please be sure to let them know you are coming and what time to expect you.

Viki Strong, President                                                                  

Intermountain Chapter, AHSGR

Favorite Websites

I'm sure that many of you know about these two websites. If not, please check them out by clicking on the links below.  They have answered so many questions in my research.  I am grateful to those who have worked so hard to freely share this information with other researchers.

volgarecords.com

https://volgagermaninstitute.org

July 31st

 Put this event on your calendar. I'm excited to attend!

We will hold our chapter meeting at the FamilySearch Library in downtown Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.  

We can study together, learn together, and enjoy being together. We will meet in the map area of the B-1 floor. Please text (801 671-0629) when you arrive or to let us know whether to plan on you.

Hello 2024

 I'm writing this post to let you know I'm back.  After a very tricky year in 2023, I hope I will keep up much better with the events of our chapter here in Utah.  I was initially quite discouraged to see that some of the contents of this blog were missing, but I'm hopeful that new information will be shared here.  I want all of you to know that I appreciate your efforts to continue the work of finding our ancestors and learning their stories.  Hopefully, we will be able to make new connections.

Remember Roots Tech, February 29 through March 2, 2024.

Please send anything of interest to me so that I can post it on the blog. Thanks!

Remember June 10th

Now that summer is in full swing, it's time for our next meeting.  We will meet on Saturday, June 10 at 10:00 a.m. at the FamilySearch Library in downtown Salt Lake City (near the corner of West Temple and SouthTemple).  We will be provided with a tour of specifically Germans from Russia areas in the library. We'll leave the library better acquainted with everything GR for your future reference and studies.

We look forward to seeing you there.  The plan is to meet by the front door.

Join Us at Our Next Zoom Meeting

 We will start out with a special presentation from Fritz Juenling of the Family Search Library,

Please be prompt as we are only allowed 40 minutes. 

April 15, 2023, at 10:00 AM Mountain Standard Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89768479924?pwd=TmhFZ2ZZOU8xbWEwbmtuSVNva2V6UT09

February Zoom Meeting

Join us this next Saturday, February 11, 2023, at 10 a.m. for our chapter meeting "Understanding DNA."  Watch for the zoom link Shari Stone will send out later this week, and join us!

German Proverbs

• Every lie needs to be fed ten more.

• It's not healthy to swallow books without chewing. 

• An uneducated person is like an unpolished mirror. 

• The tree must be bent while it is young.

• Truth is medicine that needs to be given at the right time. 

Looking Ahead

On February 11, 2023, we will have a presentation, Understanding DNA, via Zoom. I look forward to learning about this fascinating topic. Please join us!

Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to the Intermountain Chapter members for your support in a difficult time for the Reynolds family. We recently lost our precious granddaughter in a car accident during a snowstorm. The personal cards, texts, and emails were greatly appreciated. The flowers sent to the funeral were beautiful. At a time like this, you really felt like family.