KLOTZ- Germany

[HH]

I am trying to track Barbara Klotz who worked in Surrey in the early 1950s. I know she was German but not where she came from. She was intending to return to Germany in about 1952, after which she may have married. Information on her family would be most welcome.
Any leads?
HH

[JustinL]

I searched for her on the movinghere website at
http://www.movinghere.org.uk/default.htm.

There are two Maria KLOTZ - both Jewish.

Hope that lead is of some use.

Justin

[HH]

Hello Justin,
Thank you for the lead. I hadn't known of this website before which will be really useful for future reference. At this point, I don't know if the two featured women will connect to the one I'm researching but their first name could be signficant. The Barbara Klotz I'm interested in was Roman Catholic, though.
It would be interesting to discover if the name Klotz is from a particular region of Germany.
Any further info on that would be most welcome.
HH

[JustinL]

In earlier centuries, it may have been possible to associate a surname with a certain region. However, two world wars, unification, re-unification and general economic difficulties have led to a lot of internal migration. My ggggf moved from southern to northern Germany around 1815.

KLOTZ (masc.) as you probably know means a block or a chunk, e.g. Betonklotz = concrete block.

Have a look at this site / database: http://foko.genealogy.net/

Justin

[HH]

There is a strong possibility that Dusseldorf was the home area of Barbara Klotz. Does that provide any leads? Her year of birth is likely to be between 1928-1932; she is said to have returned to Germany in June 1952 to get married.
HH

[JustinL]

That does not help hugely, and I cannot think how you can really get any further.

The German Law governing vital records after about 1873 (Personenstandsgesetz) strictly limits access to vital records to direct relatives / descendents or to someone who has obtained authorisation from a direct relative.

Even if you know for certain which town she was born or married in, you will not be able to obtain any official certificates. You would probably have to visit local archives and consult address/telephone books or possibly search through old newspapers.

I'm no expert on German genealogy, maybe somebodyelse has a few more positive suggestions.

Sorry to disappoint you.

Justin

[HH]

I am a direct relative- this was my birth mother. I have my original birth certificate. Does that help? Could I apply to somewhere?
HH

[JustinL]

That will help.

To obtain BMD certificates, one usually has to apply to the registry office (Standesamt) of the town or district where the event took place. I can get the details for the Duesseldorf Standesamt very easily.

I'm fairly certain that there is no centralized register. I'll give the matter some thought.

Justin

[JustinL]

It appears that I am right about needing to know the town in which the birth, marriage or death happened to be able to order a certificate.

You can order a cert from the Duesseldorf Standesamt by downloading an order form (Bestell-Formular). However, you are expected to provide the date of the event and there is no indication that a search would be done within a specified time period.

http://www.duesseldorf.de/standesamt/urkunde/bestellung.shtml

I would, nonetheless, try writing to them and explaining the situation. The postal address is:

Standesamt Duesseldorf
Inselstrasse 17
40200 Duesseldorf

or standesamt[--at--]stadt.duesseldorf.de

Good luck,

Justin


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