Breslau - no idea where to start!

[shella_n]

Hello There

I am tracing back my relatives in South Africa and have found that they originated from Breslau, Germany but I see that it is now part of Poland.  When searching I am not sure whether I should be looking in German or Polish archives and databases?

In case anyone who can point me in the right direction I am looking for Marie Langer (although I have also see one document where it refers to her as Langen) born c 1859.  Her parents were Jospeh and Carolina.  I know they were in South Africa by 1886 as that is when she got married.

If anyone can point me in the right direction i'd be really grateful.

Thank you.

Michelle

[hepburn]

Were they Jewish?

http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Michelle,

When searching I am not sure whether I should be looking in German or Polish archives and databases?

Both   
German databases because a lot of german databases include ancestors in former german territories, and the polish databases will include anybody from Poland.

Breslau, in Schlesien/Silesia is now called Wroclow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wroc%C5%82aw

Bob

[Svenja]

Hi Michelle

Here ist the most important website for the research of ancestors in
Breslau/Wroclaw with all information you need to start the research.

http://www.breslau-wroclaw.de/de/breslau/source/ab/

There are Adressbücher (City Directories), Suchanzeigen (search
announces of other researchers), Sources like Meldebücher
(Registration of Inhabitants), Volkszählung (Census entries,
but only of non German people, p.e. Jewish people), Standesämter
(Civil Registration Offices) of Breslau and the environment, you can
see which of the documents are in Berlin and which are in Breslau.

Regards
Svenja