List Keeper's NOTE: the indexing data which is mentioned below can be found as follows; got to: http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/search.html ; then select "Data Category: " "War Records" ; and in "Search String:" put the family name U are looking for...... ---------- Forwarded message -----Via Michael Miller < thanx Mike! > ----------Original Msg ------------------From: [email protected] Subject: EWZ/BDC Files at US National Archives II Dear LISTSERV Members: Margaret Freeman suggested that I post the following item about the German EWZ [Einwandererzentralstelle--Central Immigration Office] microfilms, which are at our National Archives II in College Park, MD. The original version of my narrative was an email to a research organization located in Germany. There are over 8,400 rolls of 16mm microfilm in the EWZ collection, which is part of a 70,000 roll collection from the former Berlin Document Center [BDC], which housed the German government documents captured in WW II. Of these, 3,210 rolls are Antraege files--applications for naturalization 1939-1945, which are organized by Region [e.g., "Russia", "Poland", "Rumania", etc.], and alphabetized by surname within Region. There are 843 rolls which cover the Antraege of the German ethics who came from "Russia" [including Ukrainian Volhynia]--these films are the EWZ50 series. Another 701 rolls cover "Rumania" [Bessarabia, Dubrodscha, Bukovina]--these are the EWZ51 series. In addition to these series of films, there are groups of Antraege films for "Poland" [EWZ52--701 rolls, including Polish Volhynia], the "Baltics" [EWZ53--587 rolls], as well as several other regions [Yugoslavia, France, Bulgaria--379 rolls]. Besides the Antraege files, there were card files kept on each applicant for naturalization. These were the "E" cards [EWZ card--for everyone over age 15, and unaccompanied children younger than 15], and the "G" card ["Gesundheitskarte"--Health card--for everyone over age 6; photos are often attached], which were combined into one alphabetical file covering all of the regions [Russia, Rumania, Poland, etc.], and were filmed as the EWZ57 series. There are 1,964 rolls of film in the E/G Kartei [EWZ57] series. A separate set of files called the Stammblaetter [EWZ58] contains copies of the Personalblatt from the Antraege file, plus a photograph of the applicant. There are 740 rolls of EWZ58 films. These files are arranged in EWZ number order [2 to 1,046,998]. Any of these films can be purchased from our Archives for $34 per roll postpaid to US addresses, or $39 US per roll postpaid to international addresses. They can be ordered by telephone by calling toll free in the US at 1-800-234-8861, or toll at 301-713-6800 during working hours at the Archives [Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm EST]. However, you must know the film number of the film you wish to purchase, and there is no catalog available from which to order. The films can not be rented or loaned from our Archives. The Archives has rudimentry indexes of these films [first and last name only on each roll of film], but has not made the indexes available outside the Microfilm Reading Room at Archives II. I am telling you these details so that you may fully understand the difficulties you would have to obtain these films from our Archives. The Mormon Church [LDS] has purchased a full set of the EWZ57 and EWZ58 series of films. The LDS renumbered their copies of the films, so that it is not possible to use the LDS numbers to ask our Archives for assistance in obtaining an individual applicant's records on other series of films. A cross reference between the Archives film numbers for the EWZ58 series and the LDS numbers for this series has been posted on the Internet by Dave Obee <[email protected]>. I am not aware of any cross reference being available for the EWZ57 series. The LDS has these films available for rental in North America at their local Family History Centers. I do not know whether or not these films would be available in any of the LDS libraries in Europe. A few years ago, the American government returned the hardcopy EWZ documents to the Bundesarchiv in Germany. A full set of the microfilms are in both our National Archives and the Bundesarchiv. I do not know the policies of the Bundesarchiv in regards to anyone in Germany accessing or purchasing these microfilms. Perhaps you can contact the Bundesarchiv and determine what access you might be able to obtain. Researchers in the US and Canada, who are members of GRHS and AHSGR, have been purchasing rolls of EWZ film to do research on their families. Upon completion of their research, they have been donating the films to GRHS or AHSGR. The donated films are stored in the headquarters of each organization. Volunteers from GRHS have been indexing these donated films and posting the extractions on the Internet [Odessa Digital Library]. If your surname is among those posted on the Internet, much of your research has already been done; and it can provide you information about which records you might wish to obtain from either the Archives [by ordering your own copy of the film] or by requesting hardcopies from the GR headquarters which has custody of the donated film. Thomas A Stangl Sterling, VA, USA