Once a quarter, I host an “Ask-Me-Anything” session for our Premium members. As you can imagine, when all those genealogy minds gather together, we get some great conversation going!
This past session, we talked about our favorite books on German history to help us understand the context of our ancestors’ lives. Understanding the history of the German-speaking lands is essential for all researchers, as this affects where and how you should look for their German records. Below, find the top books our Premium members recommended for themselves and for you!
**Most book descriptions have been taken from Amazon. I myself have read several of these books, but not all. Some books may be available on Google Books for free as well (books.google.com). Thank you to Karl Kramer and our other Premium members for these great suggestions!
9 Books on German History for Genealogists
1. Our Daily Bread, by Teva J. Scheer Learn all about life in a German village from 1500-1850. This book uses a sample fictitious family to illustrate what village life was like through the lens of wars, religion, community structure, courtship and marriage, inheritance, family life, and emigration. One of my favorites!
2. The History Of Germany from the Earliest Period To The Present Time, by Wolfgang Menzel This book was written in the mid-1800s and translated to English in the Early 1900s. Available on Google Books for free!
3. An Old Story of My Farming Days, by Fritz Reuter This book was originally published in three volumes between 1862 and 1864. It portrays life in rural Mecklenburg in the 1840s in the context of the Revolutions of 1848.
4. German Hometowns: Community, State, and General Estate, by Mack Walker German Home Towns is a social biography of the hometown Bürger from the end of the seventeenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries. he addresses such topics as local government, corporate economies, and communal society. Walker illuminates familiar aspects of German history in compelling ways, including the workings of the Holy Roman Empire, the Napoleonic reforms, and the revolution of 1848.
5. This is the true story of one of the thousands of forgotten mothers who stood at their doors, watching their children leave for America, never expecting to see them again. This is also the journey of her children from the plains of Wielkopolska, Poland, to the prairies of North Dakota. Gary is also a member of IGGP, so you may see him at conferences!
6. A Social History of Hesse: Roman Times to 1900, by Dan Heinemeier Do you have Hessian ancestors? Then this book is for you!
7. Little Germany, Ethnicity, Religion and Class in New York City, 1845-80, by Stanley Nadel
8. This book tells the story of how people in the German lands lived for the past 2000 years. The book deals with how they lived, what they ate and drank, what kind of work they did, how they dressed, their religion and the values, their laws, the family systems, their weapons and warfare, how they traveled, their medical care and how they survived through wars, famines and plagues.
9. German Immigration to America: When, Why, How, and Where by Stephen Szabados This book should help you answer the questions, why did our German ancestors immigrate; when did they leave; how did they get here; where did they settle? It includes descriptions of many aspects of German history that effected immigration to America, and the material should give you vital insights into your ancestors’ immigration.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Are there any more books you would add on German history? Let us know in the comments!
11 Responses
Comment from Lee Grant: I began my German research in earnest after I retired. I realized that I needed to know more about the country and its history. Here are some books that helped me: Imperial Germany 1871-1914, by Volkerr Berghahn; Bismarck The Iron Chancellor, by Volker Ullrich; Fleeing HItler France 1940, by Hanna Diamond; and A Short History of Germany 1815-1945, by E.J. Passant. I have two other books that showed the horrors of war on children: East of the Oder by Luise Urban, and German Boy by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel. – Lee Grant
If you have ancestors who arrived as part of the mass “Palatine” immigration to New York, Phillip Otterness’s “Becoming German: The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York” is extremely useful.
How could you not include Simon Winder in this list. “Germania” is a great read, and unlike a few of the listed titles, it is light and easily digested. His other books on the subject, “Danubia” and “Lotharingia” are also good value. Also suggest “Germany – Memories of a Nation” by Neil MacGregor and “A Concise History of Germany” by Mary Fulbrook. There are lots of others which are more about Europe than Germany specifically, but are critical in understanding Germany. Like Europe’s Tragedy – A History of the Thirty Years War” by Peter H Wilson and any of the books by Adam Zamoyski for understanding the Napoleonic era.
And I know this is a blog from America, but I’m not sure that books about German life in the USA really count? Speaking as an Australian. My two penneth worth.
Michael, I’m curious. Are there any Australian books about Germans to and in Australia?
Hello Doug
There are a number. One of my favourites is “From Hamburg to Hobsons Bay” by Thomas A Darragh and Robert N Wuchatsch. And the go-to researcher is Eric Kopittke who has a number of publications, including the booklet “Introduction to German family history research for Australians”
Fantastic, thank you for sharing! I wasn’t really looking for this but now I want to learn about what’s in those books!
Thank you for this excellent list! I love “Our Daily Bread” and read it after having done a lot of research in church records on Matricula from my ancestors’ parish in Somborn (now Freigericht). It was gratifying to see the story in those records brought to life so compellingly in the fictitious Mann family. I recognized the common scenario of the first wife’s death in childbirth and tensions involving step-children and property, all supported by my research and Teva Scheer’s extensive bibliography. Another book I found fascinating is “He is the Sun, She is the Moon: Women in Early Modern Germany” by Heide Wunder, which highlights the female experience. It’s scholarly, but has plenty of excerpts from letters and diaries that help give voice to our female ancestors’ experiences and concerns.
My ancestry consists of 52 out of 64 5th-great-grandfathers whose ancestry was Germanic (German, German-Swiss, Alsace-Lorraine, etc.), and my husband’s consists of 32 out of 64 5th-great-grandfathers. So, Germanology Unlocked is a godsend since it concentrates of Germanic script and German genealogical terms that I might have never learned with a German refresher course! I look forward to learning more as time goes on.
My ancestry consists of 52 out of 64 5th-great-grandfathers whose ancestry was Germanic (German, German-Swiss, Alsace-Lorraine, etc.), and my husband’s consists of 32 out of 64 5th-great-grandfathers. So, Germanology Unlocked is a godsend since it concentrates of Germanic script and German genealogical terms that I might have never learned with a German refresher course! I look forward to learning more as time goes on.
Thank you to Katherine and the premium members of Germanalogy Unlocked for including my book “Standing at the Grave” in this list of 9 Books on German History for Genealogists. My format is unusual. It is gratifying to see that a book that is a little something different is appreciated by other German Genealogists.
I am looking forward to the 2025 IGGP Conference next June in Columbus. There planning to have a German edition of my book by then.
“Our Daily Bread” was quite interesting and a good picture of village life. I will check out some of the others. Thanks.