I am so glad I learned about these courses. I took both the Reading German Handwriting and German for Genealogists. The two classes work together perfectly. I am excited to use my new skills to research the many lines in both my husband's and my own family tree who are from Germany. I know I will continue to improve my skills and love we are able to go back to the courses as needed for refreshing our skills. I was looking at some German records on Ancestry yesterday and it was exciting to be able to pick out the key words I needed. Thanks for all the information.

I first encountered Katherine Schober at the Virtual IGGP Seminar. She was one of the best speakers I have ever encountered as she took her time, moved through her presentation, loved answering questions and looked for feedback. After a webinar a few months later, she offered special pricing on two courses, German for Genealogists and Reading the Old German Handwriting. I was extremely interested, but what really clinched it was when she said there were flash cards, matching games, etc. throughout the entire courses. I was in and boy oh boy did I get a SMOKING DEAL! These two courses are absolutely AMAZING and really put my brain to work. You get to pace yourself, have a study buddy if you want, review, review, review and have lifetime access. Katherine was available for any questions. Katherine put together an amazing group of courses and I can't wait until her next course! Both courses have multiple modules and lots of practice and testing to be sure you get it. All I can tell you, is this will be an OUTSTANDING investment of your GENEALOGY DOLLARS AND TIME!

The Germanology Unlocked Reading the Old German Handwriting course is more than just ..."this is an A" and "this is letter F". Katherine's lessons carefully lead you step by step through the alphabet (WHY are there so many different ways to make an S? Take the class and find out!). She also gives you clues and fun memory tricks to decipher the letters that were written by a tired clerk over 150 years ago (it's so easy to confuse u, n, and m... not to mention a and o). From there she teaches common combinations and common words. The well paced lessons are filled with good examples, and end with quizzes and vocabulary games. And you can download PDFs for your own reference library. Best of all, you can watch each lesson and go back to the flash cards and games as often as you like. After finishing the class.. the fog has lifted. I can read the birth certificates and documents. And with practice, it gets easier.

This course in reading German handwriting was far more than expected. In our native language, we recognize a few letters and our mind automatically recognizes the whole word. In interpreting a foreign language, you must identify every letter and then be able to look up the meaning. Katherine provides many tips and tricks to help you decipher words much more quickly in a very well-organized format. I am amazed at my own ability to read the script and make sense of the meaning after taking the course.

I had taken some webinar and in-person courses in reading old German handwriting, however Katherine Schober's course on Reading the Old German Handwriting really escalated my skill level. Her video lectures, followed by practice games and exams make the learning easy and fun. She offers a lot of helpful tips and provides downloadable handouts to keep for future reference. Even before I finished the course I was able to go back to old church records that were previously just a lot of gibberish, and I was able to read and understand what was written. This course is well worth the investment of time and money, I look forward to extending my family history research further into Germany!

Katherine initiated the January challenge to incentivize us to complete the Old German Handwriting course. It was perfect timing for me. I had been wanting to complete the course but I was moving slowly. The course was challenging but the flash cards and matching made the learning fun. The more I practiced the more I improved. Section C, with the Vital Records and Letters, was the ultimate challenge! I have printed these examples and placed them in a binder. I practice with them to improve my recognition. Katherine's tips are very helpful, such as playing hangman and Word Mine. Recently, I went back to a ship manifest that transported my 2 times great grandparents & their family from Hamburg to New York in 1882. It was a pleasure to be able to read the German words of the columns and the words following the names of the family members, such as Frau, Tochter, Sohn, etc. I really appreciate the excellence of Katherine's course and her ability as an instructor to motivate me!! Thank you, Katherine!!

After 20+ years of dealing with German Catholic records that primarily used Latin script, last September I connected to a Lutheran line that used Kurrentschrift which I've always found challenging (to say the least). While I could pick out names, dates and places I knew that I was missing a great deal of detail. Katherine's course is aimed at keeping learning Kurrentschrift not only enjoyable but achievable. I truly would recommend the course to anyone who is serious about being able to get the most detail out of their family's documents. I'm not done with the course yet but I've noticed an improvement in what I can read and understand. The course is one of the best genealogy decisions I've ever made.

I took Reading the Old German Handwriting and found it to be a fun and well-organized course, covering not only Kurrentschrift handwriting recognition but also a wealth of information on common content and structure of genealogical records and on frequently encountered words in these records. Katherine's teaching style is clear and engaging, and I love the fact that I could complete the course at my own pace and can return to it as many times as I need to for a refresher! Once I tracked my great-great-grandfather to the right town in modern-day Romania, I found a treasure trove of German-language records and have uncovered additional generations and unknown family members! I don't know how I would have been able to decipher all of those records without the help of this course and the other Germanology Unlocked resources. I would highly recommend the course to anyone whose genealogy journey leads them into the world of German-language records.