Translation Services
Katherine Schober and her team at Germanology Unlocked translate your German genealogy documents for you! Experts in the old German handwriting (Kurrentschrift, Sütterlin, Fraktur, and more), Germanology Unlocked will first transcribe your document into typed German and then translate it into an English version you can’t wait to share with your family members. Get your quote today.
Services
- Letters
- Diaries
- Church Records
- Birth-Marriage-Death Vital Records
- Emigration Documents
- Passports
- Newspaper Articles
- Obituaries
- Photos
- Postcards
- Much More!
SCRIPTS WE WORK WITH:
- Kurrent (early 16th century-mid-20th century)
- Sütterlin (a form of Kurrent, early-mid-20th century)
- Fraktur (typeface from 15th century-early 20th century)
- Present-Day German
SAMPLE PAST PROJECTS:
- 17th-century letter of nobility
- 1921 diary
- 1913 marriage certificate
- 1831 emigration document
- 1883 autograph book
- 19th-century church book entry
- 1645 obituary
- 1853 German passport
- 1810 marriage certificate
- 1920’s letters from Germany to America
- 1888-1905 death and marriage certificates
- 1791 document discussing sale of land
- Baptismal, birth and death certificates from 1880s and 1890s
- Letters from World War II
- Marriage document list from World War II, written in Sütterlin
- Poem written in 1773, written in Fraktur (old German typeface)
- 1882 German marriage certificate from a church register
- 1888 letter from a German nephew to his aunt in America
- 19th-century letter from a German immigrant in America to her sister in Germany
- 1920-1922 newspaper translations from German communities in Russia; written in Fraktur
- 1868 letters from a German woman to her sister in America
- Personal letters spanning from 1943 to 1952 from Germany to America
- Employment history booklet from early 19th century

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What Clients Are Saying:
Thank you for these amazing translations! I never dreamed so much additional information was hidden in those records, such as Wendtlandt being an organist, the ringing of the bells (I was a music major and enjoyed those bits of information), and the emergency baptism. These are examples of facts and events that make a family story real – and I know that my husband’s family will be surprised and glad to learn of them. I now realize how much I’m missing when I look at these old records. Ancestry o…
Beverly
Just got home to find this treat in my inbox. I am thrilled to read the words my [ancestor] Christopher read; that he felt deeply enough to quote. Great job on the translation.
Susan
Katherine transcribed several handwritten German documents dating from the Second World War for me, and it was truly a pleasure to work with her. Thanks to her skill in deciphering the texts, I’ve learned a great deal about my family history, and she was particularly thorough in researching the places and names included in the text. Katherine is professional and resourceful with a great eye for detail – exactly as a good translator should be – and I would not hesitate in recommending her.
Carol
I had that hardest of genealogical roadblocks- someone who changed their name illegally and died with their secret. Katherine provided very careful and scholarly transcriptions and translations of some key documents. Mystery solved. My advice: engage a professional like Katherine and don’t guess at the content of Kurrent manuscripts when the result matters to you.
Barry Dent
I hired Katherine to translate German Script from the 18th & 19th centuries. I wanted to include the translations in a family history document. She responded quickly to my emails and was more than willing to answer the many questions I had both prior to and after the translation. Katherine provided both English and German translations of this very difficult to read script. She included footnotes and historical website links that added greatly to my understanding of some of the terms used in the …
D. Miller
Katherine’s devotion to her craft shows throughout her website and in her work. She transcribed and translated some mid-1700’s handwritten documents about my ancestors, and deciphered a real puzzle of a word along the way. I feel a kind of fluidity and ease in reading her translations, and her footnotes are unusually informative with insights and explanations while still being concise. Katherine is also very professional in the ‘project management’ aspects of reaching agreement on the wo…
SteveFamily Historian
I can highly recommend the work of Katherine. I used her services to proofread my master thesis and the result greatly benefited from her thorough and detailed checking. Her feedback and comments were very constructive and extremely helpful. Moreover, the work was done timely and she responds to questions quickly. I will definitely use her services again.
SusannaAustrian Master's Degree Student
Thank you for getting the translation to me. As I expected, they are perfect. You can always tell that the translation is done by a professional.
YuliaAmerican Historical Society of Germans from Russia
Thank you so much for doing my translation, I am thrilled to pieces and this afternoon I am going to send it off to all the family here in England and in Germany. How you translated that writing I just don’t know, but I suppose if you study languages it perhaps becomes a little easier! Many thanks again, I am so delighted. And isn’t it interesting!
SusanFamily Historian
Thank you so much for the translation! Now I have the names of three of my paternal grandfather’s grandparents. This is the “brick wall” I’ve been trying to break through for a long time…many thanks for your prompt and professional work.
CarlaFamily Historian