James M. Beidler, a historical and genealogical researcher, writes a column in " German Life ". In the magazine title, the word "German" refers not to a political entity but to the region which speaks the German language. A writer asked Mr. Beidler about her maiden name of Swartz which would probably be Schwartz or Schwarz in German. The writer says that everyone she knows with this name, except her family, is Jewish. She thought that possibly the non-Jewish people, other than her family, had changed their name to Black, the equivalent in English.
Mr. Beidler answered that most Jews did not have surnames until late in the late 1700s or early 1800s. At this time, the authorities in most places in Europe compelled Jews to take a surname. They adopted names without any particular rhyme or reason. In many cases they took existing German names so that it is impossible to classify a name as Jewish or non-Jewish. The name Schwartz is used by Jews and non-Jews.
[The name Fink or Finck, found in the Germanna area, is sometimes considered Jewish but if one visits the Protestant cemeteries in Germany one will find the name Fink and Finck very commonly.]
Another reader asks, "What happened to the church and civil records from the lands Germany lost after World War II?" Mr. Beidler answers that what records survived have been microfilmed by the LDS. [Generally these records were in areas under Communist control and their attitude toward the records was negative so many have not survived.] Consult the card catalog that is online at the LDS web site for the name of localities in German and in the present language. If these records have been microfilmed, they will be listed under both the old and the new names.
[One of our Germanna families, Fleischmann, came from a village, Klings, that was in East Germany. The name was not changed and today the church in town is Evangelical (Protestant). The last that I checked, there were no films for this church. If anyone knows whether there are church records, either on film or in a book or in an archive, please let us know here on the list.]
[Klings is a very pleasant village in a lovely setting. There is almost zero commercial activity in the village, excepting farming, though it appears many craftsmen run their business from their home. In spite of its history in East Germany, today it is well kept and neat with solid, substantial homes.]
(07 Feb 06)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.