Pomerania, Germany, Passenger Lists, 1869-1901

About this collection

This collection contains passenger lists for emigrant ships originating in Stettin and Swinemünde (Szczecin and Swinoujscie in Polish). They are a portion of the extensive records respectively kept by the Royal Police Directorate of Stettin and by the Shipping Directorate of Swinemünde. Stettin (Szczecin) and Swinemünde (Swinoujscie) now belong to the administrative district of West Pomerania in Poland. During the time period of these records, both cities were part of the German province of Pomerania in Prussia.

Szczecin is situated about 75 miles north-east of Berlin at the mouth of the Oder River south of the Bay of Szczecin. Once the largest seaport in the Baltic region, its historic townscape still attests to its early importance as a Hanseatic trading center. Swinoujscie is situated principally on the islands of Usedom, Wolin and Karsibór in the Bay of Szczecin and served as home to several consulates as the outer harbor of Szczecin. The city is best known as a seaside resort and for its beach promenade.

In comparison to the millions of emmigrants who traveled via Bremerhaven and Hamburg, the 20,000 passengers who passed through Szczecin and Swinoujscie represent only a small portion of the total. However, this largely unknown collection of records fills a gap in the overall documentation and contains many travelers who came from the Pomeranian region on the Baltic Sea, from the Baltics themeselves and from Russia.

What you can find in the records

The passenger lists used in this collection are found among extensive correspondence between registering authorities, emigration agents, shipping companies, and other individuals involved. The archived documents include provisions lists, embarkation reports, notes and telegrams.

In some cases the passenger lists are completely handwritten. In other cases they are partially handwritten on pre-printed forms. Some were mechanically produced in their entirety and have a distinct layout. In general, they provide information about the ship, the captain, the departure date, any intermediate stops, and the destination. The following information may be found for each passenger:

• Ship name and departure date
• Sequential number
• Given name, Last name, and sometimes Maiden name for married women
• Age
• Occupation
• Last residence (with county or province)

More about using this collection

The the box "Browse this collection” you can select the image sets for either Stettin or Swinemünde. The records from Stettin are organized first by individual shipping company then arranged chronologically. The records from Swinemünde are arranged solely in chronological order. Using the search form you can search all passenger lists from both ports. Due to the nature of historical record-keeping, you may find duplicate documents for the same passenger. The lists themselves are single or double-sided. Therefore, more complete information about a passenger may be displayed on successive pages. Sometimes accompanying documents are included, either before or after the passenger list, that give additional information about the passage, the ship or the passengers.