Dresden, Germany, Deaths, 1876-1957

About this collection

This collection contains marriage records from Dresden and about 40 surrounding communities and their civil registration offices covering the years 1876 up to and including 1922. The date range of each individual collection may vary. For some communities in this collection, death notices can also be found. Dresden is located on the Elbe River about 19 miles from the Czech border and is the capital of the German state of Saxony. Due to its location, and in recognition of its art and architecture, Dresden has been known since the early 19th century as "Florence on the Elbe." During the time period of this collection until 1918, Dresden belonged, to the Kingdom of Saxony.

Beginning on January 1, 1876, birth, marriage and death records in the former German Empire were created by local registry offices. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually bound together in the form of yearbooks. These are collectively referred to as "civil registers." Occasionally, alphabetical directories of names were also created. While churches continued to keep traditional records, the State also mandated that the personal or marital status of the entire population be recorded.

What you can find in the records

Death records were created using preprinted forms that were filled in by hand by the registrar. In each record the date of death usually differs from the date it was registered. Depending on the individual form or on the formulations used by the registrar, you may find:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Registration Date
• Informant: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Residence, Address
• Deceased: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age/Birthdate, Denomination, Residence, Address, Birthplace, Marital Status, Spouse/Parents, Place/Date of Death, Time of Death
• Signatures

More about using this collection

Each record in the Death Register comprises one page. Additional events from the life of the deceased were sometimes recorded later on in the margins. These notes, sometimes referred to as "narration," can contain very useful information but they have not been indexed. As a result, information from the notes will not found via the search form. The “Informant” was usually a relative of the deceased. You can browse through the images by time period. First select the desired Civil Registration Office in the box "Browse this collection,” then select the desired year range.

For some communities, death notices were created by the state Statistical Office. They generally list the cause of death within the details. To see which communities and year-ranges are available, see the Record Type after selecting the Civil Registration Office.

Updates:
19 Aug 2020: Added 68,245 new records from the period of 1952 to 1957.