Dahme-Spreewald, Germany, Deaths, 1874-1950

About this collection

This collection contains death records from the modern administrative district of Dahme-Spreewald and covers the years 1874 up to and including 1950. This district is situated in the Spreewald region and is southeast of Berlin in the German state of Brandenburg. It is also known as Wokrejs Damna-Blota in Lower Sorbian, a local Slavic minority language. The archive responsible for these records is located in the city of Luckau. The collection includes records from the communities of Bornsdorf, Langengrassau and Wehnsdorf. Records from the community of Wüstermarke are included under Langengrassau. Records from Wehnsdorf start in the year 1887.

Beginning on October 1, 1874, birth, marriage and death records in the former Prussian provinces, which include the modern district of Dahme-Speewald in Brandenburg, were created by local registry offices.

The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually in bound yearbook form which 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, Residence
• Deceased: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age, Denomination, Residence, Birthplace, Spouse/Parents, Place/Date of Death, Time of Death
• Signatures

More about using this collection

Each record 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. The record books for Langengrassau are labeled with "Wüstermarke" because that was the common place name used until an administrative reform in 1950. The place names listed under "Browse this collection” are the current modern names.