The German Working Group of Genealogical Associations is the umbrella organisation of over 70 genealogically active associations in Germany. We and our member associations do not take on research assignments, but we are happy to help you to help yourself.

The overwhelming majority of our staff is professionally active. Therefore, please understand that we can only answer the incoming mail one after the other and not directly. It is possible that this may cause delays, which can sometimes take up more time.

Das Forschungsgebiet der Maus ist die Stadt Bremen und ihre Umgebung. Förderung der Wissenschaft und Forschung in genealogischer, familienkundlicher und ortshistorischer Hinsicht, einschließlich der wissenschaftlichen Nachbargebiete, sowie die Sicherung von Archivalien. Der Verein verfügt über eine Geschäftsstelle im Staatsarchiv Bremen mit umfangreichen Forschungsmitteln sowie einer großen genealogischen Bibliothek. Über die Webseite werden die vereinseigenen Datenbanken den NUtzern kostenlos zur Verfügung gestellt. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt ist das Erteilen von Auskünften und die Unterstützung bei genealogischen Fragen.

Civil status records are kept by registry offices in Germany. These were introduced throughout Germany in 1876; in some areas (on the left bank of the Rhine) even earlier.

After the amendment of the Civil Status Act in 2009, birth registers after 110 years, marriage registers after 80 years and death registers after 30 years are offered to the respective city or state archives as archive records. They can be viewed there without restriction. A search of the archives and the making of copies are subject to a fee.

Documents from the registry offices can only be obtained by the persons concerned, persons who are directly related to the persons concerned or persons with a power of attorney from the aforementioned persons. Here, too, the search for and issuing of copies is subject to a fee.

Responsibilities: The research area of the VFFOW is the provinces of East and West Prussia in the period from 1815 to 1920. The purpose of the association is to keep alive the interest in the family and population history of East and West Prussia, to provide assistance to its members in the research of families originating from East and West Prussia. The VFFOW is a collection point for family research. It provides comprehensive advice and training through seminars, and also secures and publishes family history sources. With more than 200 volumes, the main focus of the association's activities lies in the field of its publications.