I am trying to get the jurisdictions right for my ancestors who lived in east Germany. Is there a c

JaNice Rabiger Taylor

I am trying to get the jurisdictions right for my ancestors who lived in east Germany. Is there a chart somewhere to help one know the civil jurisdictions over the time period of about 1500 til WWII for areas of Germany?

My German ancestors lived, married, and died in a tight little area of villages around the town of Sorau, in east Germany. My Gr Grandmother submitted extensive genealogy 1600-1880 with the place name of the village, then the area, NiederLautzen, Preussen. Was NiederLautzen ever a civil jurisdiction, or is it just the name for a large topographical plains area in eastern Germany? The area still has that name. I have a 1748-1776 family group sheet that gives the place Kuzendorf, Silesia, Germany. I don't think Kuzendorf, which is a few kilometers southeast of Sorau (now Zary) was in Silesia, but it was right at the border of Liegnitz, which was a region of Lower Silesia -- so I am not sure. After 1815 that area was in the kreis (county) Sorau, Brandenburg, Prussia. It is all in Poland now with Polish names, but that is not a concern. What I am trying to do is get the correct German names for this area in the years before WW II.

LegacyUser

JaNice, we have a wonderful group here in the FamilySearch Community that might be able to help you with this question. I'm going to tag @Germany Genealogy Research​ and see if they know the answer to your question.