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Die Ahnenstammkartei des Deutschen
Volkes (1240 Reels - "Leipzig Films")
at the LDS Family History Library

© copyright 1994 - 2004 by FEEFHS, all rights reserved.
This article first appeared in theFEEFHS Newsletter, Volume 2, Number 3 (1994).
It has continued to be revised and extended since then.


Background and History of Die Ahnenstammkartei

The Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie at Leipzig, with an origin dating back to 1904, was designated by the German government as the lead archive for genealogy in all of united Germany after the wall came down in 1991. But long before the iron curtain went up or came down, this major archive was well known throughout Germany for its extensive genealogy holdings.

According to FEEFHS member and professional genealogist Henning Schroeder of Gummersbach, this archive was the main reason West Germans took the trouble to travel to the Leipzig during the cold war era. And when they got there? Most of them headed for its premier holding -- a mammoth card file collection - Die Ahnenstammkartei Des Deutschen Volkes.

It is sometimes called by the acronym ASTAKA in archival literature (and this web directory). It is best known as the "Leipzig Films" at the international reference desk (the first basement level - B1) of the Family History Library (FHL) at Salt Lake City. Others as well as myself call it "Die Ahnenstammkartei".

Started in 1922, this collection remained open to submissions until 1993. This collection had 1.5 million names by 1939 and is variously estimated to contain 2.7 million or more individual names in well over 11,300 pedigree files. It aided the Third Reich is doing its dirty deeds from the 1930's until 1945.

It was housed at Dresden until 1933 and then at Berlin until 1939. It was returned to Dresden after the invasion of Poland where it survived the fire bombings of World War II in a Dresden cave. After 1945 it was moved to the Leipzig Archives where it endured the benign neglect of the East German government during the cold war.

Note that this collection spans the entire German Empire of the last several centuries and not just the Leipzig region. Thomas Edlund has estimated that its contents are 17% East German, 30% North German, 14% West German, 15% South German and 22% Middle German.

In 1991 the Genealogical Society of Utah filmed all of both parts of this collection as of that date (1221 microfilm reels). In a private letter to this author in 1994, the Director stated that his archive ceased to accept new contributions in 1993.

More recently the GSU camera crew at the Deutsche Zentralstelle für Geneologie filmed the balance of the Ahnenstammkartei collection (19 additional microfilm reels in this "second filming"). It is now cataloged although a register has not been created for it. The only index for them can be found near the end of this article.

Webmaster's Note: FEEFHS is collaborating with the Salt Lake City cataloger and compiler of Die Ahnenstammkartei to publish a surname index of the unindexed 19 reels (last two years) and to also extract all six card indexes (starting with the Einsenderkartei [submitter index]) and then the entire 617 reel phoenetic index.

Summary Description: Die Ahnenstammkartei Microfilm Collection

Part I (Tiel I) is a mammoth 617 reel "modified German Soundex" A-Z index, plus 19 reels of six other supporting indices (on 16 mm microfilm).

"Traditional" A-Z Surname Index of the Register (first 617 reels) - 8 web files.

Part II (Tiel II) is an additional 583 reels (1st filming) of multi-generation pedigree information called Ahnentafels by the Germans who created it. It is copied on 35 mm microfilm. These are the actual pedigrees, filed as AL numbers , along with supplements called Nachträge (N. Numbers).

Cataloging was finally completed in 1994 by librarian Thomas Edlund, who prepared a preliminary index for the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) in 1993. The complete index arrived in the Spring 1995 FHL Catalog where it now takes over 133 computer pages to index all the films.

Both of these are faithfully based on the Germanic Soundex filing system used by the Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie at Leipzig, which has proved to be very difficult to use by non-Germanic researchers. As a result it recently been reindexed by FEEFHS for web searches using the "traditional A-Z index".

I first came across this collection in a lead article in the German Genealogical Digest, Vol 9, No. 4 (Winter 1993) pp 110-124 then published by FEEFHS members Loraine Ferguson and Larry O. Jensen (he is now primarily associated with Jensen Publications). This is still the best article on how to use the collection.

I began to use it in March 1994 but found some films had not arrived at the FHL and others were not in the microfilm stacks on floor B-1. Since then it has bcome part of the core microfilm collection on the International Floor (B-1). Larry O. Jensen is now assigned full time as a senior reference specialist on the International Reference Desk (B-1)

Using it at an FHC requires several steps. You start by converting the surname you are searching for into a Germanic form of a Soundex-like phonetic spelling. Then you obtain the correct film number in Part I for that spelling, order out the microfilm reel and when it arrives, you seek and hopefully will find within it the card of the surname you are searching for.

This index card will provide considerable information, including vital data for the subject and two more generations back including place of birth and religion. It also includes the "AL" file number in "Part II" where the Ahnen-Liste (pedigrees) are found.

Returning to Part II of the catalog index, this "AL number" is used to identify another film number that contains the ancestor list you are looking for. That second microfilm will contain the Ahnentafel. These pedigrees are sometimes extensive, and on occasion can exceed 100 pages of genealogy. There is a bit more to it than we have space to cover here, but those are the two key steps and Larry Jensen's excellent article explains it in more detail.

It is clear that for many unique and relatively un-common Germanic surnames, it is now possible for record searchers to bypass all thetedious traditional emigration/immigration search techniques (including naturalization papers and ship passenger lists) and "jump the pond" from the Western hemisphere directly back into the Germanic village of origin with the Part I index card and the three generation ancestor list.

Even if you have a common name like Becker or Müller, if you know the place of origin this collection can sometimes help you to significantly "narrow the field" of research to those lines in that city or village. This is because for common names there is a secondary index by Orts (location) from Aachen to Zyffich.

This collection may not be a panacea for everyone. Even researchers of the stature of Trudy Schenk have been dissapointed on occasion by the brevity or absence of an ahnentafel or even an index listing of a surname. And some unknown number of Ahnentafelens (AL's) have been lost and only exist in the Oart I index.

Yet when you are up against a "brick wall" and have either an uncommon name or face a common name with some clue or knowledge of the place of origin, this collection can often be a vital key in unlocking additional generations of your German heritage.

Properly used, I really feel this Ahnenstammkartei collection will solve a great number of German genealogy problems that so far have defied solution. So if you have ancestors from Germany and you have been unable to locate a city or village of origin in the past ... then it is time to try once again ... this way. It has become the "default" suggestion when all else has failed and a brick wall stands in your way.

A partial index was placed in the FHLC in the 3 November 1993 CD-ROM edition, but it had a dozen or more "missing films" that had not been cataloged by the cutoff time. Since then a full and final index to the first filming of this collection is now available in the 17th CD-ROM edition of the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) dated April 1997. It is also found on the microfiche version of the FHL Catalog.

To provide an overview for your access to various indices, access the FHC catalog using these Film numbers:

Part I: A to Z modified phoenetic (German Soundex) Index: (617 reels) - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-7

-- Introduction in English -- catalog pp 1-2
-- For a complete explanation, see the Vorwort (Film #1799712, item 3) in German.

-- starts (Aa - Appenzeller) ----------- Film #1797918 -- catalog pg 3
-- ends (Zoephel - Zutzenheimer, Sossenheimer) --- Film #1799235 -- catalog pg 64

-- Einsenderkartei -- Submitter list ( 5 1/2 microfilm reels) - catalog pg 64 - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-1
---- starts (Aarden - Eichenauer) ------ Film # 1798338
---- ends (Stuler - Zwirner) ----------- Film #1798343 item 1

-- 1. Ahnenlisten-Nummernkartei -- Ancestor Lists indexed by submission No. (4½ reels) - FEEFHS Indexing project A-6
---- starts with 0001-0595 -------------- Film #1798343 item 2
---- ends with 9141-11352 ------------- Film #1798336

-- 2. Beruehmtenkartei -- Index of Famous People/VIP's (1/3 reel) - catalog page 65 - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-5)
---- Abbe - Zschokke ------------------- Film #1798337 item 1

-- 3. Orstkartei -- Index of Places (1/3 reel) - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-4
---- Aachen - Zwickau ------------------ Film #1798337 item 2
-- 4. Sachkartei -- Index of Vocations and Subjects (1/3 reel) - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-3 active
---- Apotheker - Zwillinge ------------- Film #1798337 item 3

-- 5. Nummernkartei -- Source Citations (6 reels) - FEEFHS Indexing Project A-7 Awaiting volunteers
---- starts with A 0001 - A 02170 ---- Film #1798327
---- ends with S 0001 - S 00106 ------ Film #1798332 item 7

Part II Ahnentafeln (AL) -- Index of Manuscript Numbers (estimate: 538 reels) - these are the actual pedigrees
-- starts with 00001 - 00019 --------- Film # 1809152 -- catalog page 66
-- ends with Z 00065-00098 -------- Film # 1809542 item 2 -- catalog page 133

Location of these Indexes: In addition to the original card file in Leipzig Germany and the microfilm of it at the FHL (Family History Library) at Salt lake City; the following FHC's (Family History Centers) have some microfilm indexes on perminent loan: The 1995 Printed "Register" Is Available Again: Because of the extensive length of the computer CD-ROM summary, the Register to Die Ahnenstammkartei Des Deutschen Volkes by Thomas K. Edlund was published as a reference text in October 1995. While it is a detailed directory of the 1221 microfilm reels of Tiel I, it is not an everyname index, which could easily exceed 20,000 pages. It also combines many AL numbers under Tiel II, a situation required to minimize printing cost at the time.

Unfortunately, since the first manuscript was submitted for printing, it has been discovered that some errors had crept into this printed Register. The text parts of the printed register are helpful to the researcher who is unfamiliar with the Ahnenstammkartei and for those without access to the web. However serious researchers can avoid the errors in the 1995 printed Register by referring to the many web pages here which are being updated as corrections and/or new information becomes available.

Some FHC's, including the Sacramento (Eastern Avenue) still have it in their book collection. While not out of print, it is becoming obsolete, based on the indexing work being done by FEEFHS volunteers.

"Second Filming" More recently the GSU filmed the balance of Die Ahnenstammkartei Des Deutschen Volkes covering the period after the first filming (above) and the closing of it in 1993. This "second filming" amounts to 19 reels of pedigrees without any index of any kind. See the following exclusive indexes by FEEFHS: FEEFHS INDEX Projects - More Volunteers Are Needed: The FEEFHS Webmaster has had ongoing discussions with FHL cataloger Thomas Edlund and GSU Germanic acquisition expert Steve Blodgett about the feasibility, approach and planning to index this collection. From these talks a number of indexing projects have evolved. Considerations include the fact that Tiel I (Part I, the first 638 films) are on 16 mm microfilm and mostly on hand printed cards, while Tiel II (Part II, the pedgrees themselves) are mostly printed and on 35 mm microfilm and thus easier to read. However it has been determined that a goodly number of pedigrees were lost in Germany after being indexed. Now the only record of them is in the A-Z modified "phoenetic German Soundex" index of Part I.

PriorityFEEFHS is now seeking volunteers for a detailed orthographic (A-Z as spelled) indexing project of this collection. Priority will be give to:

1) Surname Indexing (Alpha/Orthographic, i.e. plain A-Z) of the 19 reels of "second filming" of pedigrees (currently without any index of any kind, except for the FEEFHS online summaries). This is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-2

2) Surname Indexing (Alpha/Orthographic, i.e. plain A-Z) the 6 reels of Einsenderkartei (Submitter list - catalog pg 64): starts with Aarden to Eichenauer (Film # 1798338) and ends with Stuler to Zwirner (Film #1798343 item 1). It is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-1. Often submitters sent in their own family and related surnames, thus this will be useful in identifying which AL number/microfilm number to find them on.

3) Indexing the Ahnenlisten-Nummernkartei (By submitter number) - 4½ reels. It will provide a crude (basic primary surname only) index of all 11,000+ "AL numbers". It will be useful to identify the AL number (and thus the microfilm number) where a primary surname pedigree exists in Tiel II. This is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-6

4) Sachkartei (Vocation and Subject Index) Indexing the 1/3 reel. Vocations, when known, are a way in which a common name such as Mueller or Becker can be differentiated from others and located with the assistance of other indexes. It is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-3.

5) Ortskartei (Locality Index) - 1/3 reel. This is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-4.

6) Berühmtenkartei (Celebrity/Nobility Index) - 1/3 reel. This is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-5.

7) Surname Indexing of the modified A-Z phoenetic index (The first 617 microfilms in Tiel I (Part I of the first filming as shown above). This is FEEFHS Indexing Project A-7.

Overview: It is estimated that there are about 10,000 names per microfilm reel on each reel of film in project A-7. While this project could take six months to a year or more of part time effort to index a reel, many hands can make a less lengthy task. Further, as parts of a reel are completed they are being posted on the FEEFHS Website for use by all.

Incentive: As an incentive to encourage persons to volunteer, some early volunteers may be permitted to index films that are thought to contain their own ancestral genealogy.

Volunteer Status: As of 15 July 1998 there are 11 volunteers in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Idaho, New York and Alberta Canada with film assignments. Brief guidelines detail what is needed and how to do it fo each project. The results are starting to appear on this website.

See also Infrequently Asked Questions about this subject.


[ "Traditional" A-Z Surname Index of the Register]
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