Record Atlas
7 eras · 1181–2026 · 26 places

Pomerania and Danzig

Stettin (Szczecin), Danzig (Gdańsk), Köslin (Koszalin). Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Where researchers lose records here

1637–1815 — THE FORGOTTEN TRAP. Western Pomerania was SWEDISH from 1648 to 1815, so its administrative records of those years can be in Stockholm rather than Berlin or Szczecin — which almost nobody thinks to check.

1945–2026 — THE TRAP, the same one as Posen. Stettin is SZCZECIN and Danzig is GDAŃSK; the registers mostly stayed and are catalogued under the Polish names, so a search for the German one finds nothing at all.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1181–1637 Duchy of Pomerania no registers survive

Before registers, and then barely after them.
1637–1815 Swedish Pomerania in the west; Brandenburg-Prussia in the east Archion · Riksarkivet — Digitala forskarsalen · FamilySearch

THE FORGOTTEN TRAP. Western Pomerania was SWEDISH from 1648 to 1815, so its administrative records of those years can be in Stockholm rather than Berlin or Szczecin — which almost nobody thinks to check.
1815–1871 Prussia — Province of Pomerania Archion · Szukaj w Archiwach
1871–1919 German Empire Archion · Bundesarchiv · Szukaj w Archiwach

Standesamt civil registration from 1 October 1874.
1920–1939 Germany; Danzig a Free City Szukaj w Archiwach · Archion · Bundesarchiv

Danzig is neither German nor Polish between the wars but a League of Nations free city keeping its own registers.
1939–1945 German occupation Arolsen Archives · Bundesarchiv
1945–2026 Poland — West Pomerania and Pomerania Szukaj w Archiwach · Geneteka

THE TRAP, the same one as Posen. Stettin is SZCZECIN and Danzig is GDAŃSK; the registers mostly stayed and are catalogued under the Polish names, so a search for the German one finds nothing at all.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1181–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

26 places on this ground

95 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 35 more.

All record regions · The map