Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany, Deaths, 1876-1952

About this collection

This collection contains death records from Limbach-Oberfrohna covering the years 1876 up to and including 1952. This town was created in 1950 with the merger of the villiages of Limbach and Oberfrohna. It is located about 9 miles west of Chemnitz and about 43 miles southeast of Leipzig in the modern German state of Saxony. Limbach was first mentioned in a document from the year 1248. Limbach's main attraction is its 16th-century town hall. During the time period of this collection, until 1918, both localities belonged to the Kingdom of Saxony. This collection also includes records from other surrounding communities and neighborhoods that fall within the area administered by modern Limbach-Oberfrohna. The time periods covered in those records vary.

Beginning on January 1, 1876, birth, marriage and death records in the former German Empire were created by local registry offices. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually bound together in the form of yearbooks. These are collectively referred to as "civil registers." Complementary alphabetical directories of names may also have been 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 initially filled in by hand by the registrar. Later, the forms were completed by typewriter. 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
• Informant: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Residence/Address, Denomination
• Deceased: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age, Denomination, Residence/Address, Place/Date of Birth, Spouse/Parents, Place/Date of Death, Time of Death
• Beginning in 1938, the records may also include a Cause of Death and cross references to corresponding birth and/or marriage registers
• From 1938 to 1957, the Cause of Death is often included
• 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 often a relative of the deceased.

These records also document casualties (Kriegssterbefälle) from the Second World War. Occasionally, records for some of the dead were also later made available by the "German Office for the Notification of Next-of-Kin of Members of the Former German Armed Forces who were Killed in Action" (WASt) in Berlin. Between 1943 and 1945, this institution was temporarily located in Saalfeld. Under "Browse this collection," select the Civil Registry Office and Year Range of the register desired.