Ever since I got interested in genealogy, and found that I had German ancestry, and further found the general areas where my German ancestors came from, I have wanted to go to Germany and find the graves of said ancestors.
I knew that I would have trouble finding headstones of my forebears, since I don't know exactly where they are buried.
They are most likely at one of the church yards in the towns to which I have tracked them. Or so I thought.
My Schlappich roots go back to Gottfried Schlappich, born in 1625.
My Trautmann roots go back to Hans Trautmann, born about 1579.
In February, 2003, I had the opportunity to talk to a German couple visiting the United States about grave yards and headstones, etc., in Germany.
What he told me was a real SHOCKER!
In Germany, graves are NOT PERMANENT. You rent them. Never heard of such a thing.
Thinking about it though, and having been in Germany several times, I realized that land is at a premium, and cannot be wasted. We here in the USA, think in terms of 200 years of history at most, and with plenty of wide open spaces to start new cemeteries. In Europe, they have thousands of years of rather civilized history, but very limited land resources.
Thus, graves are rented. The length of time that a grave is rented varies from place to place in Germany. Two different German acquaintances have told me that in northern Germany, 40 years is customary. You can renew the rental, sometimes.
Today, I met another German gentleman. He is now a German-American, if you prefer, but in 1939, he was a Lieutenant in the German army of World War II. I brought up the subject of renting grave space. He confirmed what I had heard before. In fact, he said that the last time he was in Germany, he paid the rent for his father's grave. He was then told that there could be no more renewals, as they would need the space for new deceased citizens.
The remains are disposed of (he didn't say how), and the stones may or may not be stacked in a common area or preserved at all.
The bright side of the situation is that the records, mostly church records, will still be around forever, bar incidents like fires or bombings.
These records were well kept and even protected by the Third Reich government for nefarious reasons. According to this gentleman, who lived through this period, all persons had to prove their Aryan lines, back several hundred years, to prove that they were not Jews. Thus, these records were some of the most important in the country and were well preserved.
So, to anyone who thinks they have German ancestors, be aware that the gravestones may not be where you think they should be or even exist at all.
Contributed by Jim Robinson.
Last Modified