After the collapse of the Soviet Union, thousands of ethnic Germans returned to their ancestral homeland. Perhaps one of them is your relative, about whom you do not know much: only his last name and, perhaps, the city in which he lives. Currently, the population of the Federal Republic of Germany is over 80 million and this figure is constantly growing. To find your relatives in Germany, most likely, you will have to spend more than one day. Fortunately, modern communication technologies make this task easier.
Instructions
Step 1
First, ask your relatives who have at least some information about their German roots. In which cities can relatives live in Germany, where can they work and study, what surnames and names to wear, etc. Write down any data you find.
Step 2
To get started, use the easiest way - search on social networks. Unfortunately, the average age of users of Facebook and other similar services is 30 years old, you are unlikely to be able to find older relatives. On the other hand, the worldwide popularity and convenient filtering system by last name, city, place of study and work can significantly help you in your search. In addition to Facebook.com, you should pay attention to German social networks, for example, StayFriends, Wer-kennt-Wen ?, StudiVz.
Step 3
If a search on social media does not return any results, try using the online phone book in Germany https://www.dastelefonbuch.de/. Enter the name and place of expected residence of the relative. Before searching, check the spelling of the first name, last name and locality using an online dictionary. The results may contain multiple phone numbers, which you can call to check your guesses
Step 4
Advertise on one of the Russian-language forums (for example, https://germany.ru, https://forum.russnet.de/) or in a Russian-language newspaper ("Russian Germany" https://www.rg-rb.de/, "Europe-Express"
Step 5
If you know where your relative lives, you can contact their municipality directly. In order to find contacts of officials who may be useful to you, it is recommended to enter the name of the settlement in the google.de search engine and find its official website. Usually all municipalities have their own websites and e-mail addresses where you can find the information you need.
