Improvements to Online Index + New Records Coming.

Since the launch of the IAGL’s online index in December of 2020, we have been working towards the ability to add additional functionality to the site to make searching easier and to accommodate a variety of record types that the IAGL has indexed. We’re happy to announce two major updates in relation to those efforts.

A reminder that the IAGL is a not-for-profit organization, and, unlike some other websites and associations out there, our index is completely free to search. We cannot do this without financial support from the public. If you find our index helpful in your research, please–consider donating today.

Search Without a Name

Starting today, visitors can now search the IAGL online index without entering a first or last name. This allows users to search through the database using other fields instead.

For example, you can search for all births in Wilkowischken between 1860 and 1890 without having to add a first or last name:

Having this improvement means that users can now view records in the database much, in the same way, they would on a spreadsheet–this comes in handy when a name is not known at all, or when the spelling of a name is in question.

Non-Church Records Now Supported!

Perhaps the most exciting improvement to the database is having the ability to upload indexes from non-ecclesiastical records that the IAGL has indexed. Since the IAGL’s inception, the database has been focused on records from various Lutheran churches in southwest Lithuania. However, the IAGL has also indexed records from other sources, including records creating by the Einwandererzentrallstelle (EWZ) in 1940-41, the 1938 Lithuanian Secret Police List (translated originally by the former Landsmannschafter der Deutsche aus Litauen), the Heimatstimme and the Heimatgruß just to name a few. The transcription and indexing of EWZ records have been made possible by a partnership with the Bundesarchiv in Berlin.

Additional information and announcements will be provided regarding these records including an inventory and some background on these types of documents as we work to get them uploaded into the database.

Do not panic! We are continuing to transcribe Lutheran church records from southwest Lithuania. That work will not be stopped as we upload previously indexed records from non-church sources.

Pagination Feature

Previously, the index was limited in the number of records it could display when a user was searching. Now, the index will allow users to page through results with no limit–an important tool especially when searching the database without a first or last name.

We need your support!

Not to sound like a broken record, but the IAGL is run by volunteers. Photographing new records, improving the website and database, and printing Die Weite, are just a few of the expenses the IAGL has to cover. We can’t continue to do that without donations from our generous community. Please consider donating today.

Can you read German, Polish, or Russian?

Indexers - We are always on the look out for volunteers who can read Polish and Russian (especially) to help us index. If you can read either or both of these languages and are interested in helping us index records, please get in touch.

German Translators - The IAGL has several projects to translate German texts and publications about the Germans from Lithuania into English for our readers. If you are interested in helping with this, please get in touch.