German: Difference between revisions

From FIBIwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
← Older edit
Maureene (talk | contribs)
29,870 edits
Maureene (talk | contribs)
29,870 edits
 
(37 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Template:Nonbrit}}
{{Template:Nonbrit}}
Many of the Germans in India in the late 1700s-early 1800s were, or had been, soldiers. They were recruited by  the East India Company as part of entire regiments  such as the [[Hanoverian Regiments]], or Wurttemberg Regiment,  regiments for hire which in todays terms would be considered mercenary regiments. Alternatively they were individual soldiers recruited into the [[Dutch]] East India Company,<ref>Balmer, Nick. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210709055054/https://groups.io/g/india-british-raj/message/585  VOC Records] ''<nowiki>india-british-raj@groups.io</nowiki>'' 7 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.</ref> Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC,  some of who subsequently were recruited into East India Company regiments such as the [[1st Madras (European) Fusiliers#Historical books online|1st Madras (European) Fusiliers]].
==Article==
Article "German Voices from India : Officers of the [[Hanoverian Regiments]] in East India Company Service" by Chen Tzoref-Ashkenazi,  
Article "German Voices from India : Officers of the [[Hanoverian Regiments]] in East India Company Service" by Chen Tzoref-Ashkenazi,  
in ''South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Volume 32, Issue 2  August 2009'' , pages 189 - 211.[http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a913070236 Details]. Available at the [[British Library]]
in ''South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Volume 32, Issue 2  August 2009'' , pages 189 - 211. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233456221_German_Voices_from_India_Officers_of_the_Hanoverian_Regiments_in_East_India_Company_Service Abstract] [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00856400903049473?journalCode=csas20 First page of article]. Available at the [[British Library]]
 
==Records==
German soldiers from Dutch East India Company Regiments were recruited into the [[1st Madras (European) Fusiliers#Historical books online|1st Madras (European) Fusiliers]]
*Some Catalogue entries for the [[India Office Records]] at the [[British Library]] are:
**Deputation of Lieutenant John Owen to the Cape of Good Hope to enlist German, Austrian and Polish recruits for the Company's European Regiments [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-3-3#1-1-3-3 '''IOR/F/4/3/634''']  Nov 1787-Sep 1796
**Additional allowance granted to Lieutenant John Owen for enlisting German, Austrian and Polish recruits at the Cape of Good Hope in 1796-97. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-74-2#1-1-74-2 '''IOR/F/4/74/1609''']  Aug 1795-Aug 1799
**Complaint of Baron de Reiger alleging ill-treatment of the prisoners of war of the Wurttemberg Regiment at Madras not upheld by the Court of Directors.  [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-53-7#1-1-53-7 '''IOR/F/4/53/1182''']  Oct 1793-Feb 1798
**Papers regarding the disbandment of the Wurttemberg Company, (includes a Muster Roll of the Company). Memorial of Lieutenant Paul Kellner requesting permission to transfer to the Madras Army. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_2&cid=1-1-88-10#1-1-88-10 '''IOR/F/4/183/3685''']  Jul 1804-Mar 1805
**Question of the pensions and allowances to be granted to the officers of the Swiss [[De Meuron Regiment|Regiment De Meuron]] (includes lists of officers of the regiment and a copy of the Capitulation of 25 September 1798) [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-78-5#1-1-78-5 '''IOR/F/4/78/1728'''] Sep 1798-Apr 1800
**Six months' advance of pay is made to Captain N.J. De Bergeon and Captain Francois Louis Lenn, two officers of the [[De Meuron Regiment|Regiment De Meuron]] who  remained behind in India when the regiment left for Europe. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_3&cid=1-1-51-4#1-1-51-4 '''IOR/F/4/234/5396''']  Jul-Oct 1806
**British Army in India: Nominal and Casualty Rolls of Jager Corps Volunteers [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_8-1&cid=1-3-12#1-3-12  '''IOR/L/MIL/15/31-36''']  1860-1866
*National Archives of India
:Search [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/ National Archives of India] website abhilekh-patal.in. Particularly for the Second World War period there are known to be some records from the Aliens Advisory Committee which have either already been digitised, (Digitized Collection : Digitized Public Records, Home Political) or can be requested to be digitised for a fee. A 1946 Naturalisation request was seen: [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2718179 Application from ... For A German Jew, For Nationalization Under the British Nationality Status of Aliens Act 1914]. [Should be Naturalization].


==Records==
Some Catalogue entries for the [[India Office Records]] at the [[British Library]] are:
*Deputation of Lieutenant John Owen to the Cape of Good Hope to enlist German, Austrian and Polish recruits for the Company's European Regiments [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-3-3#1-1-3-3 '''IOR/F/4/3/634''']  Nov 1787-Sep 1796
*Additional allowance granted to Lieutenant John Owen for enlisting German, Austrian and Polish recruits at the Cape of Good Hope in 1796-97. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-74-2#1-1-74-2 '''IOR/F/4/74/1609''']  Aug 1795-Aug 1799
*Complaint of Baron de Reiger alleging ill-treatment of the prisoners of war of the Wurttemberg Regiment at Madras not upheld by the Court of Directors.  [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-53-7#1-1-53-7 '''IOR/F/4/53/1182''']  Oct 1793-Feb 1798
*Papers regarding the disbandment of the Wurttemberg Company, (includes a Muster Roll of the Company). Memorial of Lieutenant Paul Kellner requesting permission to transfer to the Madras Army. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_2&cid=1-1-88-10#1-1-88-10 '''IOR/F/4/183/3685''']  Jul 1804-Mar 1805
*Question of the pensions and allowances to be granted to the officers of the Swiss [[De Meuron Regiment|Regiment De Meuron]] (includes lists of officers of the regiment and a copy of the Capitulation of 25 September 1798) [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_1&cid=1-1-78-5#1-1-78-5 '''IOR/F/4/78/1728'''] Sep 1798-Apr 1800
*Six months' advance of pay is made to Captain N.J. De Bergeon and Captain Francois Louis Lenn, two officers of the [[De Meuron Regiment|Regiment De Meuron]] who  remained behind in India when the regiment left for Europe. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-f4_3&cid=1-1-51-4#1-1-51-4 '''IOR/F/4/234/5396''']  Jul-Oct 1806
*British Army in India: Nominal and Casualty Rolls of Jager Corps Volunteers [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlmil_8-1&cid=1-3-12#1-3-12  '''IOR/L/MIL/15/31-36''']  1860-1866
Also see External Links, below
Also see External Links, below


==External Links==
==Also see==
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2011-11/1322473168 post] advises that a Prussian ancestor arrived in India in 1784 to join the Austrian East India Company at Bankipur, up-river from Calcutta. The Austrian EIC went bankrupt by 1789.
*[[POW Camps in India]] for details of POW and Internment camps during the First and Second World War.
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2007-01/1168720400 thread] advises  that there were lots of German Regiments in India especially during the 18th Century and until about 1820, including captured Wurttenburgers from the Dutch service who were brought in from South Africa to fight for the EIC. Many references in the India Office records are listed, including the raising of Swiss and [[Hanoverian Regiments]].  This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2008-08/1218610422 thread] is on similar matters.
*[[Hanoverian Regiments]]
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2006-06/1149438720 thread] mentions the [[Hanoverian Regiments]] and this [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/1999-02/0919004517  post] mentions Swiss regiments
*[[Jager Corps]]
*[[Hanoverian Regiments|Hanoverians]] are mentioned in this [http://www.archive.org/stream/historicalrecor06canngoog#page/n43/mode/1up link] (Archives.org) in 1783.
*[[Sardhana]] for a brief mention of of a German mercenary, Walter Reinhardt.
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2009-12/1261348709 thread] mentions the Swiss mercenary [[De Meuron Regiment|regiment of De Meuron]] largely manned by Germans, who were working for the Dutch but who switched sides when the British took over the Cape of Good Hope in 1795
*The Wurttemberg Regiment’s German name was  the Württembergisches Kapregiment or Cape Regiment [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapregiment Kapregiment] Wikipedia written in German and associated [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:W%C3%BCrttembergisches_Kapregiment  Wikimedia].This Rootsweb List [http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/BADEN-WURTTEMBERG/2001-11/1005137681 post]  says: Wuerttemberg Kapregiment (the regiment of the Cape of Good Hope) from 1786 to 1808. Duke Carl Eugen of Wuerttemberg formed a regiment of soldiers and sold it to the Dutch to fight as their mercenaries at the Cape. Of the 3,200 men only about 100 men returned home!. This [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Kapregiment.png&filetimestamp=2008081512052  Wikipedia  map] showing where the Regiment was based, includes Madras.
*In 1860 the 109th Regiment of Foot in India was joined by 500 men of the Jaeger Corps who had volunteered from the Cape Colony (part of South Africa under British Occupation until 1910) for service in India on the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny according to this India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2004-03/1078511503 thread]. See India Office Records at the British Library, above.
*This India list [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2008-08/1218693873 thread] is about  Germans in [[Dutch|Dutch East India Company]] regiments in India or the East Indies and advises they were often taken over by the EIC
*The following reference to Germans in the [[Dutch|Dutch East Indies]]  is quoted in [http://www.igv.nl/jir/broneng.html Janssen’s Indisch Repertorium]: ''Die Deutschen in Niederländisch Indien'', door Mr. P.C. Bloys van Treslong Prins, Vortrag gehalten in der Ortsgruppe Batavia am 30. Sept. 1935, Tokyo/Leipzig 1937 (Mitteilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens, Band XXIX, Teil D).


*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2006-03/1141504497 post] advises that an ancestor came from East Prussia, now Lithuania . Many Germans were Lutherans who did not use the Episcopalian Churches  and records were found in Presbyterian registers. Refer [[Church records#Missionary and Non-Conformist Church records, including the Church of Scotland| Missionary and Non-Conformist Church records]]. Some Church of Scotland Bombay church records and records for St Andrew's Church of Scotland, Madras may be found in [[LDS Microfilms of Church registers in India]], but it seems the records for St Andrew's  Church of Scotland in Calcutta have not been filmed and are only obtainable from the church. Contact the Church of North India, refer  [[Calcutta#Churches and missions|Calcutta-Churches and missions]].  There is a [[LDS]] film catalogue [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=1123389& entry]: 'Parish registers (baptisms, marriages, funerals, burials, correspondence, etc.), Church of South India, Diocese of Madras, 1743-1990'.  The Church of South India (CSI) includes Presbyterians but no specific Presbyterian Registers are listed in the film notes.
==External links==
*This India List [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/india/2000-04/0954748785 post] suggests Lutheran missions as a source of German names. Refer [[Missionary#Other External Links| Missionary-Other External Links]]
*The Wurttemberg Regiment’s German name was  the Württembergisches Kapregiment or Cape Regiment [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapregiment Kapregiment] Wikipedia written in German and associated [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:W%C3%BCrttembergisches_Kapregiment  Wikimedia].
*A [http://www.weeklyvoice.com/headlines/napoleons-soldiers-in-maharaja-ranjit-singhs-army review] of the book ''The Lion’s Firanghis: Europeans at the Court of Lahore'' by Bobby Singh Bansal 2010 "By the 1830s a multifarious array of [[French]], Prussian, Spanish, [[Dutch]] and Italian officers had descended on the Anglo-Punjab frontier, hoping to enlist in the services of the opportunistic Maharajah…" Available  through  Amazon.co.uk from the [http://astore.amazon.co.uk/faminbriindso-21/detail/0956127010 FIBIS Shop]
*[https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/german-soldiers-in-eighteenth-century-india/ "German soldiers in eighteenth century India"] by Chen Tzoref Ashkenazi 2019. Archival sources. projekt-mida.de
*British Library Blog Untold Lives:[http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2011/10/index.html  Missionaries and madams] 31 October 2011 and [http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2011/11/unfortunate-women.html  'Unfortunate' women]  7 November 2011. Repatriation of Germans and Austrians during World War 1
*British Library Blog Untold Lives: [http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2011/10/index.html  Missionaries and madams] 31 October 2011 and [http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/untoldlives/2011/11/unfortunate-women.html  'Unfortunate' women]  7 November 2011. Repatriation of Germans and Austrians during World War 1
*[http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D3407.php The Swiss in India]  (German/French language) Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
*[http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D3407.php The Swiss in India]  (German/French language) Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
*[https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Germany Germany] includes [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/German_Language_and_Languages German Language and Languages] which in turn includes [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/German_Word_List German Word List] and  [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Germany_Handwriting Germany Handwriting Guide] Family Search (LDS)  Wiki
*[https://stb.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/i_istb/NE_Vortraege/2016-03-04_-_Franz_-_German-speaking_medical_exile.pdf "German-Speaking Medical Exile to British India 1933-1945"] by Margit Franz. Website of Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien. From the 2010 book  Helmut Konrad, Stefan Benedik (eds.), ''Mapping Contemporary History II. Exemplary fields of research in 25 years of Contemporary History Studies at Graz University/Exemplarische Forschungsfelder aus 25 Jahren Zeitgeschichte an der Universität Graz''. [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=AasnFTQrUmcC&pg=PA65 [Limited selection from<nowiki>]</nowiki> pages 61- 86] Google Books.
 
:These doctors were mainly Jewish. Between the years 1933 and 1938, there were three waves of forced emigration to British India. The first started in the year 1933 with German doctors.  A second wave started with Jewish refugees coming from Italy. The Austrian exodus after the German occupation in March 1938 formed the third wave of medical refugees coming to British India, at which point Czech and Hungarian Jewish medical refugees started joining the population of refugees.
 
:Margit Franz is the author of ''Gateway India. German-speaking Exile to India between British colonial rule, Maharajas and Gandhi''. There is an interview with Dr. Margit Franz in a 2017 article [https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/from-the-reich-to-the-raj/ "From the Reich to the Raj"] (jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com).
*[http://gaebler.info/indien.htm India]  Includes "German Missions in India" mainly in German language but includes extracts from the book [http://gaebler.info/politik/tucher.htm ''German Missions In British India Nationalism: Case And Crisis In Missions''] by Paul Von Tucher 1980 concerning internment of German missionaries during World War 2 at Premnagar near [[Dehra Dun]], Purandhar, about 40kms south-east of [[Poona]] and [[Satara]].gaebler.info.
*Wiele & Klein, Madras and Ootacamund: "The German Photographers of Madras" by Gabrielle Landwehr [http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2018%20No%2014/the_german_photographers_of_madras.html Part 1] , [http://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2018%20No%2015/otherstories.html Part 2] (scroll down) ''Madras Musings Volume XVIII'' No. 14, November 1-15, 2008 and No. 15, November 16-30, 2008; [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/07/09/stories/2003070900200300.htm Madras on glass] 9 July  2003 ''The Hindu''
*German language and other aids
**[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Genealogy Germany Genealogy] includes [https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Languages Germany Languages] which in turn includes [https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/German_Genealogical_Word_List German Genealogical Word List] and  [https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Handwriting Germany Handwriting]. Family Search (LDS)  Wiki.
*:[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/german-church-and-civil-records German Church and Civil Records] FamilySearch Help Center/Lessons
*:[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/old-german-script-part-1 Old German Script]  3 Parts. FamilySearch Help Center/Lessons
*:[https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/lessons/german-paleography-seminar-introduction German Paleography Seminar series] with links to 10 Lessons. FamilySearch Help Center/Lessons
*:Another guide is [https://web.archive.org/web/20180530163134/http://feefhs.org/sites/default/files/guide/german-gothic.pdf  Handwriting Guide: German Gothic], feefhs.org archived, originally from FamilySearch (1999)
*:[https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/help#/ FamilySearch Indexing Help] then select "Language Resources and Handwriting Helps"/German.
**[https://script.byu.edu/Pages/the-german-documents-pages/the-german-documents(english) Script Tutorial:  German Documents] Brigham Young University
**[https://stevemorse.org/german/germanprintcurs.html Converting between old Germanic Print and Cursive in One Step] stevemorse.org
**[http://www.suetterlinschrift.de/Englisch/Sutterlin.htm Learn Suetterlin - the "German handwriting"] taught from 1915 to 1941 in German schools. suetterlinschrift.de
*:"Learning to read Sütterlin" ''Great War Forum'' Blog 24 August 2021, details.<ref>knittinganddeath. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/blogs/entry/2754-learning-to-read-sütterlin/ Learning to read Sütterlin] ''Great War Forum'' Blog 24 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.</ref>
**[http://www.kurrentschrift.net/index.php?s=alphabet&r=kurrent Kurrentschrift.net] German language website. Contaims examples of handwritten and printed letters of the alphabet. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170708224910/http://www.ggrs.com/events/handouts/handout_script.pdf How to Cope With That Old German Script] by Sabine Schleichert c 2005. Includes examples of various types of scripts and genealogical '''symbols''' used. ggrs.com, archived.
**[https://bohemiangenealogist.blogspot.com The Bohemian Genealogist] includes word lists, including abbreviations for Latin and German words, occupations etc with many handwriting examples.
**Rudy Schmidt’s [https://web.archive.org/web/20130807004859/http://antiquusmorbus.com/German/German.htm German Glossary of Causes of Death and other Archaic Medical Terms]. now archived.
**[http://www.odessa3.org/collections/articles/link/illness.txt German-English Illness Translations] Odessa Digital Library
**Note some German church records are written in Latin. See [[French#External links| French - External links]] for some Latin language aids.
**[http://www.suetterlinstube-hamburg.de Sütterlinstube Hamburg e.V] is a non profit organization based in Hamburg which will, for a donation, transcribe from Old German to Latin script, old handwritten documents, such as diaries or other family documents. German language website. Some browsers, such as Chrome offer a translation to an English version, top right hand corner of the webpage. Alternatively, use [https://translate.google.com.au/#view=home&op=translate&sl=de&tl=en Google Translate] or similar.
*[https://feefhs.org/resource/germany German Resources] feefhs.org. Includes link to "Former German Professions", maps, Gazetteers etc.
*[https://www.familytreemagazine.com/heritage/german/german-genealogy-websites/ The 12 Best German Genealogy Websites] by James M. Beidler  familytreemagazine.com. Includes
**No.1. [https://www.archion.de/en/ Archion], a pay website which is a project "der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (EKD)",  (of the Evangelical Church in Germany). These are  Protestant records. Archion includes an English language option.
**No.2. [https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/ Matricula Online] Free portal for online images of church registers (mostly books of birth, marriage and death) from various European countries (currently Austria, Germany, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia). Although interdenominational, the emphasis appears be on Roman Catholic records. [https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Matricula_Online_Church_Record_Portal Matricula Online Church Record Portal] FamilySearch Wiki. [http://www.portahistorica.eu/surveys/review-of-digital-source-editions/matricula-online-2013-matrikelbucher-online-2013-church-registers-online About Matricula Online] portahistorica.eu, probably written c 2013.
*[https://lindstreet.blog/2017/11/25/german-surname-changes/ "German Surname Changes"] November 25, 2017. ''Lind Street Research''. Farm name (Hofnahme) changes in regions in northwest Germany. Includes the practice of ultimogeniture, where the youngest inherits the farm.
*For researching Prussia (German speaking), now Poland, article [https://familysearch.brightspotcdn.com/32/9e/b6f4a2a07f6d6bb2de2a049301ed/polish-records-sources-handout.pdf "Gazetteers and Maps by Marek Koblanski"] FamilySearch. Possibly a presentation by  Marek Koblanski at 2016 European Family History Conference. Includes mention of
**[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/14875 ''Gemeindelexikon für das Königreich Preußen''] German language volumes available both on the FamilySearch Digital Library and as digitised microfilm. To view, you must be signed into FamilySearch. Note: There is an English publication based on some/all? of these books,  digitised by FS but '''not'''  currently viewable  online, [https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/287666-gazetteer-of-parish-and-civil-jurisdictions-in-east-and-west-prussia-based-on-the-gemeindelexikon-fur-das-konigreich-preuszen-1905-kirchliches-und-amtliches-gemeindelexikon-fur-ost-und-westpreuszen-dem-quellenwerk-gemeindelexikon-fur-d?offset=1 ''Gazetteer of parish and civil jurisdictions in East and West Prussia''] by Stephen S. Barthel published c 1991.
:[http://www.christoph-www.de/index.htm Familienforschung in Schlesien]  "Family research in Silesia", an Austrian (from 1526)  then  Prussian (from 1742)  area  to after World War I (German speaking), now part of Poland. German language website.


==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Non-British Ancestors]]
[[Category:Non-British Ancestors]]

Latest revision as of 13:51, 21 April 2022

Non-British Ancestors:
Armenian
Danish
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Indian
Jewish
Portuguese

Many of the Germans in India in the late 1700s-early 1800s were, or had been, soldiers. They were recruited by the East India Company as part of entire regiments such as the Hanoverian Regiments, or Wurttemberg Regiment, regiments for hire which in todays terms would be considered mercenary regiments. Alternatively they were individual soldiers recruited into the Dutch East India Company,[1] Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC, some of who subsequently were recruited into East India Company regiments such as the 1st Madras (European) Fusiliers.

Article

Article "German Voices from India : Officers of the Hanoverian Regiments in East India Company Service" by Chen Tzoref-Ashkenazi, in South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Volume 32, Issue 2 August 2009 , pages 189 - 211. Abstract First page of article. Available at the British Library

Records

  • Some Catalogue entries for the India Office Records at the British Library are:
    • Deputation of Lieutenant John Owen to the Cape of Good Hope to enlist German, Austrian and Polish recruits for the Company's European Regiments IOR/F/4/3/634 Nov 1787-Sep 1796
    • Additional allowance granted to Lieutenant John Owen for enlisting German, Austrian and Polish recruits at the Cape of Good Hope in 1796-97. IOR/F/4/74/1609 Aug 1795-Aug 1799
    • Complaint of Baron de Reiger alleging ill-treatment of the prisoners of war of the Wurttemberg Regiment at Madras not upheld by the Court of Directors. IOR/F/4/53/1182 Oct 1793-Feb 1798
    • Papers regarding the disbandment of the Wurttemberg Company, (includes a Muster Roll of the Company). Memorial of Lieutenant Paul Kellner requesting permission to transfer to the Madras Army. IOR/F/4/183/3685 Jul 1804-Mar 1805
    • Question of the pensions and allowances to be granted to the officers of the Swiss Regiment De Meuron (includes lists of officers of the regiment and a copy of the Capitulation of 25 September 1798) IOR/F/4/78/1728 Sep 1798-Apr 1800
    • Six months' advance of pay is made to Captain N.J. De Bergeon and Captain Francois Louis Lenn, two officers of the Regiment De Meuron who remained behind in India when the regiment left for Europe. IOR/F/4/234/5396 Jul-Oct 1806
    • British Army in India: Nominal and Casualty Rolls of Jager Corps Volunteers IOR/L/MIL/15/31-36 1860-1866
  • National Archives of India
Search National Archives of India website abhilekh-patal.in. Particularly for the Second World War period there are known to be some records from the Aliens Advisory Committee which have either already been digitised, (Digitized Collection : Digitized Public Records, Home Political) or can be requested to be digitised for a fee. A 1946 Naturalisation request was seen: Application from ... For A German Jew, For Nationalization Under the British Nationality Status of Aliens Act 1914. [Should be Naturalization].

Also see External Links, below

Also see

External links

These doctors were mainly Jewish. Between the years 1933 and 1938, there were three waves of forced emigration to British India. The first started in the year 1933 with German doctors. A second wave started with Jewish refugees coming from Italy. The Austrian exodus after the German occupation in March 1938 formed the third wave of medical refugees coming to British India, at which point Czech and Hungarian Jewish medical refugees started joining the population of refugees.
Margit Franz is the author of Gateway India. German-speaking Exile to India between British colonial rule, Maharajas and Gandhi. There is an interview with Dr. Margit Franz in a 2017 article "From the Reich to the Raj" (jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com).
Familienforschung in Schlesien "Family research in Silesia", an Austrian (from 1526) then Prussian (from 1742) area to after World War I (German speaking), now part of Poland. German language website.

References

  1. ↑ Balmer, Nick. VOC Records india-british-raj@groups.io 7 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  2. ↑ knittinganddeath. Learning to read Sütterlin Great War Forum Blog 24 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=German&oldid=87869"