You found your German record - but can you understand what it says?
"I took both the German for Genealogists and German Handwriting courses. These courses have helped me so much in understanding how to read church records and I have successfully translated many of my German ancestors' records as a result. I feel like I know so much more about my ancestors because of what I learned from you. Thank you for your continued help and support..."
Carole B.W.
“I have my ancestors' records. But they are in German!”
Have you found German records - only to look at them and feel overwhelmed?
And online translation tools:
Can't read the old handwriting
Don't understand historical words
Don't recognize spelling variations
Sound correct - but are often wrong (yes, even ChatGPT and Transkribus)
This is exactly how you end up:
Assigning the wrong parent to a family tree
Misreading dates of birth, marriage, and death
Misinterpreting a key fact in your ancestor's life
Or building an entire branch of a family tree on an assumption that felt right — but simply was not.
And what makes this especially difficult?
You don’t always know when it’s happening.
The record looks clear. The translation seems reasonable.
But a small structural detail quietly changes the meaning — and with it, your ancestor’s story.
Sure, you could take a "regular" German class.
But traditional German courses teach you how to order food, introduce yourself, or talk about daily life.
And while those skills are great, they have little relevance inside a 19th-century church register or civil record.
Your ancestors weren’t writing restaurant reviews. At least, most of them probably weren't!
Their stories live in church books, civil registries, baptismal entries, marriage records, and death records. And you need to know how to translate these documents to fill in your family tree.
You can recognize every word in a record — and still misunderstand the relationships, the roles, the timeline, or the meaning behind the phrase.
But once you understand how German functions inside historical documents — how structure, case, tense, and phrasing work together — the language stops feeling unpredictable. Instead:
You actually understand what your record is telling you.
That’s exactly why German for Genealogists was created
— to help you translate historical records using the exact language patterns, grammar, and vocabulary that appear in your ancestors’ German documents.
What You'll Learn Inside:
Essential German Genealogy Vocabulary
• Family vocabulary to understand relationships
• Occupations of your ancestors
• Months, dates, and time words
• Milestone words found in birth, marriage, and death records
• Recurring "genealogy" phrases that appear again and again in records
German Grammar - As Seen on Records
• How German sentence structure works inside church and civil records
• How articles (der, die, das, den, dem) can change the entire meaning of a sentence
• How to recognize relationship markers that define your family connections
• How to recognize spelling variations, abbreviations, and more
How to Translate Actual Church Records
• How to translate church baptismal, marriage, and death records
• How to translate both column and paragraph church records
• How to move beyond word-by-word translation and understand the entirety of a document
• Guided record practice so you can test yourself — and check your work — before working confidently on your own
How to Translate Actual Vital Records
• How to translate vital birth, marriage, and death records
• How to recognize essential phrases that consistently appear in these records
• Sample translation and transcription - so you have cheat sheets with which to work
• Guided record practice so you can test yourself — and check your work — before working confidently on your own
Guided Video Instruction
30 Structured Video Lessons
Clear, step-by-step instruction that walks you from basic German genealogy vocabulary to confidently translating full church and civil records. Each lesson builds logically on the last so you always feel supported and motivated.
Real Record Practice
4 Guided Practice Record Sets (Church & Vital Records)
Work directly with real historical documents — column formats, paragraph records, and handwritten entries — complete with guided translations so you can check your work before returning to your own family’s records.
Interactive Reinforcement
30+ Flashcards & Matching Games
Practice your understanding of record phrases, case endings, verb forms, relationship markers, and abbreviations in a way that reinforces what you’re learning and makes that learning fun along the way!
25+ Quizzes + Game Show Challenges
You’ll regularly test your understanding in a supportive, low-pressure environment. These games reinforce each lesson and help you see just how far you’ve come - and will bring a smile to your face while you do so!
4 Comprehensive Exams + Final Graduation Assessment
At the end of each stage, you’ll complete cumulative exams designed to confirm your knowledge — culminating in a final graduation assessment based on real historical records. You got this!
Vocabulary Lists & Reference Guides
15+ Vocabulary Lists & Record Guides
Comprehensive vocabulary lists, record reference guides, spelling variation sheets, transcription tips, website directories, and more — resources you can download or print and return to anytime during your research. People get the course for these guides alone!
Certificate of Achievement
Once you’ve finished, you’ll receive a certificate to celebrate all your hard work — and the confidence that comes from truly understanding what your ancestors’ German records are saying.
It’s a meaningful way to honor your progress — and to remind yourself that yes, you can translate these records on your own!
Support & Community
Private Course Community
Connect with fellow genealogy researchers, ask questions, share discoveries, and learn alongside fellow students working with German records.
Genealogy is more enjoyable when done with others who share your passion and understand your journey!
Lifetime Access
Self-Paced Online Course + Lifetime Access
This is a completely self-paced course with lifetime access. Move through the lessons on your own schedule and come back to them whenever you discover a new record or want to review what you’ve learned. We are always here for you!
Get Started Today:
$477 or just $96/mo for 5 months
About
Katherine Schober
Katherine Schober, founder and CEO of Germanology Unlocked, is a German-English genealogy translator, author, and educator. With over a decade of professional experience, she is dedicated to helping others uncover their German ancestry and preserve their family stories for future generations.
Katherine offers genealogy services such as online courses, webinars, and workshops focused on deciphering the old German handwriting and mastering German genealogy research. She is the author of "The Magic of German Church Records" and "Tips and Tricks of Deciphering German Handwriting," and the creator of the popular online courses "The Complete Guide to German Genealogy", "Reading the Old German Handwriting", and "German for Genealogists."
Katherine has been a featured speaker at major genealogy conferences such as RootsTech, NGS, and IGGP, where she shares her expertise on German records and handwriting. Her work has also been highlighted on both the History Channel and PBS' "Finding Your Roots."
Combining her deep knowledge of the German language with a passion for genealogy, Katherine's goal is to make genealogy both fun and doable for all!
A Clear Learning Path — From Basic Vocabulary to Entire Historical Documents
German for Genealogists is the roadmap you need to finally understand the exact German used in your ancestors’ records — so you can translate them accurately and with confidence.
Here’s Everything You Get:
30 Structured Video Lessons ($1500 Value)
4 Guided Practice Record Sets with Translations($400 Value)
30+ Interactive Flashcard & Matching Games($300 Value)
25 + Quizzes & Game Show Challenges ($300 Value)
4 Exams + Final Graduation Assessment ($200 Value)
15+ Reading & Vocabulary Lists ($200 Value)
Private Course Community ($100 Value)
Certificate of Achievement ($30 Value)
Lifetime Access to the course!
Total Combined Value: $3,000+
Today's Price: $477 or 5 monthly payments of $96/month
The Germanology Unlocked Guarantee
We stand by the German for Genealogists course because we know it works. Our students have used these exact lessons to understand vocabulary and grammar inside historical records, recognize key phrases, and confidently translate old German documents.
But we also know that investing in a course can feel like a big decision.
If you go through the lessons, practice the exercises, and don’t feel more confident within 14 days, we’ll refund you. We stand behind this course 100%.
You have nothing to lose — and so many records waiting to for you! We're excited to welcome you into our special community of German genealogy enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can spend hours copying German words into Google Translate, trying to piece together grammar rules, and hoping you’re understanding the phrases correctly...
But ultimately, you’ll waste your valuable time, feel overwhelmed by grammar explanations that don’t apply to genealogy, and still wonder if you’re missing something important. And that's just frustrating.
Or you can follow a proven, step-by-step system created by Katherine Schober, a German-English genealogy translator and educator known worldwide for her amazing teaching and language skills.
This online course provides everything you need in one place — so you can stop translating word by word and start truly understanding the language used in your ancestors’ records.
This isn’t just another generic German language course; it’s the only program designed specifically for genealogical research, teaching you the grammar, vocabulary, and record phrasing that actually appear in old German documents.
If you’re serious about confidently understanding your German ancestors’ records, German for Genealogists is the course you need.
Price: $477.00 or just $96/mo for 5 months
Make real progress in understanding your ancestors' stories.
With a clear, expert-led approach, you’ll finally feel confident in your German records!