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Almanach de Gotha 1944: The Last Edition of the Original Series

"Almanach de Gotha 1944" is one of the most searched phrases about the Gotha, because 1944 is where the original story ends. Here is what the sources say about the final edition and its aftermath.

The 181st and Last Perthes Edition

The 181st edition, of 1944, was the last produced by the Justus Perthes publishing house [1]. The Gotha Research Library confirms that the Almanach de Gotha and its German counterpart "were published for the last time in 1944" [2]. Perthes's own history says the French edition and the German Gothaischer Genealogischer Hofkalender came out from 1785 until 1944 [3].

Earlier Cuts: 1928, 1939 and 1942

1928: the calendar itself, once the centrepiece of the court calendar, was dropped [2].
1939: the German series was renamed Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch [1].
1942: the genealogical pocketbooks stopped two years before the almanac, because of a paper shortage caused by the war economy [2].

The Shadow of the 1930s

In the 1930s the court calendar "was caught up in the maelstrom of National Socialist racial ideology". It included only "pure-blooded" German nobility with no Jewish or "coloured" ancestors after 1750 [2]. The library says that, given this involvement, resuming the Gotha after 1945, especially in the Soviet occupation zone, "was no longer conceivable" [2].

1945: Gotha Under Soviet Occupation

After Soviet troops entered Gotha in 1945, the city became part of East Germany and the publisher ceased operations [1]. Perthes's history says publication of all "Gotha" books and series had to stop after the Second World War [3].

What Happened to the Name

1998: a London publisher acquired the rights to the title Almanach de Gotha from Justus Perthes Verlag Gotha GmbH and published a new "182nd" edition in English. Perthes regards these volumes as new works, not a continuation [1].
2013: the Vereinigung der Deutschen Adelsverbände acquired the rights to the name "Gotha" from Ernst Klett Verlag, Perthes's legal successor [2].
Since 2015: new editions have appeared from the Deutsches Adelsarchiv as the Gothaisches Genealogisches Handbuch [2][3].

Perthes's history page states that "the genuine 'Gotha' has not been re-published or re-issued since 1944" [3].

Where to See the 1944 Edition

Originals of the editions Perthes lists as 1763–1944 are available only through antiquarian booksellers [3].
A complete microfiche edition of the historical volumes was published in 1982 by K.G. Saur, Munich [3].
The Perthes Collection at the Gotha Research Library holds almost 700 specimen volumes, including the archive and the editors' working library. It can be consulted by appointment [2].

Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is shared under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.