family name WERNER

[merlion7]

My wife's family name is WERNER, and I'm not sure of the exact date ( probably pre 1928 ), but her family left Danzig where they came from, since originally it was Germany and is now Poland. We want to go to GDANSK to research her family history, but we do not speak Polish and her family wre German. Any suggestions? Her ancestors were associated with the sea, being sea captains. Many thankas in advance

[dotty.]

I suggest that you start from what you already know and make use of the online sites like ancestry.co.uk that should be able to identify other researchers either UK or Gdansk based, there is no point just turning up in Gdansk and expecting everything to be accessible and extant. Make a detailed research log that would identify which specific records, ecclesiastical or civil, that you may have success with. Research any local family history groups in that area and make contact with them to find out more local information from researchers living locally. use the forums on rootweb to see if anyone has any advice on other online resources that will help you plan your research and identify and understand the sources.
Try to contact the local archives in Gdansk to ask for information on local burial grounds and where parish records etc are kept and what is the access.
look for links to sites that may help like this one:
http://www.cyndislist.com/poland.htm