Leaving a paper trail - Other German sources besides church books and civil records

If the church records have been fully searched or if they have been lost, e.g. because of the wars, then there are many other ways to find the German ancestors and fill their life stories with life. While church books still remain the number one source for genealogical research in Germany with the civil certificates ranking in a close second position, there is more to look at when attempting to add "meat to the bones" of a German family history research.