I just recently found success tracing my family in the western Czech Republic thru the Catholic Parish records that are free and digitized online. You can find them by typing in the following search: Church Books in West Bohemia

These sources are part of the "German American Reunion" website. However, you will find it necessary to go thru some of the tutorials offered on the FamilySearch website in order to be able to decipher the old gothic German script handwriting.